This is the EASIEST Way to Stop Overspending (NO BUDGETING REQUIRED!!)
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Mera from 'AIS in Life' shares strategies to stop overspending without relying on traditional budgets. She explains that overspending often stems from a toxic relationship with money, not just poor financial planning. Mera suggests identifying spending triggers, building a priority pyramid for expenses, and examining money beliefs influenced by upbringing and relationships. She encourages viewers to reshape their identity around finances, make small changes, and set healthy boundaries in relationships. Mera concludes by offering practical steps for better money habits and financial well-being.
Takeaways
- 😀 Changing your relationship with money is key to stopping overspending, not just following strict budgets.
- 📊 84% of Americans admit to impulse shopping, with an average of three purchases per week, leading to significant non-essential spending.
- 💡 Identifying and understanding your spending triggers can help you stop impulse buying.
- 🛒 Money is a neutral tool, and how we perceive and use it is what defines our financial habits.
- 🏠 Building a priority pyramid can help structure your spending, starting with fixed costs, followed by financial goals, and lastly, non-essentials.
- 🔍 Checking your 'money filters' (beliefs shaped by past experiences) helps identify financial behaviors that might be holding you back.
- 🧠 Changing your money identity from someone 'bad with money' to someone frugal can shift behaviors towards better financial habits.
- 📚 Educating yourself about personal finance can lead to significant financial changes, like asking for raises or eliminating debt.
- 💰 Toxic relationships, whether romantic or social, can severely impact your finances, and setting boundaries may be necessary.
- 🤝 Surrounding yourself with people who have healthy financial habits can positively influence your own financial behaviors.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the video?
-The main topic of the video is how to stop overspending without relying on a traditional budget.
Why does the speaker avoid using the term 'budget'?
-The speaker avoids using the term 'budget' because many people have a negative perception of budgeting, and it doesn't work for everyone, especially for those with a complicated relationship with money.
What percentage of Americans admit to frequent impulse shopping, according to the video?
-According to the video, 84% of Americans admit to frequent impulse shopping.
What is the first step to stopping overspending mentioned in the video?
-The first step to stopping overspending is to identify your 'bad' spending triggers and understand what motivates your impulse purchases.
What personal example does the speaker provide to illustrate a bad spending habit?
-The speaker shares a story about buying a mermaid statue on sale during a spring break trip, despite being a broke college student. This purchase was influenced by a fear of missing out on a great deal, even though the item was impractical.
What is the 'priority pyramid,' and how is it used to control spending?
-The 'priority pyramid' is a visual representation of financial priorities, with essentials like rent and bills at the bottom, financial values and goals in the middle, and discretionary spending like hobbies and vacations at the top. It helps prioritize spending by ensuring essentials and goals are covered first.
What analogy does the speaker use to describe how people view the world through personal beliefs and attitudes?
-The speaker uses the analogy of 'filters' similar to those on Instagram to describe how people's past experiences and beliefs influence their perception of money and financial habits.
How does the speaker suggest changing one's identity when it comes to personal finance?
-The speaker suggests deciding what type of person you want to be financially and then proving it to yourself through small, consistent wins, as described in the book *Atomic Habits* by James Clear.
What impact can relationships have on a person's spending habits?
-Relationships can significantly influence spending habits, as people tend to mirror their friends' financial behaviors. Additionally, toxic relationships can lead to poor financial decisions and create conflicts over money.
What advice does the speaker give for dealing with negative influences in relationships?
-The speaker recommends setting clear boundaries with friends or loved ones who negatively impact your finances or rethinking those relationships if they continue to be harmful.
Outlines
💡 Introduction: How to Stop Overspending Without Budgeting
The video introduces Mera and her channel, AIS in Life, focused on simplifying life for a happier and richer experience. Mera teases the content by discussing overspending and how to quit it without using traditional budgeting methods. She emphasizes that overspending is common, as 84% of Americans impulse shop, spending $188,000 annually on non-essential items. The video aims to tackle overspending from a mindset perspective, starting with recognizing spending triggers.
