Smart spending for a happier me this year 🤩

Greetings!

Just like I mentioned in one of my articles this year about New Year's resolutions, I’m not really a fan of the noise-making type—the kind where people make grand announcements about their resolutions but don’t stick to them for even two weeks. We need to do better!

For the sake of this prompt, I’ve identified some habits and lifestyle choices I need to stop, as well as some I need to adopt this year, based on my experiences in previous years, especially last year.

What to Stop:

The first on my list is my spending habit. Looking back at how I spent money last year is making me feel sick. It’s not like I spent excessively or on irrelevant things—no. The manner in which I spent my money was way off, and it’s something I wouldn’t like to repeat this year.

Many times last year, I found myself spending impulsively. It wasn’t because of emergencies but because I’d get a call, and before I knew it, I had spent money I’d been saving for something else or set aside for a specific purpose.

Often, these calls were for good causes. However, on a fair note, if I didn’t spend in response to those calls, I wouldn’t die or feel bad. I have this habit of finding it hard to say no to someone begging for money when I have spendable cash on me, and that habit always gets the better of me.

Things to Do to Curb This:

Late last year, I found a solution that melted my heart—buying tangible things either for myself or for personal use.

Yes, I noticed that if I don’t use my money to buy tangible things that add value to my life, especially investments, I end up spending it on people. While gifting people is also a form of investment, it often leaves me running low and feeling empty immediately afterward.

For instance, on the last Sunday of 2024, during a church service, my shoe got spoiled. I took an excuse from my church department and went to repair the shoe at a place far from the church. Along the way, while the shoe was being repaired, I felt a strong urge to buy a new pair of shoes.

I went for it—a very costly pair—and though it wasn’t something I had planned for, I felt fulfilled buying it. I knew that, sooner or later, the money would have been spent on something less beneficial to me. This year, I’m going to prioritize buying things for myself!

Another pattern that helped me a bit last year was saving money in an “unreachable” manner. I had some of my money saved in crypto (stable coins) and locked to generate a small interest on a monthly basis. With this setup, even when I had pressing needs, I couldn’t access the funds immediately, and that helped me a lot.

If I maintain these strategies, I’m confident I’ll spend more wisely this year...prioritising myself🤩

Thanks for reading!

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_{This is my entry to the Week 146, Edition 03 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community}

Image is mine