'No buy' challenges can help bring spending under control.
Updated: 7 hours ago
Original article by:
Leah Golob
THE CANADIAN PRESS
January 4, 2022
📰 Read the FULL ARTICLE here.
I spoke with The Canadian Press about how "no buy" and "low buy" challenges can help bring spending under control. Here are the highlights and my contributions.
Key Takeaways
"No buy" challenges, where you cut back or stop spending on certain goods or services for a set period, are gaining popularity, partly because they can be tailored to your situation.
Targeting the categories where you tend to overspend can free up money you didn't know you had for goals like paying down debt.
A strict "no buy" can feel like a crash diet, so some people move to a more sustainable "low buy" approach for everyday life.
You get to set the rules, whether your goal is less stuff, less money spent or less time spent shopping.
Talking with friends about your goals can bring support, accountability and new ways to socialize without overspending.
My Perspective
I run a "low spend" challenge with my clients. Even people with a detailed cash flow plan can fall off when they lose inspiration or focus, and framing mindful spending as a challenge helps keep them motivated.
"We often get caught up in mindless spending and overspending can very quickly spiral out of control."
A challenge is also a chance to ask yourself some honest questions: What are my spending weaknesses? When do I tend to go off the rails? Why do I overspend? One trick I recommend is limiting credit card use, starting by deleting saved card information from your browsers and online shopping accounts.
"We are all pretty inherently lazy and making it too easy to impulse shop online is a disaster waiting to happen."
The same goes for shopping in person, where tapping a credit card makes it easy to spend without a second thought. Paying with cash or debit makes the cost feel real, because you can see the money leave your hands or your bank balance.
"An increasing credit card balance doesn't feel as bad as a decreasing bank or cash balance."
Originally published in The Canadian Press by Leah Golob on January 4, 2022. Use the link at the top of this post to read the full article.
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