🔍 Recognizing Your Bad Spending Triggers
Mera explains that identifying personal spending triggers is crucial for controlling finances. She emphasizes that money is morally neutral and that bad spending habits stem from psychological factors. She shares a personal story about buying an expensive mermaid statue due to fear of missing out on a sale, only to regret it later. The takeaway is to shift from a scarcity mindset, pinpoint triggers like impulse buying, and use tracking tools to better understand spending habits.
📊 Building Your Priority Pyramid
Mera introduces the concept of a 'priority pyramid,' where the base is formed by essential fixed costs like rent and insurance. Above that, one should prioritize financial goals and values, such as spending on healthier groceries or saving for a down payment. The top of the pyramid is reserved for non-essential 'wants,' such as hobbies and dining out. This system helps ensure that overspending does not derail your essential financial commitments.
🔄 Checking Your Money Filters and Changing Your Mindset
The video explores how personal beliefs and experiences shape financial behaviors, comparing them to Instagram filters. Mera shares how her father's belief in investing in collectibles led her to value possessions over money, making her 'stuff-rich but money-poor.' She encourages viewers to examine their own 'money filters' and change negative identities, like thinking 'I'm bad with money.' She references James Clear's book *Atomic Habits* and explains that small wins help redefine personal financial identities.
👥 The Impact of Relationships on Finances
Mera stresses the importance of assessing relationships that may negatively affect finances. She shares a personal story about being in a financially toxic relationship that led her to drop out of college and work multiple jobs. After ending the relationship, her life improved significantly. She advises viewers to consider if friends or loved ones are influencing their spending habits and to set boundaries if necessary. The video ends with a call to action, inviting viewers to share their tips and engage with her content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Overspending
💡Impulse Purchases
💡Budget
💡Spending Triggers
💡Scarcity Mindset
💡Priority Pyramid
💡Money Filters
💡Frugality
💡Identity Shift
💡Financial Boundaries
Highlights
The video focuses on strategies to stop overspending without relying on traditional budgeting.
84% of Americans admit to frequent impulse shopping, averaging three impulse purchases per week.
Overspending is often addressed with budgeting or no-spend challenges, but the video suggests these methods don't work for everyone.
Instead of focusing on budgets, the video emphasizes changing one's relationship with money to stop overspending.
The first step to stopping overspending is identifying your spending triggers, which can be personal, such as buying items on sale or late-night online shopping.
The speaker shares a personal story about impulse buying a $200 mermaid statue, highlighting emotional triggers in spending.
Building a 'priority pyramid' is suggested, where fixed costs form the foundation, followed by financial values and goals, and wants are at the top.
Checking money filters is key, as the way people view and handle money is influenced by their personal experiences and beliefs.
The speaker shares her experience growing up with a parent who invested in collectibles rather than financial markets, which influenced her attitude toward money.
Changing one's identity regarding money is critical; thinking of oneself as 'frugal' can lead to better financial habits.
The speaker credits reading books like 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear for helping her change her financial mindset.
Over time, small changes helped the speaker make significant financial gains, including negotiating a 133% raise and eliminating $250,000 in debt.
Relationships can influence spending habits, and surrounding oneself with people who have positive financial habits is important.
A study found that 78% of millennials mirror their friends' financial habits, and 66% try to keep pace with their friends' spending.
The video ends with a call to reassess relationships with people who negatively impact your finances and set better boundaries if needed.
