This Week in Your Wallet: January 22, 2013
In the midst of all the inauguration excitement yesterday (Michelle’s coat! Beyonce! James Taylor!), you may have seen or heard people using the phrase “Blue Monday.” However, despite the timing and the way it sounds, this term has nothing to do with politics.
Referred to by some as mere pseudoscience, “Blue Monday” is the day believed to be the most depressing day of the year: it is the day that gloomy and cold weather, holiday bills, broken resolutions and a long wait until summer combine to make everyone miserable. Whether you buy into the concept of “Blue Monday” or not, I will tell you this: there is recent evidence that suggests we are in the midst of a season in which we need a pick-me-up. Specifically, a pick-me-up in the form of retail therapy.
According to recent research by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin.com, more than one-third of U.S adults said that winter is the season they’d most likely go shopping to get in a better mood. What’s more, 45% of adults surveyed said they have gone shopping to rid themselves of a bad mood.
If you’ve read my book Money Rules, you’ll know that I have three rules when it comes to shopping under the influence of your emotions: don’t shop angry, don’t shop sad, and don’t shop hungry. Science has shown us that when we’re mad, we’re more inclined to take risks. This means that we’ll more easily say “what the hell” to questionable purchases or risky investments. When we’re sad, we’re looking to fill a void — and when we’re in a mall, that fabulous sweater seems like the best solution. And when we’re hungry, there’s a part of our brain that’s particularly active: the section that is primed for rewards. Buying the cookies activates the reward center of the brain, which makes us feel good. What isn’t so good by that point is our impulse control.
As Brad Tuttle points out in TIME magazine, shopping is not a solution for depression — and if you think you are depressed, you should see a doctor. But if you hit the mall on the way home from work becauseyour boss is being a nudge or it’s raining for the third time in as many days, I want you to stop and think about why you want to go shopping. Is it because you really need a new pair of slacks, or because you think they will make up for the lack of sunshine? Give yourself 24 hours to think about it. If 24 hours go by and you still really want the pants, go ahead and get them. At least you’ll know that you really did want them after all!
And now, here are the other headlines for the week:
Loosening Technology’s Grip on Your Wallet
I’ve talked before about negotiating your cable bill, negotiating your phone bill, and even dropping yourlandline in order to save money on the services you pay for each month. This week, I have two more save-money-on-technology articles for you. The first comes from the Wall Street Journal. While it has some tips you’ve heard before, there are some new ones as well — I particularly liked the tidbit about evaluating the internet speed you’re paying for. If you only surf the web and check your email, theJournal says three to six mbps (mega bites per second) should be enough. If you watch videos and download music, photos and movies, you’ll need 15 to 25 mbps. If you’re not downloading movies but paying for an extraordinarily high internet speed, it might be time for a downgrade.
The second article comes from Marketwatch, and brings good news from the world of music prices: Amazon came out with a new app that is compatible with iPhones. This means Apple-ites can buy songs and full albums for Amazon prices — which are often cheaper than iTunes prices. Even better, the article says we should keep our eye on iTunes prices, because there’s a chance that this new competition from Amazon will drive Apple’s music costs down.
Getting Out of Debt the Reasonable Way
I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of stories about people who pay off large amounts of debt via unreasonable methods, like cooking meat that is past its expiration date in order to save money on food or using duct tape to repair a car. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for paying down your debt and saving more. But not at the expense of your personal health or safety. Which is why I found this Forbes articleabout a woman who paid off $90,000 in debt to be particularly refreshing. She cut her expenses, yes, but this is how: she moved into a cheaper neighborhood with lower rent, signed up to be a mystery shopper so she could still enjoy eating out (and cooked the rest of the time, rather than going out on her own dime), cancelled her cable and streamed videos for free on her computer, and cancelled her gym membership in favor of the free facility at her work.
She also decided that cutting her expenses wasn’t going to be enough to pay down her debt in the time frame she wanted, so she managed to earn extra cash by signing up for focus groups and mock jury jobs in her city. (I didn’t know this, but apparently lawyers will pay people to practice trial strategies. Cool!) If you’re looking for inspiration to cut your spending or pay down your debt, I highly recommend reading this woman’s account. She has some great ideas that won’t make you sacrifice your health, safety or happiness.
Have a great week!
Jean
