Please tell me you are kidding.

Buying overpriced indulgences may feel good in the short term, but you pay the price later. Or at least that's the conventional wisdom.

A recently published study by a couple of business school professors says splurging now makes you happier later. Something even more surprising was noted, that controlling the splurging now gives you pangs of regret later.

I would caution you to take this study with a grain of salt, since it explored the regret felt by college students over their conduct on recent winter breaks and by alumni remembering winter breaks of 40 years ago. This is a typical article that oozes of junk science.

After one recieves budget training early in life, it will allow you live like no one else and travel first class.

Photo credit: Abitibi

Labels: Over Spending, shopping

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Claire just admitted to her husband that she is addicted to shopping. How can she get a handle on her spending?

Labels: Addictions, Dave Ramsey TV Show, marriage and money, shopping

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It's easy to run up your credit card by buying books, DVDs, and music, especially from a user-friendly site like Amazon. You think to yourself, "Oh - it's just $14, and much cheaper than I could get in town" or "I'm getting a good deal, and I get free shipping - so it's worth it." You convince yourself that you'll "pay it off at the end of the month." And, after all, it's really easy just to click that "purchase" button, with your credit card information already set up. There's no real "sting" to it, when you don't see your cash going out the window!

What's the solution? Change your account settings on Amazon! You can now pay straight from your checking account. Or, put your debit card in there, only make sure you aren't relying on overdraft! Make sure you've planned your purchase into your budget, and that you've written it in your checkbook.

When you get ready to purchase something from Amazon or other similar sites, make sure you've done your planning in advance. If you find yourself "impulse buying" - stop and wait. Give it a day. See if it's something you "really" need.

Three things will happen: 1. You'll quickly realize how much you spend shopping online through places like Amazon, and you'll adjust your spending habits accordingly. 2. You'll avoid running up unreasonable debt for things you could probably check out (for free) from a local library! 3. You'll avoid impulse buying!

Get smart with your money, and eliminate your zombie spending habits!

Labels: Credit Cards, Financial How-To, shopping

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Buy at the Right Time and Save up to 80%

We've added another tab to the bottom of our spreadsheet. It is a list of items that are common purchases and when is the best time to buy them.

When we counsel families on budgeting, we also teach them how to time their future purchases so the can save between 10% and 80%. While using this method for purchasing, we encourage families to be sure to budget ahead of time for these purchases.

In the future, when you need to buy some big ticket items (cars, furniture, appliances, etc.) or even small items (toasters, luggage, dishes, etc.) check out our easy reference chart below and become a big saver and a savvy consumer.

Consumer Tip: Shop in January and August for your biggest sales. The best clothes sales are after President’s Day, after the 4th of July, after Easter and after Christmas.



Download our Free Budget Spreadsheet today! Besides the budget that we use in our budget class, it also has this deals sheet and a pro-rata form.

Labels: Deals, shopping, Spreadsheet

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Labels: Celebrity Finances, Lindsay Lohan, sales, shopping

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