It’s easy to save money and rack up cash to use later. But how can you avoid this and become a spendaholic? Thankfully, not saving money is surprisingly easy once you know how. Here are some quick steps that you can take today to prevent saving and start becoming a spender.
- Eat Junk Food
This is probably the easiest way to stop saving money. Eating unhealthily is a fast and fun way to slip into overspending. Prepackaged meals is one example: although buying a whole, pre-made pizza is cheaper than buying all of the ingredients needed to make one from scratch, in the long run you’ll be able to make many pizzas with the raw ingredients, thus saving money. Avoid ingredients like the plague and buy pre-made meals for instant spending. This will rack up your spending very quickly. Treats such as candy, chocolate, and other snacks are another great way to get rid of money. Prices can be low on these treats sometimes, but it’s rare that you can eat just one. Who ever heard of stopping at just one chocolate bar? You should always have some on hand for emergencies, as well, so you might as well buy ten if you’re going to buy one.
- Sign up for Store Newsletters
If you think that there’s a chance that you might miss a favourite store’s sale and thus lose a chance to spend more money, signing up for that shop’s newsletter is a great way to avoid this. Usually these newsletters hit your inbox just when you can’t think of what to spend your money on, so they’re great for opening your eyes and showing you some new things that you might as well get while they’re on sale. Yes, it might look like you’re saving money by shopping while there’s a sale on, but let’s face it, you wouldn’t have bought anything if you hadn’t know that there was a sale.
- Make Sure that you’re Keeping Up with your Friends
Whenever you think that you’ve succumbed to saving money, a great way to turn things around is to keep up with whatever your friends own. Are they getting a new car, or taking another vacation? There are always great ideas on how to spend more money whenever you try to keep up with others’ lifestyles. Even if it isn’t something that you necessarily want or need in the strictest sense, spending money on par with your neighbors is a great way to stop saving.
- Move Around
By this, I mean going on vacation. This is a great way to blow two, five, ten, or even fifteen thousand all at once—often in the space of just one week! This is a quick and very enjoyable way to spend your money, and there’s always somewhere new to go, whether it be another resort in Mexico, a hiking adventure in Scotland, or a staycation in sunny Portugal. The spending options are endless!
- Don’t Invest Anything
This should be obvious, but just in case it isn’t, you shouldn’t invest any money if you want to become a spender. Depending on the type of investment, putting money into these accounts can not only save you money but even earn it—sometimes as much as five, ten, even twenty percent and upwards. This is even worse than just saving money. If you already have money in investments, such as Tax-Free Savings Accounts or Guaranteed-Return Investment Certificates, make sure that you withdraw the money as soon as possible to get back on track with your spending goals.
Hopefully by now you’ve gotten a few ideas about money and ways to spend it. There are endless possibilities for avoiding saving, so don’t despair if you think you’ve passed the point of no return for ever being able to spend everything you own. Don’t worry—it’s never too late to stop saving and begin spending.
(Author’s note: This is purely tongue-in-cheek. Hopefully, though, it has given you some ideas of how to save money. Economy and moderation are great guidelines to curb a spending lifestyle.)
