Our spending habits reveal a lot about what we care about. How we spend our money or time says something about us. It says something about our values and what’s important to us. Our spending habits can connect us to values that are not our own. We find ourselves being influenced by our friends’ posts on Instagram or Facebook – showing their exotic holidays snaps or their seemingly perfect lives. We feel the need to keep up and live a life that’s not necessarily a true reflection of our day to day reality. In a recent study, 62% of people said they felt better about themselves when people reacted positively to what they shared on social media.
So, what’s really behind your financial decisions? We’ve designed this short quiz to help you understand what drives your decisions and whether they are aligned to your goals:
- Without thinking about it too much, write down the things that are important to you.
- Next, have your bank statements ready and analyse your spending habits.
- Finally, compare the two lists – do they line up?
If your list and bank statement line up, well done! You’re on the right track. If not, don’t worry, all’s not lost. It’s time to get real about what you want, and this means being honest with yourself. It also means taking the time and making the effort to compose a list of priorities, and reviewing your list often until your priorities become clear. Next, you need to define your values. Values are what is important to us and what gives us purpose and guides our behaviour. Every time you consider buying something, just ask yourself if it's in line with what really matters to you. That will make your decisions much easier.
Looking for more guidance on your money and how best to make sense of it? Visit Wonga’s Money Academy for a series of fun, focused videos that are designed to teach you more about the four pillars of financial literacy – Debt, Saving, Budgeting and Investing. The Money Academy is all about helping you understand how money works, so you can make the right choices when it comes to managing your own money and making decisions that can affect your future.
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