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Something that stands out lately are the number of outlets competing for one’s time, attention, and especially our hard earned money. I don’t know about you, but it can be exhausting dodging solicitations and avoiding temptation left and right, especially around the holidays! It seems I can’t make a move without a text, email, phone call, commercial, mailer, advertisement, etc. attempting to draw me in on the next latest, greatest thing I supposedly ‘need’ to buy. Ah, consumerism. Deals, discounts, shiny new upgrades and the like call to us at every moment and are accessible with a mere touch of a button. Ugh. It’s so easy to give in! In fact, I think it’s a successful victory that I didn’t participate in Black Friday. I actively stood my ground!
But overall, how does one navigate mass consumerist culture more successfully and remain steadfast amidst temptation?
Here are some of the tips that have helped during this time:
Silencing unwanted notifications
Removing one’s contact information, blocking, or unsubscribing from retailers’ communications
Deleting emails from companies and retailers as soon as they come in (stop flooding my inbox!)
Pausing and asking, do I really need this? Where would I put this? Can I see it in my home? etc.
Knowing the difference between a need and want/a nice to have and need to have
Creating an ongoing list of practical, useful or important things you need/want and turning to that for no guilt (or less guilt) shopping
Setting a price point or range in advance and if I find ITEM A or come across ITEM A at B price then I’ll pick up ITEM A (you’re not saying no but you’re setting boundaries, letting it simmer to make sure it’s still worth it, and taking a practical approach)
Knowing when to say “no”
Reminding myself of things I’d rather spend that money on versus if I were to spend it right now
Also, asking, “do I need a drink, bite to eat, etc. or can it wait till I get home?”
Society literally bombards us with temptation and advertisements strive to get into our headspace and obscure our thinking. There’s a whole industry built upon influencing and swaying people to consume, want, crave, desire the next best thing. It drives me crazy. Do I need the newest iPhone when I just bought one last year? Do I need a larger TV or is mine sufficient and working just fine? Do I really need to upgrade my vehicle or can it wait? Do I need yet another pair of earbuds, leggings, kitchen gadgets, etc.? Probably not.
All of this is to point out that it isn’t necessarily about suppression or denial but rather asking the self if it’s something that’s actually needed. It’s about setting yourself up for success with intention and a more meaningful approach.
Do you find yourself struggling with this? What are some methods you use to help you stay on track and avoid temptation?
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Whew, It’s Over!
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During the week of November 23, we wrote about how we were going to look into options for cost-saving measures. One of those measures was to analyze any balance transfers that may have been available to us. One of this balance transfers ended up being a very good offer, 0% interest for 18 months with a 3% transfer fee. It was time to take a couple small balances and one larger balance and combine them into what will be one card payment using this balance transfer offer.
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Avoiding Temptation
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Something that stands out lately are the number of outlets competing for one’s time, attention, and especially our hard earned money. I don’t know about you, but it can be exhausting dodging solicitations and avoiding temptation left and right, especially around the holidays! It seems I can’t make a move without a text, email, phone call, commercial, mailer, advertisement, etc. attempting to draw me in on the next latest, greatest thing I supposedly ‘need’ to buy. Ah, consumerism.
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End Of Year Finance Check
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If it wasn't so cold out right now, we might not believe that the end of the year is fast approaching, but alas – it is! With that, we have been starting to crunch our numbers and see if we met our savings and debt payoff goals for this year and are starting to make some savings goals for next year. To assist with this, we have also started looking at what are current expenses are, current loan and credit card rates and seeing where we might be able to cut additional costs by either canceling services, negotiating costs and/or switching companies.
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Exploring Our Options
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Initially, we weren’t sure exactly what to write about for this week’s blog post. However, the subject came to us this past weekend as we were reviewing certain aspects of our finances. We both have credit card debt we are working on paying off and recently made sizable progress towards that goal. However, we’ve noticed that our low interest credit cards have recently experienced additional hikes in their APRs (and appear to continue climbing). For example, one credit card has now climbed to from 9.9% to 15.85% due to varying APR with the market based on the Prime Rate.
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Winter Is Coming
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I don't know about you, but I, Krystal, grew up in a pretty cold house during winter. We lived in a rural-ish area where natural gas did not run, thus propane was our main heating source, until my father installed a wood stove when I was late middle-school age. Nevertheless, the heat in our house was turned down low (better for breathing we were always told, too!) while we slept and were away at work or school.
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Unexpected House-related Costs
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