How Stress-Shopping Might Be Hurting Your Wallet

On more than one occasion, you may find yourself overwhelmed by thoughts about a certain aspect of your life. This is generally referred to as stress. People respond differently to these stressful situations. Others opt to enjoy an outdoor activity like hiking, swimming, or something that engages them to be full, making them loosen up a bit. However, some people take on a more passive approach like stress-shopping or even stress eating.

This article is focused on how stress shopping can negatively impact your finances. Stress shopping can also be referred to as emotional spending. To relieve the sad emotions within themselves, some people opt to relieve themselves by going on a shopping spree, finding themselves buying even things they do not need. This is usually a form of therapy that is also recommended by experts. However, it comes with several downsides, especially on your finances. You probably went shopping to reduce your stress, but you may find yourself adding more to your plate, especially if you live within a tight budget.

For people struggling with budgeting when managing their finances, this is probably not the best idea, even if you feel the need to. Here are a few things you need to know about how impulse buying can affect your finances, both currently and in the future.

Financial Security –

Stress is not something that you can deal with in one go, and you are set for life. If you are over-reliant on stress spending to reduce your stress levels, you will find yourself overspending, especially on things you cannot shoulder the maintenance cost. You will find yourself piling more debt than you can service. One of the first things to feel the effects of this habit is your credit score.

We all know our credit scores play a big role in our financial security, and this is the most thing financial institutions and lenders look at to determine your creditworthiness. Overspending when shopping is a major concern and a red flag for most lenders. This greatly affects your financial security, not just now but in the future.

Long-term Goals –

You may have your goals set on certain aspects of your life that need you to observe financial discipline. Some of these goals include clearing loans, buying a home, setting up an education fund, and other long-term expenses within your household. Impulse buying can greatly drain your finances, making it difficult to save for any of your goals. Stress shopping I usually a way of clearing your short-term needs without considering the future of the rest of your entire household. You need to keep track of your finances to avoid the effects of your emotional spending on the rest of your family.

Good Deals –

Most companies invest heavily in elaborate and enticing marketing schemes to capture the attention of the potential client. This being said, when going through a stressful phase, some of the marketing strategies designed to appeal to your shopping nature will get you thinking that taking advantage of the offers the company is offering is actually saving, but is it really saving?

With offers such as buy one get one free or 30% off, you feel like you are making a huge saving. This will make you purchase even more, which in the end turns out to be expensive on your side. When the deal is good, take your time to rethink your options if you really need these products regardless of the reduced price tag. Do not let yourself be dragged into hurting your finances over a short-term bliss.

Your Mental Health –

Going shopping when you’re stressed can only be effective in the short term. For now, you are feeling great, and you are in control of your emotions. However, this feeling is short-lived as shopping only masks the reason for your stress before you have to deal with it again. The realization of overspending you were stress shopping also adds to your bucket list. Because of this, you may have to spend a little extra when engaging a therapist’s services to effectively deal with your situation.

Conclusion –

Stress shopping is usually not considered a good way of managing a stressful situation. Since overspending can lead to even more stress and aggravation. Remember, you need to put your financial needs first before making a mistake that will only exacerbate your current situation. Advantage CCS is here if you need help setting up a budget or getting out of debt. We can help relieve some of that financial stress with our proven Debt Management Plan.