It seems one of the most powerful tools to help stop you spending further into debt, is guilt. Free of charge and yet weighty in value, this powerful emotion appears to be helping consumers across the UK purge the urge to shop. According to research by uSwitch.com, shopping is no longer an indulgent pleasure but an essential task which carries the burden of guilt with each unnecessary purchase. According to their statistics 59% admitted they no longer enjoyed shopping whilst 35% admitted they feel more guilty when let loose in the stores. 48% of those asked confirmed they felt guilty spending as they knew they could have saved the money instead, 32% admitted the money they were buying goods with could have been better used against bills waiting to be paid and 27% admitted the most obvious – whatever they were buying wasn’t really needed.
So how is it that despite the bills coming in and the chasing creditors knocking on the door, it’s seemingly not the red letters which are bringing a stop to the spending and rising debt – but the one thing which in essence, is a natural reaction to the devastation people are witnessing all around them? Fear of making your debt worse, or even going into debt in the first place, is creating the emotion of guilt – and with it, could actually be our saviour.
With guilt comes conscience; and with conscience comes the potential for (with time and effort) effective and sensible money management. Now if only we could put that in a bottle? 😉
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ClearDebt provide IVA and Debt Management Plans for individuals in England and Wales.