We’re all human: emotional, illogical, and sometimes self-sabotaging. Especially when it comes to money. Do you find yourself at the end of the month wondering where your money went? Wishing you hadn’t spent so much on frivolous things? Dreading a glance at the credit card balance?
You’re not alone. Jobs are stressful, friends are medicine, and shopping online gives a dopamine hit every time you click. Of course you spend too much, it’s for your health! And only finance majors thrive on building spreadsheets to track spending.
What if you could slow yourself down a little and get in front of impulsive spending decisions? Put the tiniest pause between “I want that now” and Buy Now?
Here’s how: Create a couple of rules for yourself. Rules are things you don’t question, you just follow. Your parents made them (no dessert until you eat your dinner; homework first, then videogames; your curfew is midnight). Even your friends couldn’t question your parents’ rules – they were just ‘the rules.’
The beauty of rules is that they require no decisions on your part. Decisions are exhausting. We make thousands of them every day (what to wear, what’s for lunch, whether to run today) and our willpower fades with each one. By the time you’re on the couch with a class of wine and your phone, there’s no denying you deserve that $200 face serum.
Here are some examples of simple rules you might consider. You know yourself best: what are one or two spending temptations you struggle with? And more important, why do these scenarios trap you into overspending?
Temptation: I spend too much eating out.
Rule: I eat out once a week. (Or twice a month. Or, if I order food online I pick it up myself. Customize however you want)
Temptation: I spend too much online.
Rule: Anything in my cart sits for 24 hours before I buy.
Temptation: I can’t say no to people who ask for charitable donations.
Rule: I make decisions about my annual charitable spending in January. (If you send me some info, I’ll consider it for next year.)
When you tell your friends, “I’m trying to save money and my new rule is, I eat out once a week,” they’re likely to respect the rule — and you might even learn they’re trying to save money too.
The “24 hours in the cart” rule plants a pause between impulse and action, and you may find the urge is gone by the next day.
The self-imposed charitable planning timeline gives you a diplomatic way to decline in the moment and sends the message that you are intentional about your donations. (And you should be!)
Here’s the deal about rules: You can decide to break them once in a while. But the fact that you have a rule makes you pause and consider: How important is this to me? Is this a decision I’ll regret later?
It’s human nature to take the easy path, to follow the habit. Don’t overdo it – too many rules takes the joy out of life – but sometimes, a well-designed rule can safeguard you from yourself.