Retail therapy is the occasional practice of shopping with the intent to improve one’s mood to a more cheerful disposition. Put simply, retail therapy is when you buy that Chanel bag or Gucci slippers because your mood hasn't been great and you want to feel better.
Research has shown that indulging in retail therapy can greatly alleviate feelings of sadness and help one feel more in control of their life. However, when not done properly, adverse effects like shopping addiction, incurring debt, a lack of concentration and even psychological implications (such as compulsive buying disorder) can occur.
We live in a world where the primary medium of exchange is money and having a problem that affects your finances in such a fundamental way can be an issue. As with most things in life, balance is key.
Read on to find out how you can balance retail therapy indulgence and still maintain healthy financial habits.
Ways To Maintain Healthy Financial Habits
Be honest with yourself:
When it comes to money management, people tend to lean towards optimism. The situation might be that one already knows they have a shopping problem yet they are being optimistic that the reverse is the case or in self-denial. Accepting that your shopping indulgence makes your wallet much lighter than you are comfortable with, is key to resolving it. On the other hand, it may be that your purchases tilt towards luxury fashion items but you may or may not be able to afford them in one single purchase. Whatever the situation might be, being honest with yourself will help you prioritise your expenses and budget accordingly.
Budget & Save:
Budgeting is one of the holy grails of healthy financial management. Budgeting helps you plan for your money ahead of time and creates a spending pocket for your shopping indulgence. With budgeting, you no longer have to use a huge chunk of your salary to indulge in retail therapy. This way, you can apportion a percentage of your income every month to purchase that luxury item you've had your eyes on for a while. A simple way to create a budget is by creating one on the Brassmoney app. Because we know you deserve to reward yourself for how hard you work, we've created a budget tool for you. On the app, simply click on budget and you can easily create one for retail therapy.
Track your purchases:
This is another way to ensure you are on track with maintaining healthy financial habits while also splurging. You might have realised that you appreciate quality items and experiences and you've budgeted accordingly, but it is still important to track your purchases. Taking note of where your money goes is vital to your overall financial health. Being able to track all your purchases will let you know where there might be an irrelevant expense that needs to be stopped. In doing so, you might have free cash which can be directed to your retail therapy budget.
Conclusion
The experts say retail therapy is great for mental health and can be a significant mood booster. However, overindulgence can make you go broke or addicted. The good news is that by being honest with yourself about where you stand financially, and using the Brassmoney app to budget and track your finances, you will be able to maintain healthy financial habits while still indulging in therapeutic shopping.
