The Power of No

We all have them. Wants and desires that take us off track from our long term goals and plans. Trips, cars, clothing, electronic devises, trinkets and toys. All can be a siren's song to lure us into making a purchase. Here is a summary of the actions one person took to reduce the wants.

Caution! Unless you're really ready to dive in to win, some of these may appear radical. Ready? Here they are:

No TV. We have DVDs, but no cable. Not watching commercials really helps you not see what you're "missing."

Don't go to the mall-- for the same reason. It's not fun when I know I really can't buy much, so it's better if I just stay out of the mall and don't breed discontentment.

Don't visit websites where you used to do online shopping, read blogs or whatever that make you think of things you want.

Pinterest is a difficult one for me-- I tend to want to do a bunch of DIY or home decor stuff that I just can't afford right now. I do still look, but try to limit the time on whatever site(s) give you trouble.

Tell yourself that if you cut back now, you can buy XYZ eventually without any guilt. I'm hoping that after living this way for a while, I won't want XYZ all the time anyway.

Don't read magazines if they make you want stuff-- again, the ones that get me are BHG, or other home decor type magazines. Also don't look at catalogs that come in the mail. If you know you aren't going to buy, don't even look-- straight to the trash.

Delete coupon/sales ads in your email inbox. Remove yourself from their mailing list. You can always sign back up, but for now the coupons won't be a constant reminder/temptation to shop. There's a reason they send those out-- why make things harder for yourself? Start clearing stuff out for a yard sale.

There's nothing that curbs the shopping tendency like seeing how much STUFF you have that you don't use or want. A lot of my stuff for the sale was almost new-- crazy.

So there you have it. Radical? In a certain way, yes.

But not impossible and kooky going off the grid. But by approaching life differently, it can be a recipe for winning.

I think gratefulness is one of the keys to contentment. One thing you have to break in this process is your sense of entitlement. Working with people who struggle in life is a good way to break it. You can quickly go from "I deserve this because I work hard" to "I think I'll just be thankful today". This type of thought process can really assist you in treading the balance of being a penny pinching curmudgeon (which actually is probably related to materialism) and a careless spender. You can enjoy what you have, plan well for the future, and give when you are grateful.

Chris Johnston is a Dave Ramsey Certified Coach in Central Ohio. Learn more about how you can get one to one coaching and begin winning with money by calling 614-296-7177 or by emailing chrisjohnstoncoaching@gmail.com