Season
Habits are hard to break. It's a habit that kicks in every December. We call it Christmas.
For the past years, I've already looked at ways to improve the experience of the season without resorting to material anesthetics (we also call them gifts), so far it's been working, and I want to share this secret with you guys.
Make New Times
Always spend the holiday freetime with a different set of people every year. I know this is odd to some people, but trust me, it works. It's just that a year is just too long to spend seeing the same people every occasion (not just relatives but friends in general) that you'll grow too bored and breed contempt of spending time instead.
On giving
While I don't believe in this at all (because it's the season as the reason), the essence of gift giving is the effort. Not the thought, but the effort. Why so? Because we can always think about giving something to someone, but actually going out and taking the effort to look for a present is what is endearing. Well, ok, the thought matters, but as always I'm pushing to transcend the "it's the thought that counts" idea.
Don't give it if it's not good
They say that it's better not to give a gift at all if you're not going to give a good one. It will only make the recipient think of you as "giving for the sake of _____". In doing so, the quality of the interaction is awkward for both parties. So, how do you tell if you're giving a good gift? Whenever you look at a present - ask yourself if you want it for yourself too. Chances are, the ones you answer YES to are the good gifts. Trust me, it works everytime.
..and if you won't give a gift, it's perfectly fine. Let's not forget that life matters still and will always come first.
Yeah yeah I can't believe it's already that time again...
On higher spending
I walk the malls every week and come across different people, students, office people, retired old citizens, housewives, foreigners. I sometimes ask myself, if people really need to spend disposable income in a mall. More than half of what you see or buy is a luxury.
Take shopping for clothes for example. Whenever you see clothing that you want to buy, you usually say you "need" it. But in reality, you just "want" it. Even if you don't buy it, you'd be just fine.
This is perfectly fine as long as you can afford the lifestyle that goes with it. This is just an example mind you. This can be anything, from buying electronic gadgets, music CDs, books, etc. Whenever you buy something that you can afford and still not flinch at your budget, this is called self-rewarding.
When you take a step back and look at it all from the bigger picture, you realize that our disposable income is well spent (sarcastically).
So, when do you say that something becomes unnecessary to spend on?
Perhaps the best idea for that would be - if that something you want is affordable but spending on it would take away beyond what is disposable income for you, yeap, you have an impulsive-spending problem right there.
Take note I make careful mention of "disposable income" - so it means that if you are not making ends meet and you are still spending on a luxury, then you have to rewrite your budget to finance your cost of living.
Whenever I think about it -- there is sound reasoning as why you would want to get a White Choco Latte that costs thrice as a large soda would, or a gourmet milkshake which yeah is also thrice the price at a regular fastfood. For that individual, he/she probably works hard so he/she would want to enjoy and spend hard. That's perfectly fine.
There is one other reason - the reason we all want (ideal, but crazy) - as to why we go for higher, more expensive (not necessarily better) things. It is because we want to experience the a feeling of elation. More specifically, to be able to say the phrase "because I can". After we spend on something that elates us, we feel good, and the experience of the moment is priceless.
What if, lets say one day, Mc Donalds served UFC / CBT / SBC drinks at regular coffee price - you wouldn't still buy it there. I know you're much smarter than that -- you're going to run up to your favorite coffeeshop as always and get that frappe you've been thinking about since 5:30. That is probably because you wouldn't want to be seen at McDonalds having a gourmet iced coffee drink.
So, despite all the talk to save and whatever, this (sickly) justifies our reason for spending. =D
