| Have you ever thought about the process of | | | | shopping, gambling and over-spending consumers |
| spending money? If you do the research before you | | | | usually end up with large credit card debt. The other |
| spend on big ticket items by comparison shopping, | | | | end of the personality spectrum includes people who |
| looking for sales, searching for on-line coupons, and | | | | live frugally because they fear poverty. This fear |
| checking with consumer report websites for | | | | keeps them from spending to the degree that they |
| knowledgeable recommendations; then you are a | | | | deny themselves things that they need for a better |
| savvy spender, and your money is working for you. | | | | quality of life. Others try to avoid money issues by |
| How Most People Spend | | | | refusing to focus on how they spend or why. Often, |
| What most people don’t factor into the | | | | busy people who make a good income don’t |
| process of spending money is the emotional aspect | | | | manage their money well because they lack the time |
| of this action. Often people make purchases because | | | | to do so. All of these people miss the opportunities |
| they have been influenced and persuaded by | | | | to put their money to work for them, even if it just |
| advertising and other subtle but effective types of | | | | means moving it to a different account to get a |
| manipulation. Marketing experts, for example are | | | | higher interest rate. |
| masters of psychological manipulation, which is why | | | | Thinking about Why We Spend |
| advertisements always show happy, beautiful people | | | | It is very important, now more than ever in this |
| using specific consumer goods to attain their state of | | | | sluggish economy, to start thinking about how and |
| well-being. | | | | why we spend money and how to get the most for |
| Our Parents Influence | | | | every dollar we spend. The all important bottom line |
| Most of us have feelings that are both positive and | | | | is preserving financial solvency. Knowing why we |
| negative about spending our hard-earned dollars. | | | | spend will help us manage our money more wisely. |
| Many of our perceptions about spending, saving, and | | | | Five Steps to Managing Money |
| even earning money, come from learned experiences | | | | 1) Track where money is being spent and the |
| we received during our formative years. Our | | | | amount |
| parents’ behaviors with money were often | | | | 2) Set specific long term goals for your money |
| our first exposure to the process. If they budgeted, | | | | 3) Pay cash, or use your debit card |
| coupon clipped, saved and lived within their means, | | | | 4) Think before you buy to curb Impulse Shopping |
| we probably will too. If earning a six figure income | | | | 5) Prepare for periods of unemployment by putting |
| was a focal point, or living pay check to pay check | | | | aside savings and purchasing Disability Insurance, and |
| played a big role in daily life; those memories had an | | | | Death Benefit Insurance for yourself and your family. |
| influence on us, as well. Studies suggest that a large | | | | If we decide to focus on where the money is going, |
| part of our emotional ties to money are directly | | | | and why, and put a plan in place in case our earning |
| correlated with our acceptance or rejection of our | | | | potential is lost, either temporarily or long term, we |
| parents’ financial decisions. | | | | will be smart money managers and not victims of our |
| Money Personalities | | | | own emotional spending. |
| Money personalities vary greatly. Compulsive | | | | |