How to Wipeout Wasteful Spending With a Little Gratitude

If you struggle with overspending habits, I want to share some old school magic with you that can radically change your mindset, help you pay down debt, and it will even help you build a bigger bank account. 

Today I want to share the power of being grateful and content. Now, why in the heck would I create a video about this topic? It seems a little elementary. Besides, Don't we all know how to be grateful and content? 

Not so fast. Being grateful and content aren't natural-born habits. They are learned behaviors, and in a world of "get it now" and hyper-consumerism, these are habits that all of us could improve upon, so let me break these down. 

First, why are these habits hard to create? Two reasons, marketing, and social influence. 

Marketing is incredible in good ways and, unfortunately, in a lot of bad ways. Keep an eye and ear out on the next commercial or advertisement you see. Many of these messages have a way of subconsciously making you feel bad for what you have and what you don't have. Meaning, if we are always listening to these messages telling us that our vehicles aren't good enough, or our phones aren't good enough, or our clothes aren't good enough, well, it will leave us feeling that our belongings are inadequate. So you to want to limit your exposure to these messages or at least be aware of their intentions. 

What about social influence? The late Jim Rohn, whose known to be one of the best self-development experts, said you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and that means everyone in your life counts. If that's the case, their habits can affect your habits. Think about this, have one of your friends or family members ever bought something, and you were a little jealous or envious, and eventually, you went and made a similar purchase?

It's that old saying, keeping up with the Joneses. Sadly the Joneses will keep you broke because they're broke, and they too will also leave you to feel inadequate because your stuff doesn't measure up to everyone else's. 

I've got a fantastic job where I help people get out of debt and kick financial stress. Here's what I've come to know, most people have what I like to call is a STUFF problem. Meaning, many people struggle because of the STUFF they've gone into debt for and the choices they've made. sparefoot.com did some research and found that there are 52,952 self-storage facilities nationwide. You might be thinking, "BIG DEAL!" But you might be shocked to learn that there are more self-storage facilities than Starbucks and McDonald's combined.

So not only do we have a bunch of stuff filling our homes, which by the way, have almost tripled in size since the mid-'60s, but we have so much stuff that we need external storage units. Yep, that's a lot of stuff! So one of the easiest ways to stop overspending and buying more is to focus on being thankful and content with what you have, which means you'll spend less time worrying about what you don't have. 

So how can you appreciate more of what you have? Well, by spending some time and recognizing that you have it. Mind Blown!

Let me give you some examples. I am grateful for:

• Fresh drinking water
• Access to grocery stores and food from all over the world. I have over 14 grocery stores within15 minutes from my home, and if that's not enough, I have five restaurants within walking distance.
• Electricity
• Travel and fuel
• I'm especially thankful for my truck and travel trailer.
• Shoes and clothing
• Dunkin Donuts coffee
• Heat and A/C
• Computer and filming equipment
• Thankful for my health and physical abilities

This tiny list is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Do you see what I mean? When you stop and give it some thought, we all own plenty of stuff. When you limit those marketing messages, and you stop caring about what your friends and family have, we've got so much to be grateful for. By taking just a few minutes every day to really think about all that we have in life, and practicing contentment and gratitude, you'll be amazed at how much less STUFF you'll bring into your life, and therefore, you'll spend less money, and you won't go further into debt.

Hey, I am thankful for you for hanging out with me on our videos and watching our content, it means the world to me.