SHOPPING TEMPTATIONS Managing Our Needs and Wants

Transcription

1 SHOPPING TEMPTATIONS Managing Our Needs and Wants Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. (2 Nephi 9:51) Learning to handle the money we earn is one of the challenges of living in modern times. By following some practical advice we can beat those shopping temptations!

2 Needs Before Wants Learn to live with less. Learn to shun envy. Appreciate what you have. Sometimes when we have less, we can appreciate what we do have more.! Give Pay tithing and fast offerings, and donate usable household items to charity or to a needy family. When we fill the needs of others, our own needs are often met. After seeing what others lack, we realize that we no longer need certain things.! Make a list of your wants and needs Set priorities for the items on each list. Decide what you need to make you comfortable. Learn to distinguish between your wants and your needs. Don t be so strict that you take all the fun out of life. Everyone should have a few things that they just love, even if they are not practical. Try and develop less expensive tastes!! Live on less than you earn Many people think the key to having more money is making more money. But more often than not, the more money they make, the more they spend. You ll save more by spending less, and that takes discipline. We must not allow our yearnings to exceed our earnings. (President Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Nov. 2002, p.54.) The amazing thing is that once you learn to live on less, it becomes a habit. The peace of mind that comes from relying less on materialism to define success usually leads to a greater and deeper happiness.! Thank the Lord Acknowledge the Lord in all things. This can help you appreciate all the wonderful things God has given you and make your life more joyful!

3 Save for a Rainy Day It must needs be necessary that ye save all the money that ye can and that ye obtain all that ye can in righteousness... (D&C 48:4) Have a plan! Here are 9 money management laws that can help you assess your financial situation and plan for the future.! Law 1: Pay an honest tithing - Though counsel to increase your spending may seem unusual, there is no single action that will help you more than paying a full tithe. It opens the windows of Heaven.(Malachi 3:10) In addition to following the spiritual law of obedience, paying tithing has three practical benefits: 1) it makes us account for our money; 2) it teaches us to sacrifice, making us more discretionary consumers; and 3) it makes us better planners.! Law 2: Budget - Every family should have three budgets: monthly, yearly, and long-range. Long-range budgets are for planning major purchases such as those of homes, cars, and major appliances. Longrange budgets are also valuable for financing missions, education, and to pay for marriages of children, for example. Shorter-term budgets provide guidelines for everyday expenditures.! Law 3: Save some money every month and invest it wisely - The person that consumes all of his earnings without saving for the future is like a farmer who eats his seed corn. Without assets to plant, nothing will grow. A savings plan that is started early and added to consistently will accumulate to sizable amounts in the future.! Law 4: Decrease expectations - With the availability of credit it becomes easy to think that you can and must have every convenience. Two common rationalizations used to justify excessive spending are if I don t buy it today, I won t ever be able to afford it, and my neighbor has it, so I need it too. Both of these untrue justifications, if heeded, can easily lead us into financial bondage.! Law 5: Stay free from debt - From the early days of the Church, leaders have counseled us to stay free from debt, except for homes, education, and other vital investment. To the extent possible, it is wise to purchase furniture, cars, and personal things with cash. Once you are in debt, interest is your constant and unwelcome companion; it never rests, not even on Sundays and holidays.

4 ! Law 6: Become knowledgeable consumers - We often spend our hard earned cash for things we don t really need or we may pay too much for those things that we do need. After looking at where your money goes, work to improve your spending habits. You can save money by gaining expertise. Most families spend percent of their income in three or four basic areas. If those four areas are food, taxes, insurance, and transportation, for example, learn more about each area and the things you can do to cut costs.! Law 7: Teach family members the importance of work and managing money Children are often encouraged to take music lessons, swim lessons and to learn sports skills. Yet they are rarely taught money management. Children need to understand the financial pressures on a family. They need to know why they can t have everything they want. Also they can be taught to turn off the lights, to earn at least part of the money they use for purchases, and to save for mission and school.! Law 8: Have a will - No matter what your financial situation, have a current will that specifies both how you want your assets distributed and who will be the guardian for your children. In many countries, the courts decide who should raise a couple s children if both parents die without leaving a will. Also estate proceedings can take a long time and can be expensive without the guidance of a will.! Law 9: Keep money in perspective - While money management is important, it is not an end in itself. How we use our money must be based on the more important goal of seeking the Kingdom of God. Satan uses money to twist our values. Through money he changes our perspective from serving God to accumulating wealth and serving self. Through money he warps our thinking so that we believe our wants are really needs. (Adapted from Steve Albrecht, a certified public accountant and professor of accounting at BYU)

