Our emotional health in a lot of ways is tied to our financial health. When we get emotional we tend to do things that we wouldn’t otherwise do, and sometimes we regret them in the future. We might drink too much, or drive too fast, or say the wrong thing, and we wish that we hadn’t done so later on. Either that, or if we were thinking clearly we wouldn’t have done something stupid in the first place. When we aren’t thinking clearly, the first thing that has to happen is hide the wallet.
When it comes to spending, it really is an emotional reaction. Think about when you go into the grocery store, and all the little things that they have that you can buy. This is why you don’t want to go into a store with your kids because they just shout out everything that they want, and have to have. When you aren’t thinking clearly you are like that child, and you have no clue why you are spending money, but you just feel like you need to buy stuff.
I know when I am stressed, and don’t feel like managing my finances that I have to be extra careful. I might want to go out and buy that TV, or the XBOX that I have coveted for so long, but if I do then I won’t be able to pay the rent, or pay the other bills that I have to pay first. It really is tough, but I would rather pay the rent, and have a roof, then buy that TV and be watching it from my cardboard box.
From expereince, I can tell you that if I know I have extra money coming in my first response is to save it. Then I actually get it and my first response is to spend it out of excitement that I finally have money. In that case you have to set a little aside to spend, and then actually go save it. You will go insane if you don’t spend a little of it, especially if you don’t usually have extra money to do something nice, but you will be worse off if you don’t save the majority of it.
When you are sad, or feeling lonely, it can be hard to want to save money. You want to just go out and do something, or get some pizza and some drinks and just create some excitement. Thats good every so often, but don’t go out and spend your whole night at the bars, or get drunk and spend a lot of money because you are feeling loose and having a good time. I had a friend who once spent his whole paycheck buying food for our section at an event because he was drunk. Never a good idea to drink and have your paycheck freshly cashed with you.
Our emotions certainly do get the best of us if we aren’t careful. If you are in a bad mood, just grab ten bucks and go out if you have too, or just call a friend. Don’t go out and blow your money out of depression, or gamble it away in search of some fun. Just be calm, relax, and get your head back on straight. Its no use to blow your budget merely because of your emotions getting the better of you.