Mary Holm's tips on how to curb your spending

Is that new item of clothing really going to make you happier in the long run? Do you really need to hold on to your Saturday brunch habit? Mary Holm looks into why we spend unnecessarily and suggests how we can take more control. She also discusses how to tell lenders you don't want to be offered loans, ideas for making Christmas less expensive, and places you can get free support to help cut your spending. Is that new item of clothing really going to make you happier in the long run? Do you really need to hold on to your Saturday brunch habit?Mary Holm looks into why we spend unnecessarily and suggests how we can take more control.She also discusses how to tell lenders you don't want to be offered loans, ideas for making Christmas less expensive, and places you can get free support to help cut your spending. Listen to the full conversationUnnecessary spending is often about a quick happiness fix, Mary tells Jesse Mulligan."I suggest people who do that a lot might want to make a note on the calendar or fridge to think abut their spending a month later or even a year later, think about that purchase and whether it did make you much happier in the long run or not. That can make people realise after a while they've just got a whole lot more clothes and each individual piece in the wardrobe isn't worth a whole lot to them."Competitive spending is also a trap, she says."Another reason people spend unless is for the sake of appearances to keep up with the Joneses. Do we need that new kitchen? How often do we really need a new one or is it just because we are trying to impress other people?"To get on top of your spending, she suggests people estimate how much they spend in a given period then compare that figure to their actual outgoings."A study in Australia found peoples' estimates of spending on transport and rent were pretty accurate - and that's not surprising, we know what the rent is - but people tended to spend more on clothes and considerably more on alcohol."Habitual spending is an easy trap to fall into, Mary says."Going out for brunch on Saturday, which is a lovely thing to do, but you might want to say we'll do that every second week or set a limit. Just be aware of how powerful habits are, If you change the habit for 30 days then you've usually broken the habit."Watch out for slogans, Mary warns."Slogans like 'you deserve it' ... If we want to spend the money you can always come up with a reason why we deserve it because you took the rubbish out this morning or whatever, but it's so manipulative. 'Buy now pay later' is a classic."…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details