Article | - 4:18 pm
December has arrived, bringing with it the bustling activity that often marks the end of the year. The festive season sparks a surge in retail, enticing consumers to shop through sales, new products, cheerful music, and the appeal of festive decorations and gift wrapping—all sending a clear signal to your brain: it’s time to spend without guilt.
With so many enticing incentives, it’s easy to overlook one critical detail: who will pay the bill? It’s essential to stay cautious amid all this excitement, especially as we approach a time when we often feel exhausted and tempted to indulge. However, it’s important to remember that the new year is just around the corner, bringing additional expenses. Organizing your finances now can help ensure a smoother start to 2025.
Alongside the pervasive marketing during this time, emotional factors can lead to impulsive shopping. Purchasing an item will often bring immediate pleasure, turning a mere object of desire into a reality. This sensation affects the brain, prompting it to seek similar stimuli, which can result in further spending for those lacking self-control.
Being treated kindly in a shop and feeling happy when making a purchase are strategies many people use to fill an inner void. “Feelings of loneliness, dependency, abandonment, and scarcity can trigger impulsive buying as a form of gratification, but this can lead to other issues, such as anxiety,” explains Psychologist Cássia Nunes Alves.
Just as it’s impossible to fill an inner void or resolve emotional issues through shopping, it’s also futile to buy affection with gifts. “It’s worth reflecting on whether the effort to please someone is genuine or simply an attempt to gain admiration or acceptance,” adds Alves.
Another common factor driving shopping behavior is comparison. In an age of constant exposure to social media, it’s easy to envy the lives we see online. However, the lives of influencers are often sponsored (and not always genuine). This comparison can spark envy, and attempts to emulate someone else’s reality can lead to a cycle of dissatisfaction with what you have and increasing debt.
In this context, self-reflection is crucial. Ask yourself: Are these purchases necessary? Why do I feel the need to shop during this period? Can I afford them?
The Universal Church holds the ‘Prosperity With God’ meeting every Monday, where you can learn to use reason instead of emotion in managing your finances. After all, good decisions come when priorities are in the correct order, and God’s will should take first place in our lives.
Join us every Monday at 10 AM, 4 PM, and 7 PM at The Universal Church. All are welcome regardless of religion or background. Come as you are.
For more information on locations, please call 1-888-332-4141 or text 1-888-312-4141. You may also contact us via our contact form (click here). For those who live in areas without a location of The Universal Church, you may also connect to our Virtual Church via Zoom Conference.
Contributors:
uckg.org (Adapted)
