The holiday season has arrived. There are so many ads on the radio and television to encourage us to buy their products, and that, in combination with the festive holiday mood, can cause us to spend beyond our budget. This is especially true for women with ADHD. The impulsivity that often accompanies the condition can be a big problem during the holidays. If you are a women with ADHD, there are a number of techniques that you can use to avoid a holiday debt hangover. Here are a few
Become more aware of your impulsive spending – The best place to begin is to acknowledge that uncontrolled spending is an issue. This awareness of the problem helps you put in place a plan to help curb it.
Make Christmas shopping list – Write down what you need before you go out shopping and only get what is on your list. Lists help you maintain control over spending by reminding you if you are tempted to buy something beyond what you intended.
Use Cash – Leaving the credit cards at home can help curb impulsive spending. It automatically puts a limit on how much you can spend, and it gives you a physical reminder of your spending as you see your cash disappear.
Think Before You Buy– This strategy gives you time to think about whether you really want this item. If it is a large purchase for a gift talk to your spouse, family members or friends about it before buying it and whether you can afford it. If you are buying an item online you can put the items in your your cart, but hold off actually buying them for a couple of days to give yourself more time to think about the purchase.
Shop Solo– When you go shopping with friends it can be easy to purchase items you don’t really need. Your friends may encourage you to buy something by telling you how great they think it is. Shopping solo removes that social pressure.