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Some men spend a large part of their younger years carelessly burning through money on booze, babes, and bud.
What can we say, we want what we want and it doesn’t matter how broke we have to live for the next six or seven months, consider it got.
We buy gaming systems, spend butt loads on new vehicles, and nearly bleed ourselves dry, maintaining that impressive apartment with a view.
And we’d rather have our balls gnawed off by a sea of hungry piranha than let anyone find out that our annual salary is still sitting firmly at the poverty line.
But then, one day while scanning our banking app on the crapper before heading into work, we get hit in the face with a big, fat reality check that almost takes out our front teeth.
We see that our spending habits are putting us on the fast track to complete and total ruins. It’s so bad that our bank statement is there begging for mercy, screaming something at us like, “Why, dumbass, why, why must you always feel the need to pick up the tab for all of your deadbeat friends?”
The situation is dire. It is apparent that if we don’t reel in the old budget a bit and try to save a few bucks, there is a relatively good chance that we are going to have our holiday dinners this year at the local homeless shelter.
But hey, at least we can pronounce meatloaf with mac n’ cheese.
Managing money is a problem that more of us face than we’d probably care to admit.
In fact, a recent survey from CNBC‘s “News and Acorns” finds that impulse purchases are a large part of the reason that many of us are still broke. In many ways, men are worse about throwing money at random shit than women could ever be.
The survey finds that while 90 percent of both men and women are guilty of impulse spending, 25 percent of men drop in upwards of $100 each time they engage in this behavior.
Only around 16 percent of women go on an impulse spender bender of this magnitude.
In other words, dudes are out there making purchases based on sheer emotion rather than exercising a little financial savoir-faire to get all of the crap they want without breaking the bank.
Financial experts say there are a few ways to take back control of your personal finances and cut back on whimsical purchases.
Not only will these methods help the average guy keep control of his spending, but they might also set him up to sock my away for a rainy day. Here are five ways to put a leash on those impulse buys and keep more money in your pocket at all times.
Log All Of Your Spending
Writing down your purchases for a week or so is an excellent way of seeing just how hard you are screwing the pooch.
But fair warning, you may learn some things about yourself that you’re not prepared for.
For example: If your booze budget for the week is more than your monthly electric bill, there is a good chance that you have deeper problems than just bad spending habits.
The idea here is that by logging all of our spending, we will start to see where some of the lunacy lies.
In the end, you should have a grip on all of your impulse purchases and find ways to cut back.
Wait Before You Buy
All of us see fun stuff out there that we think we cannot live without. But just going ahead and buying these things right out of the gate is one of the reasons our finances are in disarray.
It is advised that we institute a 24-48 hour waiting period before whipping out the old wallet. You may eventually decide that the product no longer tickles your fancy.
Or then again, it still might.
At least you can feel like, for once in your life, you made a responsible financial decision that wasn’t built on emotion alone.
If you go out shopping, experts say taking along cash as opposed to credit cards is also a solid deterrent from impulse buys.
Cash has a way of making spending real in a way that swiping a piece a plastic does not.
Make A List Before Entering A Store And Stick To It
Any man who has ever stepped inside a grocery store for a carton of eggs and coffee understands that it is easy to end up hitting the check-out line with a basket full of shit that he doesn’t really need.
To eliminate all of those random buys – the candy, sodas and that mysterious rubber chicken discovered in the condiments section — make a list.
This will help you establish a clear cut mission for when you are dodging people in the aisles and allow you to spend cash on only what is necessary.
So, it’s milk, eggs, coffee, and out!
Well, okay, you can get the rubber chicken too!
Abandon Those Enticing Online Offers
iStockphoto / Julie Clopper
All of the retailers you shop with these days like to get your email address before you walk out the door.
This way they can send you special offers, like 30% off Nike and Adidas apparel — and entice you into making another purchase, either online or at their brick and mortar establishment.
Experts say it is in our best interest to unsubscribe to those emails and delete retailer apps, as they only serve to get us to make impulse purchases that we could have otherwise done without.
Budget For The Things You Want
Once you get a grip on your budget – all of your bills are paid, and there is no risk of the bankruptcy court in your future — be sure to put money back for splurges.
This will allow you to buy all of the things that you usually do on impulse in a more controlled, guilt-free fashion.
It will also give you something to look forward to besides getting harassed regularly by the collection agencies.
Mike Adams is a freelance writer for High Times, Cannabis Now, and Forbes. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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