The One Question You Should Ask Yourself Before Every Purchase, According to Money Expert Chelsea Fagan
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Does shopping make you feel good? Do certain purchases bring a smile to your face and lift your spirits? Perhaps you’re indulging in some retail therapy.
Medical experts have said shopping can make you feel in control when life feels like it’s spinning out of control. “You can get an emotional and psychological boost from visiting stores or even browsing online,” according to WebMD.
But some people can take it too far. In a recent video on her @faganchelsea TikTok account, Chelsea Fagan, founder and CEO of The Financial Diet and one of GOBankingRates’ Money’s Most Influential Women, suggested one question you should ask yourself before every purchase.
Ask Yourself This Question
Here’s the question: “Am I spending for who I am, or spending for a person I want to be?”
The question requires some thought on your part. But once you start asking it before purchases, it will become like second nature.
Don’t Deceive Yourself
According to Fagan, “We can easily delude ourselves into thinking that we can purchase enough things to become a different person, and we’ll often make purchases in the interest of being more like that person.”
Why is that a bad thing? According to Fagan, “You can’t spend your way out of yourself, and if any purchase you’re making is trying to get away from who that self is, it’s probably the wrong purchase to make.”
Examine Your Motivations
In sharing some of her own story, Fagan said she absolutely destroyed her finances, primarily because of a dislike for herself and anxiety about trying to be someone else.
It’s one thing to make purchases to feel better, but it can be an entirely different situation to spend money hoping to be or feel more like someone else, or to move away from who you truly are as an individual.
Care for Your Mind
As Fagan pointed out, anxiety, insecurity and self-loathing can be terrible reasons to make purchases. Rather than coming from a place of joy, your purchase is coming from a place of fear about who you are as a person.
When that happens, your finances can suffer in big ways. You may find yourself making purchases that are outside your budget, or that put you on a bad footing for your financial future.
By asking the question Fagan suggested, you can put your mind in a better place and really look at how your purchases align with your life and personality. Not only will your mind be better for it — your finances will likely be stronger as well.
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