I NEED to spend money on a daily basis to be happy/not bored - Page 4

[Herausgeber]

You know, I don't think an urge to shop daily is necessarily a sign of something wrong (though it can obviously wreck a budget). Up until very recently, gathering food and then going to the market were by necessity daily activities. I am not at all shocked that many women especially feel a deep-seated need to do this.

[Staceyy]

Why not learn to coupon and refund like the women who get lots of groceries and drug store items for pennies on the dollar. This way you will still be buying, it just won't cost you much. You can learn to do this through the following sites: www.refundcents.com and www.hotcouponworld.com. The women on these sites get tons of free merchandise! This will satisfy your need for spending and help your family at the same time.

[wendyland]

I haven't read the other posts yet. I used to be somewhat like this. I felt like I HAD to go out and spend money. I've gradually stopped. Making a budget has really helped. I figured out how much we make and what we spend it on and what we want in the future. We'll never get to our dreams if we keep piddling away our money.

I try to make a game out of saving now. At least it helps me from being too bored. Or I compare the item I want to buy with what our future dreams are. If that item is worthy of it, I buy it.

[CarsonBookworm]

Its gotten so bad that DH has removed me from our joint bank account, and holds the bank card to my personal account at another out-of-area bank......

No money, no credit cards= no spending.

[jtsmom]

I didn't read this whole thread, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating anyone, but I wanted to tell you what has worked for me.

I used to have the same problem when my ds was very young and I was home alone with him a lot. My dh worked a lot at the time, and I just couldnt' stay home all day and all night alone with the baby. So how I started to plan my week was to make my outings on the days that he would be out til bedtime. One day I'd go to a friends house and hang out. (I would call her in advance and bring something to share, sometimes I brought bread and we'd use her cheese to make grilled cheese. ) One day I'd plan out my grocery shopping. One day I would go volunteer at a local respite child care place, where I met other moms and my ds could play. I did get better at keeping myself busy/not bored while not spending money as the kids got older. Some ideas:
~do you have any playgroups in the area?
~libraries, parks, go for walks
~invite friends over
~go visit friends
~if you don't like to stay home, make changes to your home so you enjoy being there more often. I have often gotten myself through a rough financial patch by spending a few days deep cleaning. It accomplished a few things: kept myself from spending money, kept myself busy so I wasn't thinking about money, and in the end, I had a clean room or two that I could really enjoy. I have also kept myself busy similarly when I have some leftover paint in the basement and a room to paint. Kept me busy for a few days, then I had a newly painted room to enjoy. You could also move your furniture around, declutter a space, move things around outside a window that you have to look out often so that it is nicer to look at. (I have moved some outdoor furniture so the view is better for me while I stand at the kitchen sink )
~keep yourself busy so you don't think about money at all.
~make it a game to see how many days you can go without spending any unnecessary money. I agree with those posters who said that saving money can be addictive as well, I have a seasonal job where I just save the money and I love to count it and see how much I have. Dorky, I know, but it works for me!
~Oh, and also, and this is a big one. I stopped hanging out with people who constantly wanted to bring me out shopping. Instead I started collecting friends who would want my company, share a grilled cheese sandwich, and watch the kids play.

Good luck!