Page 17 - Book5E

buying can assume such excessive proportions that individuals find themselves in considerable financial debt and psychological distress. Recent studies in the United States suggest that extreme impulse (compulsive) buying is on the increase, affecting an estimated 5% to 10% of the adult population, and that occasional bouts of impulse buying are much more common than that.
What we buy has become a significant element in how we create our identity and how we judge others, how we define our social status, and how we “make ourselves feel better.” People are particularly likely to buy on impulse to counteract feelings of depression and low self-esteem. The momentary euphoria that is felt from a new purchase, however, can later be followed by even greater depression if the impulse buy creates financial stress.
The dangers of impulse buying seem common sense if we stop to think about what we are doing. Unfortunately, many people have come to accept impulse buying as a natural pastime, something everyone does, and perfectly acceptable. It can be very damaging to your goal of financial success.
An important aspect of recovering from chronic debt is understanding the underlying reasons of why you got too deeply into debt in the first place. Facing the factors that give you the impulse to spend can be uncomfortable, but if you don’t face them, you may never get control of your spending and your debt.
To really get control of your spending, you need to examine what money means to you. Make an effort to notice how you interact with money and what beliefs and attitudes you have about money. If you are always getting rid of your money—spending more than you should— could it be because you have an underlying belief that having money is a bad thing?
Once you understand your attitudes about money and why you behave the way you do with it, you open up the psychological barriers that
Why We Spend
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