In our daily lives, spending money is a routine activity. From buying groceries to

splurging on a new gadget. Our financial decisions are influenced

by a myriad of psychological factors.

Understanding these factors can provide deeper insights

into our spending habits, helping us make more informed choices and

manage our finances better. In today's episode we're going to jump into the

psychology of spending and explore the key psychological factors that impact how we use our money.

Welcome back to Savvy Psychologist. I'm your host Dr. Monica Johnson. Every week on this show I'll help you face

life challenges with evidence-based approaches, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

I was inspired to talk about this topic because so many

patients, listeners, and people I run into speak to me about over-consumption,

how Tik-Tok made them buy it, and also how they're swimming in debt.

So it seemed like a good idea to explore some of the psychological reasons why we spend money. spoiler alert, marketers and advertisers do use our psychology to influence us to spend.

So the first psychological factor that we'll talk about are emotions and mood.

Emotions are powerful drivers of spending behavior. When we're happy, we might celebrate by treating ourselves to something nice.

On the flip side, when we're feeling down, shopping can serve as a form of quote-unquote retail therapy to lift our spirits.

This emotional spending can lead to impulse buys,

which are unplanned purchases made in the heat of the moment.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I've purchased a treadmill, an exercise bike, and

a lot of other smaller items throughout my lifetime that ended up unused, put up in a

buy-nothing group, or in a donation bin.

Research shows that positive emotions such as joy and excitement

...