There is Only One Reason Why You Struggle to Save Money
And it's not what you think
Have you noticed it’s increasingly gotten easier to spend money? Corporations spend millions on crafty new ways to get their products in your hands fast and easy.
There used to be a time when you’d to see something cool on TV or billboard. Drive over to a mall, withdraw some cash, buy it, and then drive back home. Well, those days are long gone.
Today some ads know what you want before you do, popping up on your TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook feeds. YouTube doesn’t even give you a choice to skip ads anymore. And streaming services like Netflix have decided they also want some of that sweet ad money.
It feels like it was just yesterday when shopping was intentional. The draining experience of spending the day at the mall was balanced out by the high you got from buying new stuff. Now you swipe your phone a few times, and your Apple Pay pops up. A few days later, the UPS guy shows up at your door. Convenience!
Don’t even get me started on food. Cheap pizzas and burgers used to be all you could order. And they never cost more than the loose change in your wallet. “Proper” food required a drive. Well, not anymore.
Anyone of a hundred apps would now get you any food made under the sun. The only “obstacle” is swiping your finger from the left side of your screen to the right. Convenience!
Living in a big city usually meant you didn’t need to own a car or use overpriced taxis (except on Friday nights). Subways, trams, and buses allowed for cheap commuting, albeit time-consuming. Until a bunch of guys offered to have internet strangers take us wherever we wanted for next to nothing.
The rides were cheap and the commute time was cut in half. It didn’t take long to get us hooked. Now prices have tripled, and we still can’t leave home without tapping on those apps. Convenience!
No friction, and almost zero obstacles. Only pop-up ads, discount code notifications, and “thank you for your purchase” emails. Spending traps are packaged as a convenience. Leaving you scratching your head when the card statement arrives in your mail at the end of the month.
The big question becomes “How do you break this cycle of overspending?” Surely, there must be a way of freeing yourself from the choke hold of these powerful brands.
In my next article, I’ll share how I escaped some of these traps and ended up saving almost 70% of my paycheck.
