Have you ever felt guilty after your shopping? You feel excited about your purchase and a moment later, you start feeling guilty about your purchase and consider it as a waste of money. This feeling is not uncommon. Shopping guilt happens because of different reasons. It may be a result of fear, lack of planning or emotional shopping. Here are some ways to help you avoid shopping guilt.
Spend in a plan– Spending your income in a plan (budget) is very important to avoid shopping guilt. When you have made your budget to cater for every of your priority needs, spending on your wants and luxuries should not be a problem. A guilt may come up when you know you have a goal to meet or you have a debt to pay and you do not have a plan for this, then you feel you are spending for the wrong reasons; however, when your budget covers your needs and wants, there is a balance.
Pause a bit– It is very tempting at times to buy impulsively. You are likely to buy something you see instantly when you are happy, depressed or at any emotional state. To avoid shopping guilt, wait for a while (maybe 24 hours) before making your purchase. After you have waited for a while, you may likely discover that you do not need that item. When next you are tempted to buy something impulsively, wait for 24 hours to check if you still need that item. This helps you avoid shopping guilt.
Expensive does not mean quality– The fact that an item is expensive does not mean it is of good quality. Compare prices before you buy an item. Check out reviews about the seller from previous buyers. You can also start by buying a piece of item from the seller (if you are buying from an online store); this helps you ascertain the quality of your item before buying many items from the seller.
Shake it off– After you have done all the above and you still feel guilty, it may be a wrong feeling and you need to shake it off. Spending to pamper yourself is not wrong if you have a balance to cover your priority needs and your wants.
To your financial independence and freedom!