Why I spend

TryingAgain2022

I want to track my journey from hopelessly in debt (24K) to debt free with a diary on here - but what's struck me, after living most fo my adult life with some kind of credit card/overdraft debt, is how come I keep getting into financial trouble.

What prompts me to spend when I know, intellectually, that I do not have the money?

I've come to realise that most of my spending is not on material type things - shoes, gadgets or whatever - but on COMFORT. A bit of warmth, a moment of rest, a kind of temporary hug. And that realisation is what I need to cling to if I'm ever to get out of this hole.

If you're thinking, what is she on about, comfort, well here's an idea. I have been overspending by about £100 a month for absolutely years. And added to the expected big occasional hits on my credit card like car repairs and new specs, the majority of my debt is on tiny little spends, daily spends, comfort spends. Most of what has tipped me into that £100 overspend is ... latte.

I'll just leave this here. Can anyone relate?

Sayschezza

I don't have mortgage or debt but I do have compulsive spending. I think it's comfort spending because of loneliness. Ridiculous because I have loving family, partner (semi disabled so can't do much and never wants to go anywhere) and friends. I spend on clothes because it makes me feel better.

Happy_Monday

This strikes a chord with me too.......my comfort blanket is buying food, and spending in charity shops. I’ve also just found eBay.....I’m on dangerous territory and have logged out and disabled my account. I’m on the hunt for cheapish or free hobbies I can do that will take my mind off spending.

Good luck on your journey x

TryingAgain2022

I am also looking for things to fill those inbetween minutes to keep me off ebay, shopping apps etc... especially Amazon. I will post what I find. I used to read all the time and now I look at my phone which is full of notifications to buy.

My main free hobby is snapping pics on my phone and fiddling with them to share on Instagram. I'm not fussed about gathering Likes etc, I just like doing it. I also like going through the thousands of old photos I've snapped over the years. I used to do scrapbooking but then kids, also scrapbooking costs a fortune.

I'll update with other non-money comfort things I find!

OnlyPariah

Plenty of survey options to help fill a bit of time when you're bored.

Happy_Monday

I have thought of surveys onlypariah but not sure where to start, I need to look into this x