Vickie's Viewpoint

I have been working with my latest client, a newly single Mom. We have only had a couple of coaching sessions, but I already recognize symptoms of several of the most common money problems:

• Overspending money on her son to relieve her guilt over her deadbeat ex



• Knows what budgeting is all about but never took it seriously
• Has a hard time controlling her impulse spending
• Nickel and dimes her money away on quick fixes instead of saving up for what she really wants and needs
• Accepts financial help from her Mom, but feels lousy about it
• Is way too generous with her friends, and ends up resenting them for it

No matter what angle we approached her situation from, all the symptoms came down to this one cause: she doesn’t know what her own dreams are. Well, actually she did have one, but she honestly didn’t think she deserved to have it!

Are you like this lady? Do you feel stuck in the mud, with no direction to go and no way to get there if you did?

Here are some things you can do to get yourself kick started:

1. Write a list of 50 things you would like to do, be, or have – no matter how crazy they may sound. This helps motivate you to break old habits, and to be happier.
2. Make and follow a budget. Budgets are not a form of medieval torture, but are a planning tool for getting your dreams.
3. Whenever you feel the urge to impulse buy, slow down! Give yourself a chance to think about it so you can have a choice: do you want a quick fix or dream come true?
4. Be an example for your children, family, friends, whoever you hold dear. Show them how to make dreams come true!

Once you know what your dreams are, you will know how much you can buy and how much you need to save. So, dream away and just go for it!

You can contact Vickie Champion for a complimentary coaching and consulting session.

It’s been a bad day. The kids were fighting and missed the bus, the car got dinged in the parking lot, the boss yelled at you for being late again, you realize you left your lunch on the counter, and just then your computer crashes. What else could go wrong? You need something to lift your spirits. Then, you see that just perfect… whatever… Out comes the credit card and IT is yours – ah! Now you feel better, right?

Why did you really buy that “whatever”? The next time you look at your prize purchase, do you feel a twinge of guilt, or a even bit defensive? It’s because you bought it impulsively to get a quick fix and feel better about your situation, not because of a carefully thought out plan. It was nothing more than a temporary distraction from your frustration and stress.

Symptoms of being an Impulse Buyer are if you:

• Hate shopping from a list
• Make hasty and unplanned purchases
• Feel that waiting until you save up for an item is just not an option
• Believe if you don’t buy it NOW, it will be gone
• Justify the purchase by thinking “It’s not that much…”, or “I deserve it…”
• Seldom pay cash
• Use shopping as “something to do”
• Start worrying or feel guilty shortly after you walk out of the store
• Avoid comparison shopping
• These actions are a pattern that repeats itself over and over

We can all be a sucker for a good sales pitch or an attractive item from time to time, but if any of these symptoms describe you, then you are an Impulse Buyer. You may already know that ending impulse buying is not easy. Every place you look for help tells you to just change your behavior, but these places don’t understand that most personal finance issues like impulse buying are only symptoms of a bigger problem. A good money coach can get to the heart of your impulse buying to end it forever.