You can’t buy happiness

How often have you bought an item because it was on sale, not because you really needed it? I think many people would admit they buy clothes (especially shoes) they never wear, and kitchen equipment that lies in the cupboards gathering dust. How many of us have a heap of DVDs lying around that we’ve never watched?

So why do we do it? The simple answer is that we are conned into believing it will make us feel better. Many of us don’t need that special deal or discount offer. We are at a stage where we have most things we need, a home, car, aptly clothed, fed and entertained, and of course, the plasma. (Remember the TV ad where the young lady says, ‘I can’t live without my Mum’ ? It’s now, ‘I can’t live without my plasma’).

But shops (is the word “shop” still in circulation?) and big department stores are there to make profits, and the only way to do that is persuade us we need more. Businesses can’t just shut up shop because you have ten shirts or ten dresses, or two plasmas already. So they keep bringing out new stuff and promising us that it will somehow improve our lives, and we fall for it. The main offender is Harvey Norman who has that man (who I’d love to throttle) with the annoying voice on TV telling us why we need to buy his stuff.

If this whole scenario was just a matter of waste, it would be shocking in itself. But it also involves personal debt which is at a record high, not to mention so-called “personal bankruptcies” which are becoming increasingly common. So what can we do to change our behaviour and curb our spending? Follow these tips to break those costly shopping habits.

Recognise that lifestyle isn’t the same as life,

So enhancing the first can’t necessary enhance the second. If you aren’t happy with your weight, job or relationship, no new dress will cheer you up for long. Remind yourself too, that the less you spend, the less you need to earn - something that can really improve your life. Give yourself a raise by taking your lunch to work and stop buying takeaway coffee.

Figure out your hourly wage after tax,

And never buy anything unless you’re sure it’s worth the work. If you earn $70,460 a year, you are clearing about $23.50 an hour after tax. So a $470 handbag is going to cost you 20 hours or 2.5 days. Do you want it that much? (Sorry, I’m picking on you ladies, aren’t I?)

Beware the cheap stuff,

Low prices are a good thing in some ways, but they can have the perverse effect of making us spend more than we would have otherwise. We think we’re saving when we buy discounted jeans, and if we needed jeans anyway, we probably are. But if we didn’t and only bought them because they were cheap, we probably aren’t.

Buy what you can second hand,

A new car loses 20 per cent of it’s value the second it leaves the dealer’s showroom, and another 30 per cent after twelve months, so why not buy it from the mug who paid full price? The same goes for a great many big-ticket items - from prams to furniture.

Stop buying too much insurance,

There’s little justification for wedding insurance, ID theft insurance, mobile phone insurance or payment protection insurance. The same goes for premium current accounts and the vast majority of other financial “products” that the bank teller will try to flog you.

Try living in cash only,

Don’t use a credit card. Instead go to the cashpoint. More often than not, by the time you get there you’ll no longer think you need what you were about to buy anyway.