I've spent the last six months trying to get my spending under control.
Over the past ten years, my financial situation improved dramatically — and my response was to let curiosity lead me by the nose.
I'm not in debt, thank God. But spending money like sand spilling through my fingers is not good financial practice, especially for someone trying to nail down a retirement date.
I've been reviewing emails and receipts in Rocket Money, but it doesn't catch everything. The app handles recurring charges well, but I skim over the one-and-done purchases — impulse buys, curiosity buys, the kind that barely register.
Most of the time, I'm in a dopamine haze where the purchase feels like a speed bump. When I circle back to my receipts or inbox, sometimes I get a jump scare that demands an immediate process change.
That happened this morning when I logged into Gumroad and discovered I had a second account.
I was looking for a digital product I'd purchased earlier in the week. By accident, I logged in with an old email address. My Gumroad library had over ten items — several of which I barely remembered buying.
Then I remembered my new email address.
I logged out and back in. Eight products. Only eight. Worse, I think I've looked at maybe two of them.
Giving curiosity free rein is great for finding new ideas, but horrible if you're not gatekeeping your purchases.
Fortunately, everything still interests me, so I'll work through it all. But curiosity can't be the driver of my purchases. I've decided to put a process in place:
- Five-day waiting period. If an offer has a deadline, it leaves without me.
- Inbox audit before buying. Check Readwise Reader and my ebook library to confirm I haven't already bought something on this topic.
- If I own something similar and haven't touched it, I can't buy more. Read first, then purchase.
- If I have read or used the similar item, I can proceed — but I must start to use the new item within five days of receiving it. If I can't commit to that, it goes on a wishlist.
This process is such a killjoy that it might actually save me money. Turns out I've found a purpose for my project management skills outside of formal employment.
I'll trial the new process for a month and keep you posted.
|
|
Shisso Ink
Educational Email Courses for Craft Businesses and Creators. Build trust, turn scrollers into subscribers.
|
