Checklist: 9 signs that you are greedy
alexander savina
We all dream of living without denying ourselves anything and not counting the budget, but in practice everything turns out to be more complicated. We already told you how to understand that it’s time for you to start saving and keeping track of expenses, and now we’ve decided to look at the opposite situation. We collected nine signs that will help you to understand that you treat money too painfully and save where you don’t do it.
1
You always want more, but things are not fun
A painful attitude towards money may manifest itself in different ways: if it is difficult to spend with one person, others, on the contrary, would like to buy more, even if there is no such opportunity objectively. Often we think that new things - a car, an iPhone X or the latest model of sneakers - will make our life better, and us - happier. As a result, things around are becoming more and more, but they still cannot change our life. If after each new purchase you get an attack of greed, you want more and more, it is worth thinking.
2
You reluctantly lend to charity
Of course, you may have a thousand reasons to refuse to those who ask for a loan, - starting with the fact that you simply do not have "extra" money, and ending with the fact that the person making this request to you never returns debts to time limit Nevertheless, there are situations that say more about you than about others: for example, if a close person asks for a loan and formally nothing stops you - except that you simply “feel sorry”.
Everything seems to be more complicated with charity, at least because there is no well-established culture of donations in Russia. But the habit of helping others can be developed independently. It is not necessary to give a lot, it is enough that donations are regular: to give two hundred rubles once a month to almost everyone’s favorite fund.
3
You talk and think about money all the time.
Let's be honest: money is an important part of life and not thinking about it at all will not work. Nevertheless, it’s not the healthiest habit of thinking about them all the time, if only because obsessive thoughts make you feel uncomfortable. Most people need only analyze their financial habits, plan a budget and stick to a plan clearly. If these actions are not enough for you and you continue to constantly think about your financial situation, even when you have taken all possible measures, it may be worthwhile to contact a psychotherapist to understand the reason.
4
You love living at someone else's expense
Almost every person living on his own salary, at least once wondered how great it would be if someone shared with him the costs. But one thing is to think about it from time to time, and another is to do it: if you prefer to constantly go to visit and never call anyone back to yourself, “forget” to treat your friend to coffee after she did the same for you, we have the bad news. Remember that financial autonomy is one of the signs of maturity.
5
Money is a goal for you, not a means
Saving money is a good habit: if you use one of the most popular budget management schemes, then 20% of your monthly income should go to savings. It is normal to deny yourself unnecessary expenses to achieve an important goal - for example, traveling on vacation or paying for your studies.
Another thing is if this important goal in principle is to save more: if you deny yourself everything and lead an ascetic lifestyle, but you cannot clearly answer the question why you are doing this - it's time to think. This also includes the painful habit of hoarding "for a rainy day": yes, life can be very unpredictable, but it is better to set aside for something pleasant - in a difficult situation (if it comes at all) you can take money meant for pleasant spending.
6
You deny yourself even the necessary
Reasonable savings and planning are good: if you understand where your money goes, and if possible avoid impulsive purchases, most likely the financial side of your life is all right. Another thing is if you deny yourself even the right thing: to buy a cool thing on sale that will not go out of fashion in the near future - great; not to buy the necessary thing at all, because it has not yet been put up for sale (although you have money for it, and you really need it), not so much.
If you need to make serious efforts just to allow yourself some important purchase (for example, a new pair of shoes, because the old one is falling apart before our eyes), it seems that something has gone wrong.
7
You do not leave a tip
Ten percent of the bill is not the largest amount (unless, of course, you have spent the entire salary on one trip to a restaurant), but not everyone is accustomed to leave a tip. Of course, it all depends on the specific situation: if the service was terrible and the soup, despite the empty hall, was brought to you only after two hours, not everyone would want to leave more than the amount of the bill. But this is not always the case: a tip is not a reward for exceptional service, and very often the income of the waiters strongly depends on the generosity of customers. Leaving the notorious ten percent, you help them - and vice versa.
8
You go to visit with empty hands
Nobody says, for example, about birthdays and other holidays, when you come to visit with a gift - both a holiday and a treat in this case are left to the discretion of the inviting person. There is a reason to think if every time your parents or friends call you for dinner, you don’t want to take a bottle of wine or a cake with you out of courtesy - you are just glad that someone else is paying for food this time.
9
You can't brace yourself and throw out the products.
It happens: we buy a little more food than we need, or instead of cooking, we have dinner in a cafe - and as a result, spoiled food remains in the refrigerator. The most natural reaction in this case is to throw out everything that can no longer be eaten and analyze your behavior.
But if at this moment you feel sorry for the money spent and you frantically start to think about what can be cooked from spoiled products (it seems your grandmother always made dried bread crumbs, sour milk can be used for pancakes, and for soft cucumbers that have started to mold, cut off soft edges) think about it. The best way to save money is not to buy (and then not to throw it away) too much, instead of forcing yourself to have expired. Whatever expensive food you buy, it is definitely not worth the health problems.
Photo: Nik_Merkulov - stock.adobe.com, fastudio4 - stock.adobe.com, Kitch Bain - stock.adobe.com