It is very worrisome that at this point, a lot of people buy things that they do not need, maybe just to impress the people who may not even take notice of them. It is not surprising that a lot of them end up being financially challenged at some points in their lives or even go broke. This is the reason that one needs to take careful consideration of their spendings and find out if they will hold any value even for long-term. Of course, your spendings should not only be based on some temporary wants, but on long-term needs. By taking this consideration, one can guard against impulse spending, which may have some negative financial consequences.
One of the fundamental aspects of mindful spending is the ability to be aware of where your money is going into - that is, what you spend on, on things that positively affect your life and holds value. You do not just focus on your wants and spends on things that add very little to you at the expense of your needs. No matter how much you make, without wisdom of spending, you can blow all of them at once. You have to understand that as long as you are alive, you will obviously have "wants" which are insatiable, but it is your responsibility to be able to separate them from your needs and focus on the needs first.
If you leave what you need; the fundamentals of life, and focus on your wants, a point may come when you will have to sell what you need in order to be able to survive. Think about it. If you cannot afford a particular lifestyle, or a product, there is nothing mandating you to force yourself into buying it. One of the things that people should understand about spending is to "spend what you can afford, and live a life that is within you means." This era has seen a lot of people being active on social media platforms. There, people show us very expensive and lavish lifestyle, and it may want to make you to stretch over your limits just to buy what you cannot afford or to feel belonged.
The truth is that if you go broke when trying to afford an expensive lifestyle that is beyond your limit, you will discover that you are alone. You have to know your financial strength and the size or your pocket per time, so that you will not put yourself into unnecessary financial stress. You have to understand that everything is not meant for you, at least not at the moment. If you cannot afford something now, do not feel "worked out" over it, look for something else you can afford. It does not mean that, in the future, you will not afford such things and even beyond them. When you understand your financial ability, it will determine your spendings.
Another aspect of mindful spending that we will talk about is favouring quality over quantity (or cheapness). There was a time I discovered that there was a particular tool in the office that normally gets spoilt and was being bought over and again. When I took a look at the one they normally bought, I discovered that it was a very substandard quality. It was very cheap, so it made it easier to be bought. But the high quality one goes for almost 4 times the price of the one that was bought. However, in a space of 1 month, more than 5 of the tool had already been bought and they kept spoiling. When we decided to go for the high quality one, even though it was costlier, but it served for more than 1 year without having any fault.
There are sometimes that people may just sacrifice quality for quantity and end up spending more than they would have spent if they had considered quality. It is not in everything that you will cut cost. Trust me, there are some costs that you will cut and you will end up incurring more cost. Know when to spend on things that will last for you, not what will open you up to unnecessary expenses.
One should also try to spend on maintenance rather than wait to spend on repairs when things have gone bad. The little you spend to maintain a thing may prevent you from spending much to repair or replace it. This also holds validity in the area of health. Spending little on routine checkup may prevent you from spending heavily on treatment if the body breaks down. So learn to spend wisely.
Thanks for reading
