https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbYi_LRfbPo
Are you addicted to shopping? Do you shop for comfort when you’re feeling depressed? I want to help you break free from this addiction and habit of financial suicide.
First, let me be clear. You’re not the only one who has shopper’s syndrome.
For example, the average person in credit card debt owes over $16,000 and the total credit card debt owed by US consumers is $764 billion!
That’s a whole lot of people swiping a card that they can’t afford to given their financial situation. It’s a shame, it truly is, but this is reality as much as the fact that people love to get their shopping on is one.
Lots of people are in financial trouble and one of the main culprits is too much shopping.
But the best way to make progress and change your habit is to first understand how damaging it is to your financial life to spend money on overpriced, unnecessary clothes.
You need to first know what you don’t know, so you gain a reason to make better money decisions. That’s how you’re going to save yourself from this money nightmare.
This is key because I actually go as far as to say it’s financial suicide to spend money on clothes when you’re not financially secure. Financial suicide!
So to save yourself from yourself, let’s dive into why I’m right about this strong anti-shopping language.
Unnecessary Shopping Is Financial Suicide
I’ll present the case for why excessive shopping robs you of a solid financial future with point by point.
First, buying clothes doesn’t pay you money. That means it’s a total liability and not an asset.
Continuing to put your money in liabilities will make others richer and you poorer, that’s a bad game where the math will always work against you.
Second, these clothes (and other material items) will most likely depreciate in value until they’re worth $0. Just like a car, good luck trying to get your money back or even a quarter of your money on a 20-year-old shirt—but a 20-year-old investment in an index fund would have double multiple times over.
Third, you’ll always have to work if you spend all of your left over money from your paycheck on new clothes. You’ll have to stay employed to afford your shopping addiction and to pay the rest of your bills since you’re not making progress by saving.
And there’s 0% of an early retirement since all of your extra money is in apparel.
Fourth, and this is part financial and part well-being, relying on spending money shopping to fill an emotional void is also not healthy.
Shopping is only a short-term fix and crutch, but not solving the root issue of why you’re feeling down and how to truly feel happier.
Buying new things is a unfulfilling outlet when you’re in a personal storm, but it tricks you to think this outlet works.
And fifth, the more you spend on material items means the less you can invest to build a net worth of $1,000,000 or more dollars. The odds of you reaching that type of net worth are 0% if you don’t get your money to work for you through investing.
Simply put, your spending habit will rob you of your future wealth.
So you can soak how detrimental over shopping is, I created a scenario of two different shoppers and their financial situation.
Shopping Samantha
Age = 25 years old
Monthly income = $3,000
Monthly shopping bill = $600
Monthly credit card interest = $97
Monthly investing = $0
Future net worth at age 65 = $150,000Saving Sarah
Age = 25 years old
Monthly income = $3,000
Monthly shopping bill = $100
Monthly credit card interest = $0
Monthly investing = $500
Future net worth at age 65 = $1,500,000
Realize I didn’t cut Saving Sarah’s shopping to $0 to live like a monk in Siberia. She has $100 to shop a month, which is $500 less than Shopping Samantha.
Though the difference in net worth thanks to compound interest is $1.35 million (Sarah’s $1.5 million minus Samantha’s $150,000 net worth). This $1.5 million estimate is extremely conservative too, most likely this number would be even higher for Sarah.
Who is going to have all the fun over time? Sarah.
That’s why investing is the best place to put your hard-earned money. For example, investing her $500 a month and $6,000 a year is the sole reason Saving Sarah reaches a $1.5 million dollar net worth in this example.
But investing is not the only smart area to send your hard-earned money to. Off the top of my head I could name 30 better areas than shopping, and probably list 100 ideas given enough time.
Let’s see the other areas to use the extra money you save from shopping less to improve your standard of living.
Put Your Money To Better Use
While putting your money into a trendy outfit is tempting, I want to focus on the best areas to put your money.
You’ll be happier and less stressed if you utilize your money to:
- Pay off student loan or credit card debt
- Save for retirement
- Save for emergencies, vacations, or flights
- Invest in the stock market
- Buy a rental property
- Even bless a church, charity, or nonprofit
Guess what? Your net worth goes up in all of these scenarios above. And it will continue to escalate over time when you use your money wisely.
Although it shouldn’t be the focus, even giving to charity is tax deductible and will lighten your tax bill or add to your refund check. Plus you will internally feel rich knowing you blessed others—that’s what life’s all about, not material items.
The point is your entire world changes when you choose to spend your money not on clothes or material items, but on freedom.
And I firmly believe this quote holds true when it comes to your freedom and your money:
How can you help, if you can’t help yourself?
It nails this idea on the head. Take care of your financial position so you can better love on the people around you and yourself.
In other words and applying this idea back to the message of this blog post: The less money you spend on overpriced clothes is the more money you have available to gift to your future self or others.
Don’t underestimate the power of this extra money. It can 100% change others’ lives and yours!
Final Words
Do you want to impress others with your lavish clothes or sleep well at night?
Do you want to make the people around you envy you or do you want to bless them?
Do you want to look rich or be rich?
More than 99% of people can’t pull off both. So when you’re forced to look rich or be rich, please listen to me and choose to be rich.
The way you do this all starts with the right mindset. Then you take positive financial steps to pay down debt or invest to build your retirement nest egg. And then you stick to smart money management, increase your income, and stay the course.
When you remain patient, there’s no question you’re going to be in a killer financial position as you age with plenty of money to spend having fun and shopping.
But if you first spend your money shopping, there won’t be any money left to grow your bank account.
Get your money right by buying assets, not Louis Vuitton dresses.
