Tips to stop splurging?

beanielou

What I try really really hard to do is avoid shops~then Im just not tempted.

You are doing so well.
Welcome to MSE.

moneymabel

thanks beanielou-i can avoid shops...trouble is i bought it on-line..!! will spend all my time on here instead of shopping and i have just listed 10 things on ebay, and listened to some godawful tunes on slicethe pie to repent my sins!!

Numpty_Monkey

Right shineing my shoes to kick you up the asre:D

you have done brilliant getting your debts down
Ask yourself do I need it now or do I want to buy it in a few months at a cheaper price and owe nobody for it

moneymabel

thanks numpty monkey ( i love your name!!!!!!!!!) lol-i am honoured that you are polishing your shoes first :-)
That is what i need to do...stop and think about things instead of just rushing in,buying it and worrying about the consequences later.

I will be debt free by 2009.

debbiedebt

The iphone is so yummy if O2 worked in my area I would probably done exactly the same.

Since I found this website I have become addicted to it and together with my spending diary is keeping me on the straight and narrow.

You are doing fantastically well keep it up.

moneymabel

hi debbiedebt,
Yeah gotta admit it is brill and as my Internet connection has been off for a fortnight thanks to bt I have been using it to come on this site.
I know thats not justification though and as I am paying for it each month I am constantly reminded of my stupidity- hopefully that will be motivation not to do it again. I don't spend loads on clothes, my car is in good nick ( fingers crossed) dont smoke or drink and my hobby is crafting which as I work in a craft shop I get discount. My weakness is phones and now I'm stuck with this contract I should ( will) be debt free by the time I am tempted to buy the next one. I must say that this one was paid for and not bought on credit so I haven't increased my debt just increased my debtfree date by a couple of months. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

System

Moneymabel, stop beating yourself up; we all get an attack of 'the spends' now and again but we just need to move on afterwards. You're on the right track using MSE, you're aware of the problem, and using the advice above you'll be fine!
I hadn't thought about having a 'splurge pot' but I like the idea - my weakness is clothes (oh and chocolate of course!) but if I only bought them when there was enough in the splurge pot...
Good luck

wydsiwyrg

The simple answer is to ask yourself if you have the cash to afford anything you buy when you buy it. If you do (and that means having no debt, because if you have debt you have no cash that is yours legally!) then don't buy it if you don't need it to live. It's a shame, but it's true - once you're in debt all you can afford are life's essentials.