{"id":6940,"date":"2024-11-30T14:24:22","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T12:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/?p=6940"},"modified":"2025-04-22T16:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T14:07:50","slug":"emotional-spender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/useful\/articles\/emotional-spender\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you an emotional spender?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"6940\" class=\"elementor elementor-6940\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-283f84a8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"283f84a8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-34bd6f6e elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"34bd6f6e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\"><nav aria-label=\"breadcrumbs\" class=\"rank-math-breadcrumb\"><p><\/p><\/nav><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44e242dd e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"44e242dd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7911fc6e ddddf e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7911fc6e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b97a7fe elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3b97a7fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Are you an emotional spender?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3a5d2c71 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3a5d2c71\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6bf0a1e0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6bf0a1e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-18133\" alt=\"emotional spender\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ff1d5bf e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6ff1d5bf\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b9122cf elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2b9122cf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">However good you are at managing your money, your emotions can urge you to make unnecessary purchases. Are you an emotional spender.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-62a4cbbd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"62a4cbbd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However good you are at managing your money, your emotions can urge you to make financial decisions that could cost you a small fortune.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emotional spending occurs when we spend more money on something because we feel bored, lonely, worried or perhaps because we feel like celebrating a life event like getting a new job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unless you are a cold-hearted machine, keeping your emotions in check when considering your spending decisions is impossible. However, the good news is there are numerous ways you can take advantage of to ensure they don\u2019t inhibit you in accomplishing your long-term financial goals, like getting on the property ladder, <a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/insurance\/life-insurance\/\">saving for retirement<\/a>, or clearing existing <a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/money\/credit-cards\/\">debt<\/a> levels.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering this whopping amount, MoneyHub has examined the different emotions that can impact your buying decisions, how to recognise your triggers and some of the methods you can use to manage them.<\/span><\/p><h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emotions that can affect your spending\u00a0<\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several different emotions can make you overspend. The important ones are, although not an exclusive list:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loneliness \u2013 many turn to shopping when they suffer loneliness or sadness to cheer themselves up.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boredom \u2013 often leads to impulse purchases, with many browsing online websites or hitting the high street to entertain themselves by spending money.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stress \u2013 if we feel anxious or particularly worried about something, buying a purchase aids us in feeling better because we feel like we are in control of an aspect of our lives. Sadly, overspending often leads to more stress caused.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jealousy \u2013 envy is one of the worst feelings that spurs us to spend when we don\u2019t need something. Envy over our friends and peers having some new clothes, accessories, or holidays will urge us to compete and attempt to do the same, or worse, spend more to seem even \u2018better.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Happiness \u2013 Positive emotions also trigger us to spend when we have a reason to be happy as a reward for obtaining that happiness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excitement \u2013 All new things are exciting, including <a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/household\/travel\/\">booking a holiday<\/a>, tickets to a gig, a new handbag, or a tech gadget. This feeling of excitement compels us to spend.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emotional spending and its impact<\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While emotional spending will provide you with an instant sense of gratification, thus making you feel positive at that precise moment, the long-term outcomes can be dire, mainly if you\u2019re relying on credit to fund your purchases.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emotional spending is very similar to emotional eating. We are all acutely aware that cakes, chocolate, and crisps are bad for our diets, yet we still eat them regardless because they provide the immediate comfort we are craving. However, overeating will increase body weight, making it harder to shift the pounds and kilos later.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, overspending is precisely the same. If you frequently over-spend because you let your emotions improve, repaying what you owe will take a long time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you have not used your credit cards to pay for the purchases, it does not matter. Spending all of your disposable income each month will eat away at any financial goals you seek to achieve &#8211; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/news\/manage-personal-debt\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">clearing existing debt<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/news\/save-mortgage-payments\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">saving for a deposit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for a first-time buy, or that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/news\/special-reports\/booking-holiday-guide\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">summer holiday<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify what triggers your spending<\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To combat emotional spending, you must determine the triggers that cause you to spend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carefully consider all the times you have overspent recently. Did this occur after a life event like a pay rise or a job loss? Did you embark on a spending spree to celebrate or commiserate?\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alternatively, did you see your friend\u2019s new jacket on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/news\/social-media-causing-debt\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social media, namely Instagram<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, then felt envious and decided to go on a clothes shopping spree to compete?\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you cannot locate what urges you to spend frivolously, attempt to record a simple \u2018spending diary\u2019 in which you note how much you spent and what and how you felt at that time.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing your triggers and the feelings that produce them will help you avoid further emotional spending.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Control your emotional spending<\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, the next time you feel prompted to spend your disposable income, ask yourself the following five questions:\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do I feel?<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why am I buying this?<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do I actually need it?\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can it wait for another time? (If it can, then maybe you don\u2019t actually need it)<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How will I pay for it?\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you can pause for a moment and answer these questions, they will aid you in establishing whether you really must purchase something or whether it is only an impulse purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also worth noting other ways to react to your emotions rather than spending. For example, exercise instead of heading to your wallet if you are feeling particularly stressed. Getting out and being active is a wonderful way to relieve stress and in the process, stop you from spending money you probably do not have.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another good distraction is reading &#8211; keep a good book to hand and reach for it whenever you feel compelled to spend. If reading is not your cup of tea, consider another hobby to distract you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, if you\u2019re still struggling, talk to a trusted friend and call them whenever you feel tempted. Having someone you trust politely remind you of the impact of splashing out can have on your monthly budget is often a welcome shock you need to jolt you back into reality.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Final thoughts on emotional spending<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Awareness of what triggers your emotional spending and how you can distance yourself from acting on it can make a massive difference in how you feel about managing your money.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather than letting your spending urges control you, you can empower yourself to use your money wisely and achieve the financial goals you have set for yourself, no matter what they are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you control emotional spending?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you have any tips to share with the MoneyHub community?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let me know below.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>However good you are at managing your money, your emotions can urge you to make unnecessary purchases. Are you an emotional spender? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-useful"],"acf":[],"blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"full":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false]},"categories_names":{"21":{"name":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/category\/useful\/articles\/"},"20":{"name":"Useful Info","link":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/category\/useful\/"}},"tags_names":[],"comments_number":"0","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"large":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/refined-hispanic-female-model-with-long-hair-laughing-looking-away-walking-street-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"David Bailey","author_link":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/author\/davidbailey\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/category\/useful\/articles\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Articles<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/category\/useful\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Useful Info<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"However good you are at managing your money, your emotions can urge you to make unnecessary purchases. Are you an emotional spender?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyhub.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}