- Welcome to another episode of
The Rachel Cruze Show home edition.
(sighing)
I'm so bored.
I think I'm just gonna look at my phone
and spend some money.
Life is just not normal.
There's gonna be a new normal,
and it's not what I want.
I'm just so sad.
(sighing)
Potterybarn.com here I come.
Oh my gosh, I'm just so nervous.
Like, what's happening?
There's a pandemic right now.
We're all gonna die. We're all gonna die.
(sighing)
Let's just go to jcrew.com and just buy some stuff.
(record scratching)
That is what we call emotional spending. (laughing)
We're all guilty of it, okay?
Listen, this has been a very stressful time for all of us.
It's crazy right now.
Like, it is.
And so just to get on your phone,
and to start scrolling through social media,
or scrolling through your emails
of all the companies sending you all these great deals,
and just wanting to numb the pain for a little bit.
Sometimes it just feels good just to buy something.
Because guess what? When you buy something,
it excites you, and dopamine runs through your body.
And what ends up happening
is it becomes addictive, like a drug.
I mean, it is crazy what happens to us
when we buy something.
It's like this twinge of happiness,
and we think, oh, it feels good.
But then, let's be honest,
a few days or weeks later,
your package arrives, and you're like,
oh yeah, I did buy that.
Okay, I think I like it.
The excitement is gone at that point. It really is.
So, you really need to watch your emotional spending
during these days.
This is very, very important.
So, here's a couple of tips for you.
Number one, make and stick to a budget.
I know you're shocked. I know.
But seriously, a budget, it's gonna give you limits,
it's gonna give you boundaries.
When you have a budget,
then you can spend without guilt.
Then you can go on that website
when they have that great sale
and say, oh yeah, I do have some money in my clothing,
my clothing line item,
or my personal line item,
or whatever it is. And you're like, you know what?
I have the money right now.
I've allocated to spend this money.
So, I'm gonna spend it.
And you don't have to have this guilt and shame about it.
You're able to do it in control.
Number two, know what triggers you.
This is really, really key.
Like, if you know if you get stressed,
that you just want to spend,
or if you get sad,
spending just makes you feel better.
Like, know the things around you that triggers you.
Or if the kids are going crazy and you're like,
ah, I just want to just like zone out
and get on Instagram,
and I want to see an ad for cute shoes
and just buy them.
Know the things.
Because that's gonna help you.
Because when that trigger starts going off,
then you can say, all right, I feel this happening.
I usually used to run and do this,
but now I'm gonna change direction and do that.
That is intentional living, people. So great.
But the third thing you can also do
to help your emotional spending
is something that I actually do a lot. Window shopping, yes.
Okay, if there's a store, and you're like,
ugh, I really want some new stuff,
go skim it, put it in your cart—I do this—
and then you get to the end and you're like whew, okay.
And go look at the cart
and then just delete it all.
There is a little something where you're like, okay,
I don't need it all.
Because once you see everything lined up,
you're like yeah, I don't really need that.
And you know what I also do?
I never make accounts
on the websites or the stores that I love,
because if I do,
you just put in your username and password
and everything's in there,
it's like a one-click purchase,
and it makes it so easy to buy.
I do not do this.
I make myself go through,
put my address, put my debit card number,
like all the things,
because there's a process there,
and halfway through,
it makes you check.
It just forces time between your impulse and purchasing.
And it helps because sometimes I'm like,
oh, I don't want to go get my debit card,
it's in my purse in the car in the garage, I'm too lazy,
and then I just don't worry about it.
But if it was all right there,
it'd be really dangerous. Mmm hmm.
I see you Amazon Prime.
Man, that's the one place that I do it.
I have the one-click thing.
It's crazy how much more money you spend
when it's at your convenience.
So, if you can make things inconvenient, do it.
Oh yeah, and then I will confess the other place I do it
is my Papa John's app
because it's connected to my Apple Pay.
I always tell Winston, every time we order pizza,
I'm like, babe, I can't believe I just do that,
it scans my face, and the pizza shows up
like 30 minutes later.
It's just crazy.
But, again, do not put the convenience in place
on stores that you know you're gonna overspend.
So, all those tips I hope help you not emotionally spend.
And then also, you guys,
get in a good community.
Be around people who are like-minded.
And that is my Facebook community.
So, go, check that out,
we're always talking about this kind of stuff,
encouraging each other, challenging each other.
So, get in there with like-minded people
who are avoiding emotional spending during this time
and also taking control of their money.
So, make sure you go and check that out.
(upbeat music)