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StitcherYou swore you’d stick to the budget and only spend a little but for some reason ended up spending much more than you expect? Some sneaky habits might be leading you there without you even realizing it. In this episode, Jen and Jill revisits what’s triggering these overspending traps and how to break free from them.
Motivation can't be the thing that we're waiting on to just happen.
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Check out some relevant episodes
3 Habits That Actually Cause You to Spend More Money, According to a Behavioral Researcher
This article by CNBC cites findings about the habits and behavioral research that identifies the causes for one to spend money.
What Jen + Jill have to say:
According to Mariel Beasly, 3 habits lead us to spend more money. Firstly, we rely on our willpower to restrict spending. Jill has said before that motivation ebbs and flows, and it isn’t something you wait to befall us. Willpower may wear down over time and isn’t always effective. Keeping up with whoever you follow “successfully” on Instagram can also heavily influence your spending habits.
When our willpower is depleted, it makes it even harder to focus on the long-term benefit of what we may be doing to achieve our goals. Jen reminds us that it isn’t bad to focus on immediate satisfaction, but not do it for every decision we make. These three reasons are important to assess because we only have finite willpower, so we want our habits to be intentional and opt for growth, not limit you.
How to Break a Bad Habit and Replace It With a Good One
Jen LOVES this article by James Clear that describes a ‘bad habit,’ identifies its causes, and shares how to break or replace them in a better one.
What Jen + Jill have to say:
Habits are difficult to eliminate, so replace them instead of completely removing them. There could be plenty of causes for our bad habits, one of which is boredom–in the sense of not being intentional. Jen describes this when our minds always take fewer obstacles instead of leaping. Try cutting out as many triggers as possible by ignoring them as much as possible and choosing a substitute for them. If you are surrounded by people who encourage you to reframe your mindset to a better angle, then it will affect your decisions positively.
You can always join forces with someone, says Jill. Sharing your goals and challenges with someone can be a powerful motivator to stay on track with your goals. Visualizing yourself succeeding and not needing to become someone else are stepping stones to interrupting the negativity you may be surrounding yourself with. Not succeeding in a way you thought you wouldn’t succeed is not failure; whatever habit you’re working on, you’ll work on it for at least 3-6 months. Plan not to be perfect; do not succeed in the way you think you should be.
What's a recent habit you had to replace and how did you do it?
Jill replaced her end-of-workday drink habit with fun teas and refreshing lemon water, incorporating walks she finds refreshing and a treat for herself.
Meanwhile, Jen broke her habit of eating waffles for breakfast every morning for six weeks and replaced them with egg cups and breakfast burritos, positively changing her morning routine.
Bill of The Week
Thank you Katie for sharing your bill about eggs! AND negotiating your egg purchase to $1.49!
Thanks so Much for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening. We love love love reading your kind reviews of our book Buy What You Love Without Going Broke and we especially loved this one from:
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This Book Is For You
Buy What You Love Without Going Broke is the ultimate guide to help you figure out a system for your spending and finances that works for you! The method that Jen and Jill lay out in this book is so versatile. It's a budget guide for those who love budgeting. It's a how to guide for managing spending for those who hate budgeting. It's for folks making minimum wage and folks making six figures. It's for high school students with their first job and retirees. It's for single households and parents with six children. Whatever your life or financial situation, this book will help you figure out how to buy what you love, without going broke.
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