Ridding Ourselves of 'Spender's Guilt'
Picture it. You’re online having a browse, say you’re looking at shoes. You happen upon a really lovely pair of trainers. They’re in the sale, and you look down at your own that are getting on a little bit now and decide to click ‘add to basket’. There it is, the guilt. However it manifests for you, whether it’s a knot in your tummy, feeling a little sweaty, or not physical at all, simply thoughts racing about everything else you could (or more like should) be doing with that money; what if the boiler breaks down next week? Or the kids need new uniform?
‘Spenders Guilt’ is something most of us struggle with. You might get it before you treat yourself, after the fact as you’re trying those shoes on and thinking about how you must send them back, or maybe you only get it when someone asks you how much they cost. However it happens, it’s a horrid feeling, and can leave you feeling trapped in terms of how you spend your money.
The fact is, as we get older and take on more and more responsibilities, the options when it comes to how to spend our money ever increase. As well as our homes, holidays, children, days out and treating ourselves, we have the general upkeep of our lives to consider, now and in the future. Mortgage, bills, groceries and thinking about what our plans are if the car conks out tomorrow morning. Oh how we long for when our parents gave us pocket money to spend on one bag of sweets - simpler times!
This all boils down to values and permission, in other words, having permission to spend your money on what you value. In Week 2 of the Finding Your Balance program we have worked out what your values are, and how that might relate to how you’d like to spend your money.
By the end of the program, you will have various ‘pots’ that your monthly income is split between as soon as it comes in. There’s the obvious big pot for your monthly living - bills, mortgage etc. A pot for your ‘safety net’ for when those gremlins turn on the ‘Check Engine’ light. And the rest? The rest is divided up in a way that works for you, just you. Each and every person who does the program comes out with different pots. You may want a pot, big or small, called ‘Shoes’. When there’s money in that pot, you can say goodbye to Spender’s Guilt, as you’ve given yourself that all important permission to treat yourself, with money that isn’t earmarked for anything else!
Click here to find out more about the Finding Your Balance program and to book a no-obligation call.
Hi there I’m Gail Bainbridge - money coach and mentor. I am on a mission to transform our relationships with money. I teach people to find money that they didn’t know they had for the things that are important to them. If you enjoyed this blog sign up to my newsletter to be the first to read all my money musings.