If you make a mistake and ignore your unhealthy spending habits, there could be some unwanted consequences. While it’s great to stimulate the economy, we also want to be careful to do it in a responsible way. In this post, we’ll cover 4 examples of what could happen if you continuously ignore the way you spend your money.

1: You pay more for the same goods or services

On average, people that skip comparison shopping spend more for the same exact goods and services. When you ignore your spending and purchase items without discretion, you run the risk of really hurting your accounts. For instance, sites like Priceline.com boast to be, “On our way to saving $50 million in 20 days.” That’s a lot of cash saved, simply by comparing travel accommodations. Image how much money could be saved by comparing prices on all of our consumer goods.

2: You remain stagnant

Think about it this way… in terms of finances, you are either investing in your future or remaining stagnant. Even if you are not spending beyond your means, if you do not have a plan for your money, you might not advance when the cost of living changes. Your financial situation may, or may not, work in regards to a long-term outcome. An article on The Simple Dollar conducted a poll, and advised, “A full third  [of people] claimed that a lack of financial discipline held them back from achieving their goals.”

Instead of ignoring your spending habits, consider having a financial plan for life. It may be time to look into money market accounts or certificates of deposits as ways to be more productive with your cash.

3: You start to feel guilty

Dani Pascarella, Founder & CEO of Invibed, a tech-based financial education and coaching firm, states, “A big reason why people feel guilty about spending money is they fear that it could be going towards something better or more important.” By not showing care with your finances, you create a void in your long-term plan. By switching these  unhealthy spending habits, you can easily put yourself back on track.

4: It becomes easier to make mistakes

The less you oversee your unhealthy spending habits, the more likely you are to make mistakes. Additionally, if you do not monitor the activities on your account, you won’t be able to catch other’s mistakes as well. If a merchant charged you twice, or even if there were fraudulent charges on your account, you would never know without reviewing them.

Concurrently, if you ignore your spending, you could also accidentally overdraft your account on several occasions.

When you ignore your spending…

There is a long list of things that could happen if you continue to ignore the way you spend your cash. This article has highlighted 4 of the top consequences such as guilt, mistakes, overpayment, and stagnation. Continue to follow the Achieva Life Blog for more tips and tricks about maintaining a healthy relationship with your money. We all know you worked hard to earn it; now, let’s make it do GOOD.

Resources:

The Simple Dollar, Money Management 101: Why You Should Track Your Spending

Forbes, Why You Feel Guilty When You Spend Money and How to Stop