Author: Steven Lome

Understanding Spending Makes it Easier to Save More Spending and savings are opposites sides of the coin. The more you spend, the less you can save.  We spend to buy the things we need: food, clothes, shelter, transportation, education, communications. But most of us spend far beyond life’s basic necessities. We buy everything under the sun, whether we need it or not. We even buy things we don’t want. We spend for five basic reasons: We buy the things we need to live. We buy the thing we want. We shop to pass time with our friends and have fun. We shop to relieve stress. We buy to impress others and to bolster our self-esteem by associating with cool lifestyle brands. When shopping is your preferred form of recreation, therapy, or esteem building, it’s easy to spend too much. Although you may shop for pleasure, overspending almost always has a contrary effect, especially when the credit card bill arrives. News Flash: You’d don’t have to spend a lot of money to realize the recreational and therapeutic benefits of a trip to the mall. The rewards can be inexpensive or even free. You can socialize with friends over a cup of coffee and satisfy your shopping urge without emptying your wallet. As a matter of fact, you’ll derive more pleasure from several small splurges than buying a fancy espresso machine...