Spending money: look for internal signals
I have found many people spend money to satisfy some need which actually they do not have! Can you believe this? I myself found it difficult. Let me explain.
When it comes to impulse spending we try to please our needs. One need is actually felt by us deep inside. The other one is temporary and fleeting. If I visit my sister and travel by her new shining SUV I should get an urge to own one. Correct? No it does not affect me. For me a vehicle is a drudgery which painfully takes me from one place to another. I do not even drive.
However, not everybody behaves like this. When they see something new, they must have it. It could be a SUV or a plasma tv. Once the asset comes home, of course it ceases to be an attractive thing. This is because it was not a real internal call to buy. It was just a passing urge like a kid wanting a balloon.
Ask yourself – will this purchase actually make you happy? will you use it? See your last 3 purchases and tell yourself honestly whether you wanted it or was it a passing urge. This will stop you from “wasting” money. You will then spend it on maybe a trip to Europe (if you enjoy travelling) or a plasma tv (if you are a couch potato).