You’ve thrown financial caution to the wind this summer. You’ve taken every opportunity to spend your hard-earned cash on summertime activities, from amusement park passes to plane tickets for exciting destinations abroad. You’ve gone to outdoor concerts and gone on weekend road trips. Even on your most frugal days, you’ve spent hours lounging on bar patios enjoying rounds of cool drinks or heading to the movie theater to catch the latest blockbuster to hit the screens.
Some financial experts call this summer phenomenon “revenge spending.” When people feel cooped up because of the weather and their responsibilities (whether it be a job or school schedule), they overcompensate with this frustration when they have a little taste of freedom. They go overboard by packing their schedule with activities and they spend much more than they usually would.
Revenge spending is believed to be more dramatic after the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, where people had to limit their social activities and international trips. Now that those pandemic restrictions are no longer holding them back, they are free to jump on every opportunity available to them — even if it’s out of reach financially.
If you went overboard this summer, that’s completely understandable. How can you recover from this revenge spending? Read these strategies to get back on track.
Start Following a Budget
If you haven’t been following a budget, this is the perfect opportunity to start. Download one of the best budgeting apps onto your smartphone or desktop and follow the step-by-step instructions. You’ll have a reasonable monthly budget that you can follow in no time. This should help you track your essential expenses and stop you from spending beyond your means.
What if you had a budget before summer started? If you already had a budget, and you ignored it for the summer months, then you should go back to it as soon as possible. You briefly fell off the horse — now it’s time to get back on it.
Add to Your Savings
Are your savings completely drained? Do your best to replenish them. Add “savings” as a category in your monthly budget. Automate payment transfers between your checking account and savings account so that you never skip a contribution. If you want to boost your savings quickly, start a side hustle to get your hands on more cash in a short amount of time.
Leaving your savings account completely empty after summer will make you vulnerable to emergency expenses. If your car needs a repair or you need to make an urgent dentist appointment, you might not have enough funds to pay for it — at least, not without disrupting your monthly budget.
If you’re ever in a situation where you don’t have enough savings, and an emergency expense drops right into your lap, you don’t have to panic. You can borrow funds to cover the expense quickly. For instance, an online personal loan could be an effective borrowing option. With an online loan, you could get your money quickly after approval and use it to resolve your emergency as soon as possible. After that, you would just have to follow a straightforward repayment plan.
Take On a No-Spend Challenge
A No-Spend Challenge is like a financial fast after weeks and weeks of making indulgent purchases. This type of challenge asks that you only spend on your essentials, like your housing, your groceries and your transportation costs. Any expense that’s considered non-essential, you can eliminate for the sake of savings.
What are some expenses you can skip in the challenge?
- Coffees
- Takeout
- Restaurant dinners
- Rideshares
- Beauty/grooming treatments (haircuts, manicures, etc.)
- Concert tickets
- Movie theater tickets
You can do the no-spend challenge for a weekend or even a few weeks. Some people really like to push themselves and try for a no-spend month. Start small and see how much you can save!
The season for frenzied spending is just about over. It’s time to get your spending in check and your finances in order this fall.
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