5 Stick To Your List The cashier hands you the receipt for your grocery purchases. As she wishes you a good day, all you hear is your mind screaming, What did I buy? There aren t nearly enough items in my cart to have paid as much as I just did. Is it because you didn t have a strategy? Here are some tips to help you make a shopping plan and stick to your list.! Plan ahead - Meals should be planned 1-2 weeks out, down to the specific ingredients. If you don t do this, you are likely to shop more often and in doing so, more likely to pick up extra things not needed.! If you have kids, leave them at home - This isn t always possible, but when you can, do it! Kids, as wonderful as they are, can be a huge distraction. Children are also good at getting you to add things to your bill that you weren t planning on. If you end up having to take them with you, make sure that you explain to them before you go that you are only getting the things on the list. You can even tell them what those things are and put them to work. Children usually love to help and you can have them looking for specific items or putting items in the cart for you.! Eat first - Never go shopping when you are hungry! Your empty stomach will have you putting all sorts of extra things in your cart. If you need to, put a small snack like a granola bar in your purse in case you get the munchies.! Take what you need - It is awful to get to the checkout and realize you have forgotten your coupons. While you are in the car, make sure you have your list, coupons, store discount card, calculator and of course, your wallet.! Know your location - Pay attention when you are grocery shopping and memorize where things are. That way, you can go, get it, and be done. Avoid aisles that you don t need anything from. Just don t even go there!! Rain check please - Sometimes there are things you plan on buying on sale, but when you arrive they are all sold out. Since you made the trip, go to the customer service desk and ask for a rain check. Unless they ve stipulated while supplies last you can take advantage of the sale the next time you come to shop. Keep your eyes on the register - Make sure that all items come up at the correct prices and quantities. Some stores offer an item free of charge if it scans at the wrong price.

6 ! Don t treat shopping as a past time - Get into the shop and out without being distracted by other unrelated retail outlets. Avoid the malls. Window-shopping will only tempt you to buy the latest item you don t need. Stop looking and you will find more time to enjoy what you like. Take a hike or go on a picnic and enjoy nature. It s priceless! (Adapted from ehow article Tax Time )

7 Delay Gratification Don t sacrifice what you want most, for what you want at the moment. You can delay gratification by...! Mandatory holding pattern - Before you buy something, stop. Add it to a list and let it sit for three days. Then, revisit the list. It is amazing how some things you absolutely had to have can hold almost no interest to you after three days!! Multi-week buying freeze - This idea is to see how long you can go without spending any money beyond necessities. In a crazy way, this can be fun! See how few transactions you can have in a 30-day period.! Track your spending - Many get sick of hearing the same old thing, but the reality is that avoiding the same silly behavior is quite simple: you need to measure and track what you spend. Simple but not always easy. Things that get measured almost always improve!! Put a price tag on your goals - Do you have any idea how much it will cost you to send your child to college? How important is that to you? Is it more important than the plasma television today? These ideas are nothing new, but they do take some hard-nosed discipline. Are you up to the challenge? (New York Times. Dec. 13, Four ways to stop gorging on gratification. )

8 Waste Not Want Not Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without! This means saving rather than spending, repairing rather than replacing, using rather than wasting, recycling instead of throwing out, and borrowing rather than buying. Wouldn t our lives be that much better if we followed this wise advice?! Use it up eat your leftovers or make another meal using them. Use up the food in your pantry. Don t open another bottle of lotion or shampoo until the half-empty bottles get used. Don t throw away things that can get fixed or mended. Go shopping out of your craft stash the next time you feel inspired to start a project. Don t buy anything you already have enough of.! Repurpose Make what s old new again. If for every piece of furniture that you threw out because it broke or you just got tired of its look, you could put it towards another purpose in your house, would you? Repurposing furniture and other decorative household items can save you money and save landfills from filling unnecessarily. Repurposing can mean you find the product a new use, or you take the same product and revamp it to beautify it and use it again.! Purchase used items Often we can buy items from thrift stores, yard sales and local classified sites for a fraction of the original cost. Just remember to have a plan and keep an eye out for what you need in order to avoid wasting precious time. Remember: It s not a sale if you don t need it!