The Money Mentor: A 7-Day Plan To Financial HealthSample

Eliminate Emotional Expenditures

Managing finances is 90 percent emotional and 10 percent logical—or so it’s been said. The truth is, all spending is based on an emotion—even spending often done out of the positive emotions of love, appreciation, or gratitude. 

Negative emotional spending takes place when we spend money because we are unhappy with some aspect of our life. We may engage in this kind of spending for various reasons including fear, insecurity, boredom, stress, loneliness, anger, and a host of other negative feelings. It is important to recognize when you are about to become a victim of your emotions. 

Here are six red flags to watch out for to avoid the emotional spending trap:

• Shopping as a response to a stressful event in your life
• Spending to try to keep up with the Joneses
• Seeking a high through shopping to get instant gratification
• Telling yourself you deserve to make a purchase
• Spending even when you’re worried about money or debt
• Shopping with the intention of returning items

Spending money seems to ease the bad feelings these emotions bring about, but here’s the problem: The solution is temporary. After you’ve made your purchase and the emotional high wears off, those feelings come rushing back because you haven’t dealt with the root of the problem. 

Emotional spending temporarily brings joy into our lives. We spend money to regulate our emotions—we feel down, but we want to feel up. Discontentment is often at the heart of emotional spending. Learning the art of contentment can help you overcome this detrimental attitude. 

The obvious side effect of emotional spending is using money you don’t have and going deeper into a financial hole. However, another side effect is the possibility of addiction. 

Many people are addicted to shopping but fail to acknowledge it as an addiction. Those who do acknowledge it as such think of it as a “safe” or socially acceptable addiction—better than alcohol, drugs, or sex.

We must remember that when we occupy ourselves to the point of obsession with anything other than God, it becomes an idol.

“Father, I want to thank you for loving me enough to want the best for me. I yield my emotions to you now. Help me to recognize and resist the emotions that threaten my financial stability. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.”