Shopping When Stressed or Depressed

Image via WikipediaStores of all kinds use quite a bit of psychology when it comes to colour, sound, smells and so on. They work hard to "trick" you into spending more. In a stressed or depressed state, you are more vulnerable and may be tricked into spending a lot more than you would in another mindset.

I found for many years that I shopped as a way of escaping my life or as a "pick me up" if I felt down. At these points I was much more immune to caution in terms of spending and much more likely to shop with reckless abandon. Kind of a "stick it on the credit card and worry about it later".

Shopping when stressed or depressed is a terrible way to save money and can get you into all kinds of problems.

Don't Shop When Hungry

It sound so simple but it's really NOT a good idea to shop when you are hungry.

Not only do you buy MORE but there's a tendency to buy a lot more carbohydrate or sugar-loaded foods if you shop when you hungry.

Have a bit to eat before you go and you'll save money easy.

Send the Partner Shopping with Too Much Cash

If you're the regular shopper in the household, it can be a challenge for your partner to be the one to shop. If you hand them a wad of cash, they WILL spend it. ;)

Best to give them your budgetted amount with a specific shopping list and hope that they'll come home with the right stuff. :)

Snuggle Up To Save Money

I LOVE to snuggle under a blanket with my hubby on a cold winter's night. His body emits a lot more heat than mine so it's a great way to STAY WARM.

Turning a heater on can be an automatic reaction. Choose to cultivate other habits for keeping warm. It can be loads of fun and save you money at the same time. :)

If you live in an exceptionally cold area where a heater is essential, you can still save money by rugging up and turning the thermostat lower.

Changing a few habit can be a great way to save money easy.

I Just Cleaned the Shower...

Image by hello.vickibrown via FlickrWith hot water, a shower scrubbing brush and a clean dry towel.

The brush enables me to get into the grout.

The hot water helps to dissolve any soap scum and dirt.

Drying with a towel seems to leave it so much cleaner than allowing to air dry.

I don't ONLY use hot water when cleaning the shower. Every 3-4 weeks I use a product to give it a more thorough clean.

But I find a weekly clean with some hot water, the scrubbing brush and then completely drying with an old towel leaves it looking great!!!

Who said cleaning was expensive?

Using water to clean is a great way to save money easy.

The 20c Snack

Image via WikipediaWhat do you do when the kids come home from school hungry and the cupboards are looking bare?

Make popcorn!!!!

Popcorn is one of my big secrets for saving money on the groceries.

I try to ALWAYS keep a packet of popping corn in the cupboard. It's cheap, stores well and is easy to make.

We don't have it ALL the time.

But whenever we do it's a HIT!

You can make so many different varieties and flavours so that it's never the same twice.

We tend to prefer the traditional melted butter and a little salt on ours.

Popcorn is a GREAT way to save money easy.