Transcripts
in today's video I'm going to show you
the easiest way to stop overspending and
even better I'm going to do it without
saying that terrible b word that
everyone hates you know the
one budget hi there friends and welcome
back to my channel my name is Mera and
this is AIS in life where we talk about
all things related to simplifying your
way to a happier richer and all-around
better life so if that sounds like your
jam please make sure and hit that
subscribe button and let's dive into the
topic of this week's video which is
overspending and how to quit doing it so
you can stop wasting money and
cluttering up your
home but before we get started I just
want you to know that if you struggle
with overspending You Are Not Alone In
fact according to research 84% of
Americans admit to frequent impulse
shopping and they end up buying an
average of three impulse purchases each
week which adds up to an average of
$188,000 a year in non-essential
spending and I've noticed that a lot of
Articles and YouTube videos that talk
about how to stop overspending focus on
things like budgeting or no spend
challenges or swapping out your credit
cards for Cold Hard Cash and don't get
me wrong I love a good budget as much as
the next Frugal gal out there but the
thing about budgets is that they just
don't work for everyone in fact a budget
is a lot like a Band-Aid they're okay
for small Cuts but slapping a Band-Aid
on a broken leg ain't going to do a
whole heck of a lot in the exact same
way that a budget isn't going to help
someone who has a toxic relationship
with money and is bleeding money left
and right so instead of focusing on all
of these outside factors it's going to
be a whole lot easier for you to stop
overspending and take back control of
your finances if you change your
relationship with money from the inside
out starting with number one on this
list which is to pinpoint your bad
spending triggers and I put the word bad
in quotation marks because a lot of
people have this idea that money or
wanting money is bad or evil when in
fact money is simply a tool that is
morally neutral in and of itself it's
neither good nor bad and it's all about
how we perceive and use it more on that
a little bit later so putting your
spending under a microscope and taking a
good hard look at when and what you tend
to impulse by is a first step in
stopping that behavior in its traps in
my case I had a bad habit of wanting to
buy things just because they were on
sale and I didn't want to miss out on a
great deal and there was this one time I
went to Florida with my sister for
spring break and I saw this crazy
mermaid Fountain statue that was on sale
for 50% off because it had a small chip
in the Basin even on sale it was still
like $200 which back then was a lot more
and I was a broke college student living
in a tiny apartment who had no business
spending that kind of money on a Mermaid
statue but I just had to have it and I
swore up and down that someday I was
going to own my own home and I was going
to design my bathroom around this
Mermaid statue well to make a long story
short I spent the $200 and I had to sit
next to that sucker for the entire
15-hour trip back from Florida to
Indiana and hold on to the darn thing to
make sure it didn't fall over I never
ended up using it and I actually gave it
away to my cousin during my decluttering
Journey so for me healing my spending
triggers meant letting go of this
scarcity mindset and fear of missing out
on a great sale or a good deal but for
you it might mean that you need to stop
your late night Tik Tok scrolling habit
that always ends with you buying the
latest clothes or makeup trends or maybe
you've gotten into a habit of ordering
takeout with Uber Eats or door Dash to
treat yourself after a hard day at work
when it would financially make more
sense for you to be making your meals at
home I know it can be tough to figure
out what your money triggers are
especially if you've never tracked your
spending so if you'd like help with that
I've linked a free spending tracker
printable for you down in the
description box and pinned comment below
which is really helpful for people who
have no idea where to start the next
step on this list is to build a priority
pyramid a lot of people say that they
want to spend less and save more but
when you look at their spending they're
not putting their money where their
mouth is I knew one girl in college who
never had enough money for rent or to
pay back the friends who loaned her
money but who was somehow magically able
to afford to buy herself a pack of
cigarettes and McDonald's every single
day so if you really want to stop
overspending and take back control of
your finances it's important to get your
priorities in order just like the food
pyramid starts with the healthiest foods
at the bottom the foundation of your
priority pyramid should be built upon
your fixed costs things like rent and
mortgage payments car insurance and gas
and other non-negotiables like this and
then after that the next level up is
where you prioritize your financial
values and goals I grew up eating fast
food and microwave dinners after my mom
died which made me want to prioritize
spending money on groceries and cooking
healthier meals for my family at home
even if it's the same meal of Burgers
and Fries for example I can sneak
veggies into the burgers to make them
healthier and oven roast the french
fries instead of deep frying them and
then if you have the goal of saving
enough money to put a down payment on a
