With fall’s arrival, many of us are left reminiscing over another summer gone and are beginning to adjust to all that a new season brings. Looking back on memories can be so fun when it comes to new romances, adventures and experiences, but for many, reminiscing also comes with the inevitable realization that we might have gone overboard in regards to spending. I mean come on, #patioSZN spent drinking rosé© all day can be hard on the bank account, right? Add in some summer concerts, festivals, weekend trips, vacations, outings, dinners and weddings”yeah, it can add up. Take notes: Here’s how to get back on track from your summer of reckless spending.
Do your damage control
First thing’s first: it’s time to fess up, assess the damage and see where you spent the majority of your money over the last few months. Although this process is likely more painful than a Brazilian wax, it’s just as necessary. Go to the bank or online to your account and check out your account history to see where your hard-earned cash went.
#GetYourShitTogether
Think of your spending in terms of categories to keep things simple: needs, wants and social. Needs can include all necessary bills, namely rent, utilities, phone, internet, loan repayments and transit costs, but can also include hygiene needs (tampons & TP anyone?) and anything else you can think of to help you budget out all those expenses that you really just can’t avoid. Wants is a category that is rather individual-based, but I suggest to include clothing, beauty and other general spending here. Social deserves a separate category from wants since it’s in our nature as humans to want to interact and connect. This isn’t a category that I suggest to completely cut out, but to analyze and see how to minimize where you’re heavily spending. Backtrack here and look at how often you go out for dinner, drinks, concerts, trips, movies or other general activities and see where you spend the majority of your money.
Our pro tip? Budget for overspending to allow yourself to have a little extra set aside and keep track of your spending using apps like Mint, PocketGuard, GoodBudget, You Need A Budget or HomeBudget.
Be a loan shark
Meaning try to aggressively tackle any high interest loans that you are currently owing. Credit cards, school, cars and even mortgages are a reality and, unless you have a trust fund, something you need to address? The most important step here is to approach the highest interest rate first (usually a credit card). At the very least, know exactly what you owe and when you owe it so that you can draft up a payment plan if you haven’t already. Calculate your finances to determine if it’s at all possible to pay off a little bit more than the minimum payments as this can make a huge difference in the long run. Automatic payments can be your best friend in these situations”they take away from any stress that can come with trying to remember all your bill payment dates! This can also be a great time to check your credit score and make sure that everything is on track. If not, it gives you opportunity for more damage control and to prioritize your debt repayment.
Assess the “why” factor
Look, I’m not saying you have a problem but¦
An area that many outlets fail to cover in regards to spending is the “why” factor. It’s time to ask yourself what influenced your decision to spend. Was it retail therapy? A bad day? Bad breakup? Pick-me-up purchase? Boredom? Do you spend more on beauty (hair, nails, lashes, beauty products) or do you tend to gravitate towards trendy fashion products? Do you avoid spending on material and instead focus consistently on experience-based purchases? All of the above? Now would be a great time to dig a bit deeper and analyze if/why you have a certain type of purchase habit and how you can try to work on minimizing spending to meet your finance goals.
Get over it!
Lastly, it’s important that you don’t let guilt drag you down. Everyone has moments of weakness, but it’s something that you need to accept and work past”it’s all apart of the process. It’s time to move on to making more educated decisions and own up to the fact that spending/saving money are both learned skills like many others.
Class dismissed.
