Be Conscious on Your Unconscious Spending

IS there such a thing as unconscious spending? Of course, there is! And we are guilty of it almost daily. JOYCE CHUAH writes...

Now, let me help you – young adults and collegegoing students – go through your daily activities one by one, from the moment you wake up. Did you switch off the air-con, fan or lights? Did you keep the tap running while you brush your teeth?

Building your financial habits start from smaller things – the very areas you are not directly responsible for. Take care of the smaller things and you can take care of the bigger ones.

Now, take special notice about how you spend your money the moment you step out of the house. Did you drop by your favourite coffee haunt? What about a cigarette or two, if you smoke? Did you take the shortest route to college or take the highway, paying an extra RM1.50 for the toll just because you wanted to get a high from speeding on the highway?

What about lunch? Is the RM40 steak a oncein-a-while treat or is that your daily budget for a meal? You get my point now.

There are also other unconscious pre-planned spending like unused subscriptions for gym, cable TV, magazines, massage, etc.

By the way, do you date? For guys, this means more strain on your budget though you tell me it’s worth the tab for the girl of your dreams.

And girls, when you date, you spend more on your hair, nails, face, clothes, shoes – you just want to look like a million dollars and it is going to cost you many holes in your monthly budget, too.

If you can cut down on these unconscious spending and add a bit more consciousness into them, you’ll have your budget more in control and your money more well spent. And yes, your parents will be happy, too.

“When we were dating, he was an unconscious spender who bought me gifts without a moment’s thought. Now that we’re married, he has become a subconscious spender – he only buys me stuff in his dreams!”