Extravagant lifestyle

7 Ways to Overcome a Wasteful Lifestyle and Avoid Debt

Joselyn Gomulya
Joselyn Gomulya
May 16, 2024
7 Ways to Overcome a Wasteful Lifestyle and Avoid Debt

It's the middle of the month; don't waste it. Want to live more frugally and avoid waste? Here are seven ways to curb consumerist behaviour and increase your savings.

Before proceeding, ensure you understand what constitutes wasteful behaviour, its impact, and how to overcome it.

What Do You Mean By Wasteful?

Wasteful or extravagance refers to the act, behaviour, and attitude of excessively spending money, even going beyond one's means. A person is considered wasteful or consumptive when they consistently exceed their budget without considering the future consequences.

Tackling wasteful behaviour can be challenging for some, especially those with consumptive tendencies.

Even so, it does not mean that excessive, wasteful, or consumptive spending habits cannot be corrected. Before figuring out how to make life less wasteful and more frugal, you can first notice whether you are really wasteful.

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Causes of Extravagance and Why It Occurs

Hasty financial decisions may lead to extravagant spending due to temptation from special offers such as discounts, sales, or buy one get one free deal. Here are the causes of wasteful behaviour:

  1. Consumer habits of purchasing unnecessary luxury items
  2. Insufficient understanding of financial management and budgeting
  3. Venting anxiety, frustration, or stress through shopping
  4. Acting impulsively can lead to decreased self-control
  5. Easily tempted by discounts, promos, cashback, flash sale, midnight-sale, and payday sale

In addition to the causes of such wasteful behaviour, wastefulness can occur due to social pressure to seek recognition and praise from others.

Examples of Extravagant Behavior

One example of wasteful behaviour is excessive spending, which can lead to increased expenditures outside the financial plan due to impulsivity.

In addition to excessive spending, here are other examples of wasteful behaviour in finance that you should pay attention to:

  1. Don't have a monthly budget or savings target
  2. Rarely consider the benefits and value when buying something
  3. Frequently purchase goods and services outside my financial plan and overuse credit cards
  4. Difficult for me to control debt, and I don't have any savings
  5. Find it challenging to implement delayed gratification and frequently shop for unnecessary luxury items
  6. Lazy to compare prices before making a transaction
  7. Often dispose of food or objects that can still be used

In addition to the above, it is important to avoid wasteful habits such as frequent dining at expensive restaurants, spending time in cafes, and accumulating multiple items for a hobby solely for attention-seeking purposes.

If you subscribe to a service but don't use it, unsubscribe immediately. A wasteful lifestyle is harmful.

The Negative Effects and Impacts of a Wasteful Lifestyle

Who would have thought that extravagant lifestyles impact many aspects of life, including finance, health, society, and self-development? The negative effects of a consumerist lifestyle are evident in the following:

  1. Various Financial Problems Emerge

Excessive spending can make it challenging to meet daily needs and save for the future, often leading to unmanageable debt.

If you want to know how to pay debts quickly when you don't have money, you can follow these tips here.

  1. Triggering Health Problems

You are in a significant amount of debt and are unsure about how to pay it off. This situation is causing you a lot of anxiety, making it difficult for you to sleep and increasing your stress levels, which is having a negative impact on your mental health.

  1. Difficult to Break the Debt Cycle

Financing life's essentials through debt creates a damaging cycle to break. It results in being trapped in debt, paying high interest, and dealing with debt collectors.

  1. Conflict in Social Relationships

Financial issues arising from agreements between specific parties often lead to conflicts in personal relationships such as those between spouses, family members, and friends.

  1. Credit Card Addiction

Excessive spending can lead to the use of credit cards and loans. Like debt, the high amount of credit card loans that must be paid can cause you difficulty paying them off.

Excessive shopping can disrupt a person's life balance and hinder long-term financial goals by reducing quality of life.

So that you can be more frugal, save enough money, have more options for the future, and learn ways to live more economically!

7 Ways to Overcome a Wasteful Lifestyle

Calm down, there's no need to panic because you can manage your spending behavior. By following these seven tips, you can resist the urge to overspend and live more frugally!

  1. Consider the Goods Secondo or Pre-Loved

If you're looking for quality products at affordable prices, consider buying second-hand or pre-loved goods. Second-hand items are not only more affordable but also of good quality and durable.

  1. Creating a Gradual Financial Budget

If you usually create a monthly budget, consider transitioning from weekly to monthly to annual gradually. You can utilize FINETIKS financial management application to simplify the budgeting process.

Download FINETIKS application for FREE at Google Play or App Store.

  1. Pay and Pay Bills on Time

If you have regular monthly bills, make sure to pay them before using the funds for other needs. Need help remembering? Try FINETIKS, which provides bill payment reminders!

  1. Set Shopping Priorities

Prioritize essential needs over entertainment spending. Set specific budgets for dining out, clothing, and entertainment, and strive to stay within them.

  1. Consider Credit Cards and Pay Later

Limit your credit card usage to avoid unnecessary spending. Reserve pay later for emergencies only to prevent it from becoming a habit with negative consequences.

  1. Take Control of Your Impulsiveness

When you come across a discount, take a moment to consider if you really need the item. Allow yourself some time to contemplate and make a thoughtful decision.

  1. Routine Financial Audits

Conduct regular financial audits to live more frugally. Evaluate expenses and reduce excessive transactions in certain areas.

In addition to the seven ways to cope with the lifestyle mentioned above, always set aside the money you receive and save for the future. Remember to embrace a minimalist lifestyle, including frugal living.

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