Some of our relatives and people we know come home from the mall or the supermarket on a weekend or after payday with bags of goods that they definitely know they don’t need. Whether they admit it or not. Or are you just like them? 😉
There’s a new study that’s saying that there’s a simple solution to this kind of problem and we’re gonna find it out in a bit.
When we visited SM a few months back, a statue of Batman stood firm and tall between the toys’ section and the appliances display area of the department store. It’s as if Batman was saying to SM customers and window-shoppers, “Akong BAThala sa inyo.” 😉
And so we witnessed how many people in the appliances section were talking about buying that fancy P300-salt and pepper shakers on sale when you can actually get the same pair for less than P100 at the public market.
According to one study, gratitude helps reduce economic impatience or “shopping impulsivity”. The study included a test where participants could choose to receive $54 on the same day or wait for one month before receiving $80. Then, through self-reflection activities, the participants were encouraged and made to feel happy, grateful, or neutral.
Normally, delayed-gratification experiments result in people choosing to receive the money immediately. The test revealed just the same except for those people who were made to feel grateful. They preferred to wait for another month to receive the $80.
One reason for this according to the researchers is that people spend impulsively in order to fill something missing in them emotionally. And that impulsive buying can somehow relieve them from the emptiness or boredom that a person is feeling. However, if we are reminded of something to be grateful for then we’re less likely to feel that emptiness.
Other reasons why people become impulsive buyers are because they are overworked, sleepless, anxious, and distracted. Therefore, according to the same researchers, teaching ourselves to be grateful can induce a more calm, mindful state.
The truth is, feeling grateful is more effective than thinking about “Will I buy this or not?” which can only lead to more stress and budgeting worries. Being grateful can also increase the feelings of being truly happy in life.
Can Overspending Really Make One Happier?
Sometime a year ago, I wrote an article about upgrading lifestyle after receiving a salary increase or a new job with a higher pay. So let me ask again, “When Salary Increases, Do you Upsize Your Lifestyle?”
We recently interviewed around 30 OFW’s in Saudi Arabia who either got promoted or received salary raises in the past 6 months. Our correspondents asked them if they were able to keep their levels of spending as it was half year back before they got their raise. A surprising result of only 3 persons were able to answer “Yes” and that they have not increased their spending despite the windfall. And these 3 persons enjoy the idea of saving for future gratification.
Being thankful for what you have is key to becoming happy and content. Generosity can be one of your major motivations to achieve financial healing.
How Being Thankful Can Help You Become a Responsible Spender
In Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project”, she mentioned that there are many benefits linked to cultivating thankfulness. Some studies show that consistently grateful people are happier with what they have and are more satisfied with their lives. It also shows that they feel even more healthy physically healthy and they spend more time in healthy activities and exercise.
Gretchen also emphasized how thankfulness can improve how we feel about our overall financial outlook in life:
- We will be less jealous of our neighbors because we’re grateful for what we have instead of trying to be like them by spending like them
- Gratefulness will discipline us to live within or even below our means
- Gratefulness leads to generosity
As Bro. Michael Angelo Lobrin pointed out in one of his inspirational talks at the Feast PICC, if you know how to give back to the One who gave you first, you will begin to discover more blessings to be thankful for.
And one of this is the practice of being grateful always.
“In all things, give thanks…” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
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It is very true that one reason why we spend on unnecessary things is to fill up something we are missing. Emptiness plus envy is actually a lethal combination.
This is very true. Thanks Louis.
That’s a really nice trick. Another one reported in Daniel Goleman’s “Focus” is this (page 89 if you want to check):
Whenever you’re tempted by impulse, change how you think about it:
-Instead of thinking about how good it feels to buy and use an item you want, think about something else, like it’s shape, color, how it’s manufactured or shipped, etc.
-When you’re tempted to buy something, instead of seeing the item in front of you, imagine it’s just a picture (complete with a picture frame over it). The temptation withers as you imagine that the thing you’re tempted to get right now is not real.
Thanks for sharing, Ray.
People are sometimes caught up with the idea that they need to have more stuff so that they will look richer in the eyes of the people. For them, that is what will give them happiness. Although it may temporarily give them a boost, it will all be too superficial. Filipinos must understood the value of minimalism, which I guess, is another technique to be happier and more grateful. If you don’t need that product for your survival, think twice before buying!
I completely agree, Net. Thanks for sharing your valuable insights. 🙂