SevenTheTerrible , Norman Tolba / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
He warned us of the fact that the benefit of emotional spending is usually short-lived. “Stuff purchased online or in a store quells our emotions—only temporarily. Once eaten, the dessert is gone forever.”
xilata , Liza Summer / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
tummyache-champion , Snack Toronto / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
“In my own experience, the key to limiting emotional spending is to replace the addiction with something else—ideally less expensive. For example, when I quit smoking, I took up house cleaning, starting with my own home. After a few weeks, I had the cleanest apartment in my complex,” the expert opened up to Bored Panda.
JuiceGirl300 , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
zippyboy , Alex Koch / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
verltodd , TranStudios Photography & Video / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
“Anything one can do to limit their spending will go a long way towards improving their own mental health, relationships with others, and hopefully their bank accounts.”
Probably nobody is completely immune to making silly purchases or buyer’s remorse. That sort of thing can happen to anyone, whether they’re living from paycheck to paycheck or they have lots of savings and a history of fiscal responsibility.
Not all bad purchases are equally dumb, though. It’s one thing to buy a candy bar and instantly regret it because you’re supposed to be eating healthier and spending less on random snacks. It’s an entirely different ball game to go all-in on a hyped-up gadget, appliance, car, house, or major investment while riding a wave of intense emotions. The burst of impulsiveness behind both decisions can be similar, but the consequences are going to be vastly different for your wallet.
Sea-Air-3193 , Caleb Oquendo / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
FulaniLovinCriminal , Bruno Scramgnon / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
MegawackyMax , Alexander Kovalev / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
The second kind of remorse comes much later when you’re reviewing and analyzing your life decisions. Hindsight is both an ally and an enemy. It can help us learn hard lessons about our behavior so that we can shore up our weaknesses and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. On the flip side, though, the guilt you feel might not always be warranted.
It’s very easy to look back on your life and judge yourself for being so rash/dumb/whatever. You assume that if you could redo everything, you’d make better decisions. The caveat is that you can only make those better decisions with the extra information you have now. Namely, about how you could have saved more, invested smarter, chased better employment opportunities, and been more frugal.
But back then, in the past, you were making the best decisions that you could with the information that you had. Not to mention that your choices largely depend on your character, personality, and values. Being more aggressive/frugal with money might have made sense at that particular period in your life.
PedalMonk , Dmitry Demidov / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
thatcompguyza , William Choquette / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
ActuallyTBH , Peter Fazekas / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Yes, it’s a good idea to have an emergency fund to last you half a year or more. It’s smart to save or invest a large portion of your paycheck. It’s admirable to take the time to research products and think about their impact before buying something.
That said, there’s nothing horrid about having a budget for your ‘wants’ as well, not just to cover your ‘needs.’ It’s all right to have fun and enjoy life, whether that’s going to the cinema, traveling abroad, eating steaks with your friends, or buying art supplies. Life is meant to be lived! That, inevitably, means spending some of your cash on experiences and things that might not look rational on a spreadsheet.
Dolphin_Princess , Eliézer Fernandes / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
skulloflugosi , 20th Century Studios Report
Wishilikedhugs , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
What is the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made that you regretted a ton, dear Pandas? How did you deal with buyer’s remorse? On the other hand, have there been any purchases that you were on the fence about buying that ended up being very useful or enjoyable? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
Missus_Aitch_99 , Ron Lach / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
sasa_shadowed , Emrah AYVALI / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Commercial-Novel-786 , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Dee_Breeze , Mstudio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Morpheus_Roland_Sam , jovan curayag / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
ZeldaTheOuchMouse , José María Mateos / flickr (not the actual photo) Report
scienceforbid , Beata Dudová / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Stormraughtz , Robert / flickr (not the actual photo) Report
Nocturnal_poop , Caleb Oquendo / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
MrsJaneEmma , Vickie Intili / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
ThinkingMonkey69 , Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
Iriscze , The Lazy Artist Gallery / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
PotCounts , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report
AssumptionAdvanced58 , Angie Six / flickr (not the actual photo) Report
TopBound3x5 , Mike Mozart / flickr (not the actual photo) Report
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