house then you should be making putting
a set amount of cash into a high yield
savings account each month a top
priority and then just like the
unhealthiest foods are at the top of the
food pyramid the top level of your
priority pyramid is reserved for things
that are wants versus needs things like
hobbies and eating out getting your
nails done or going on vacation things
that you can spend your money on
typically more sparingly if and only if
you have enough left over after you've
prioritized the essentials and your
values and goals first number three is
to check your money filters because all
of us experience life through filters
that color our perception of the world
on Instagram people put filters over
their bodies and faces that make them
look prettier or younger and sometimes
the filters are so exaggerated that it's
easy to recognize when a person is using
them but sometimes the filters are so
subtle it's tough to tell the difference
the filters aren't just for social media
because all of us see the world every
single day through a filter that is
colored by our experiences our attitudes
and our beliefs I grew up in a middle
class family with a landscaper dad who
didn't believe in things like investing
or the stock market and instead what he
did with his money is he put it into
Collectibles things like Antiques and
coins for himself and Barbie dolls and
Beady babies for myself and my sister so
I grew up believing that the purpose of
money was to buy stuff and that that
stuff would always grow more and more
valuable over time which turned me into
a hoarder that was stuff rich and money
poor so when it comes to money and how
you spend it try and figure out what
filters you have that might be clouding
your attitude and money habits and if
they are holding you back instead of
helping you then you can move move on to
the next step which is to change your
identity when it comes to money and
personal finance another problem with
toxic money beliefs is they can easily
turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy and
become part of your identity if you're
always telling yourself that you're a
person who is horrible with money then
you'll probably have trouble saving it
compared to that someone who thinks they
are Frugal is going to be more likely to
do things they see as Frugal like
tracking expenses budgeting and being
able to resist impulse purchases one of
the best books that I've ever read on
this topic is atomic Habits by James
Clear who says that changing your
identity boils down to two simple steps
number one deciding on the type of
person that you want to be and number
two proving it to yourself with small
wins and I'll make sure to put a link to
the atomic haboc book and audio book
down in the description box below for
you in case you're interested I listened
to it as an Audi book first and I liked
it so well that I decided to get myself
a physical copy but both are really
really good after I decided to take
control of my finances I stopped telling
myself that I was just bad with money
and that it was always going to be that
way and I started re-educating Myself by
seeking out books and articles about
Frugal Living personal finance
self-improvement and more and then
slowly over time I made small changes
that eventually resulted in these huge
financial leaps forward like plucking up
the courage to ask for a 133% raise and
getting it and my husband and I being
able to eliminate
$250,000 worth of household debt over
the course of 5 years so trust me if
someone like me was able to do this you
can too and the last thing I want to
talk to you about is questioning your
relationships because when it comes to
money and how you spend it who you spend
your time with matters a lot consider
these statistics one survey found that
78% of Millennials use their friends
financial habits as a way to mirror
their own with 66% of them trying to
keep Pace with their friends spending
and not only that but finances are also
the leading cause of conflict in
long-term romantic relationships and
I've definitely experienced firsthand
just how much toxic people can drag you
down and hurt your finances back when I
was younger I fell in love with a high
school dropout who had trouble keeping a
job because of his bad back and who
spent most of his time and money on
things like cars gaming and getting
drunk with his friends and the longer I
was with him the worse my life got to
the point where I ended up having to
drop out of college so that I could work
multiple minimum wage jobs in order to
support the both of us I know I know but
the moment that I broke up with him my
life did a complete 180 and it
completely changed the trajectory of my
future future I know it can be hard to
let go but if your friends or loved ones
are negatively affecting your finances
either by mooching off of you and not
paying you back or by making fun of you
for being too Frugal or whatever that
might be a sign that it's time to
rethink your relationship with that
person or at the very least to set some
new and better boundaries if you've made
it this far please be sure and give this
video a like and drop me a comment down
below with your best tip to stop
overspending or save more money and if
you're looking for more personal finance
tips or ideas on how to spend less and
save more make sure and go check out
this video that YouTube thinks that
you'll like or I'll see you next week
until then take care bye-bye
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