Saturday, December 8, 2007

BEING CAUGHT UP IN SPENDING TRAPS

EVERYONE LIKES TO GET GOOD DEALS, AND this time of year seems to bring all these people out with their recommendations. It's great to know what's available, but somethings can get out of control and before you know it, you're caught. Whether it be through the mail or on the Internet. My mom was a great type of person for getting hooked on mail-order deals. She didn't have to leave her chair and go out to get her purchases, they were always cheap, and she loved to open those boxes once they came. It was like Christmas every day to her. We sat her down and put all of her written checks the bank returned once cancelled and totalled them up to show her how much she was spending weekly on these purchases. She just smiled. We even pulled out some of the items and showed duplicates because you can only order so much and end up starting over again on purchasing these items. She soon realized she was training herself to do this and it was up to her to break the trend. It wasn't easy, but she finally got the message. We are really glad we never got her started on the computer. There's no telling how many sites are out there where you can really get hooked on buying with just the push of a button and a credit card. My mom always used checks, but in today's time, credit cards are much easier. Some stores are even set up to treat your check as a credit card and print a receipt you sign and then they give you back your check.
REALIZING HOW SPENDING CAN BE ANOTHER WAY OF TRAINING YOURSELF is something to work on all the time. Some people have more energy and go shopping every week-end. They get to a point that they can't skip one time or they feel this gap and missing of something. Not being medically educated, I have to go by what I've heard from different programs, but there's some kind of chemical released inside us to make us respond to either be happy or emotional. And any actions on our parts assist these responses. So if we train ourselves to be happy when we shop, then that's probably what we will end up doing to keep happy. This is where we have to come into control and deal with our emotions. Trying not to panic, but always being aware of our limitations, so we don't end up becoming unhappy. And being in a strangle hold of money problems is about the most unhappy anyone can become. With a little effort, this should be no problem to control and still remain happy. So enjoy this season of extra shopping and remain in control with training yourself to know your limitations. Keep to your budget and be happy with yourself.

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