This was an interesting question on a message board. Do you ever financially sabotage yourself? If so how? And if so why? An interesting question, to think do you ever prevent yourself from getting into good financial shape or staying in good financial shape?
I’ve heard from people who have gotten into and out of debt multiple times. They have done the Dave Ramsey for a long time, then somehow they fall back off the wagon. Perhaps they paid off all their credit cards multiple times. But never built a emergency fund. Then when things happen they are hit again and fall back into the hole.
Or others who talk about wanting to get out of debt, but never really practice what they preach. Instead they go on fancy trips, eating out, shopping sprees, etc. So instead of actually paying off debt it seems like money goes everywhere else.
Can financial sabotaging yourself be stopped? I think it can. But it can’t be done by cutting spending entirely. It probably needs to be done by living with a budget with a lot of room for spending. That you have to admit you like to eat out, drive a nice car, etc. That you need to budget for these things because otherwise you’ll just end up “sabotaging” yourself anyway.
Do you have any tips for preventing financial sabotage?
8 responses so far ↓
1 Meg from FruWiki // May 26, 2009 at 9:53 pm
My husband and I pretty much stay the course month to month no problem. We don’t have a strict budget, but we’ve cut a lot of regular expenses (no cable, gym, etc.), don’t go out much, & don’t buy much besides groceries.
However, we do tend to go a bit crazy when out-of-town friends visit or when we go on trips. Nothing like trying to make the most of limited time to make us feel like spending — especially on eating out!
2 eemusings // May 27, 2009 at 12:38 am
If we could just get off the ground, I am SURE we would be able to build a solid financial foundation! But its cars (and now, lack of one) that’s keeping us poor. Not because we bought a new car or anything; far from it. Just a series of clunkers and expensive repairs.
3 Kristy @ Master Your Card // May 27, 2009 at 1:32 am
I think in a lot of ways financial sabotage is the result of unconscious spending habits and lack of knowledge of one’s own finances. In other words, people don’t take the time to look at what they’re spending money on and just spend. I did this for many years and it was one of the biggest culprits for my debt woes.
I have to agree with you on how to overcome it. It’s not going to happen overnight, so people need to set realistic expectations of how they can achieve it. If they spend too much money, the natural assumption is that it’s best to cut spending altogether, but as you’ve pointed out, people are more likely to sabotage themselves anyway. It’s best to build in a little cushion of spending on the things you like or that are most important to you.
I think compromise is another tool that can help you avoid sabotage, and one I’ve employed for many years now. As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, I spend probably more then I should on DVDs. It’s not that I can’t afford them, it’s just that I know if left unchecked, it could turn into a serious problem. Not to mention the amount of space these take up. So, my compromise with myself was Netflix. I can still watch whatever I want, pretty much when I want, and it’s all for less then the cost of one brand new DVD. Finding a cheaper alternative to the things you love can allow you to spend and do what you want, just on a cheaper scale.
4 LAL // May 27, 2009 at 9:38 am
I think that it’s hard to get into the routine as eemusings said. The budget can be hard to follow if you’ve never done one or followed one.
So going from overeating binging to sudden restriction can be hard.
5 TStrump // May 28, 2009 at 1:37 am
Last year, I went through a period of 3 months where I got tired of tracking my finances – I managed to blow $1,500 one month on entertainment (don’t ask)
Sometimes, you just have to take a break.
6 LAL // May 28, 2009 at 10:02 am
Tstrump, I might be there with you blowing $1500 on entertainment. Let’s say that going to playoff hockey games are not cheap.
7 Lucy // May 28, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I just started “my getting out of debt plan” a few months ago and I am terrified once I am out of debt I will become so comfortable with my previous state of living I will end up taking it for granted. It is a real possibility.
8 LAL // May 28, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Lucy good luck!
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