Pretty Reckless

"Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself." - Eric Hoffer

Have you ever gone to check your bank account balance, only to find far less money in there than you expected? You frantically scroll through your banking history, looking for the out-of-place purchase or fraudulent activity... only to find nothing of the sort. Instead you just find financial stupidity of your own design... willy-nilly bank withdrawals, Starbucks lattes every day, food court takeout lunches.

Those tiny purchases you barely blink an eye at are actually the foundation of some pretty reckless spending. "But it's just a dollar here or there," you say. "Does it really matter?"

 You're damn skippy it does. But why?

• You'll get charged bank fees out the wazoo for overzealous use of your debit card (ask me about the Christmas season in university where I got dinged $75 by the bank for all the extra times I used my debit card... that was more than all the money I spent on Christmas gifts combined!)
• You won't actually be seeing where your money goes or have an accurate idea of what you're actually spending
• You have no idea what your actual bank account balance is (and boy howdy will it come as a shock. It always does.)
• It destroys any chance of sticking to a budget
• Myriad other reasons not listed here (but for reference, go check out Gail Vaz-Oxlade's site or Give Me Back My Five Bucks)
• Straight up, you're throwing your money away. 

So how do you fix it? First, let's please remember that I am no financial wizard myself and have also been guilty of reckless spending a time or two... okay, a bazillion! I've included some tips from money wizards below, as well as a few things that have worked for me in the past. 

• Leave your debit/credit card at home.
• Why this works: you don't have access to it so you're not tempted to spend it.
• When you do go shopping, do it with a list.
• Why this works: This 'money rule' from Gail Vaz-Oxlade does test your willpower but makes you better off in the end. Her advice if you see something you want that hasn't been written down? "Put whatever you think you want on your list, and GO HOME. If you still want it in 48 hours, you can go back for it." 
• Take out cash at the beginning of the week and when it runs out, you're done.
• Why this works: a little self-explanatory, I think.
• Avoid places where you can spend money.
• Why this works: see above
• Sleep on it.
• Why this works: For one, this helps curb the dreaded impulse purchase. Research shows that 88% of impulse purchases are made on sale items... so after sleeping on the idea, you may come to the realization that the sale item really wasn't that great a deal after all. Vaz-Oxlade makes a great point when she says "If you walk away from the idea of the buy, giving your brain enough time to weigh the actual benefits against the actual costs, you’re moving from impulse shopping to problem recognition."
• Take more than a casual interest in checking your online banking history.
• Why this works: the more aware of the running total, the less inclined you will be to spend like a rapper... or a Kardashian... or the dreaded combo of the two: KIMYE. 

You are the architect of your own (financial) destruction (and if you can identify the TV show that line is from, I'll give you a virtual cookie). You are the only one that can make the changes that will keep you on the path to financial success. It truly is the little things that add up in the end.