2001 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
Think Before You Spend!

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Introduction

Have you ever purchased an item and later wondered why you purchased it? You have the freedom and responsibility to choose how you will spend your money. This lesson focuses on what to consider BEFORE you spend.

Target Audience - Adults 

Objective

For participants to learn methods of controlling personal spending.

Teaching Points and/or Activities

Activity

Have participants take the "Think Before You Spend!" quiz and discuss members’ answers.

Teaching Points

One of your most important concerns is managing money to obtain the greatest satisfaction. You do have the freedom to choose how you will spend your money, but before spending – THINK!

Think about what influences your spending. Some influences are internal. (Ask for examples.) These include your values, age, income, attitude and expectations, past experiences, etc. Personal and family goals are additional internal influences. Influences may also be external. (Ask for examples.) These may include people such as relatives, friends, neighbors or co-workers. Advertising is an external influence that has a tremendous impact on how we spend money. You need to be aware of how these influences affect you. You also need to decide whether to respond or ignore these influences.

Think about using self-control when either responding to or ignoring influences on your spending decisions. No person or thing can MAKE you spend money unwisely. To enhance your self-control when making spending decisions, learn to break your spending decisions into five parts. The first step is to recognize that there is something you need or want to buy and that the item meets family and/or personal goals. Second, look for the items or options that will satisfy this need or want. Third, examine each option to see which best fits your needs. Then you are ready to purchase the item that best fits the situation. Last, but not least, evaluate the item to see if you will purchase the product again.

Think about other methods to help you better manage your money. Learn to control the stimuli that causes undesirable spending. You may do that by staying away from stores where you spend money for items you do not need or want. Make personal rules to follow before going shopping. Have a purpose in mind and an amount to spend already decided. Keep a weekly record of your spending habits and record how you felt when purchasing each item. This will help you recognize those internal forces that influence you to buy. You may discover that you make unwise spending decisions when you are tired, mad, sad, angry or even happy. Then you can work to better control the influences that affect your spending.

Think about only going shopping one day a week or once a month so your exposure to spending situations is limited. When you go, make a list, stick to it and take only the required amount of money you will need for that shopping trip. Shopping alone is another way to resist both internal and external influences on spending.

Think – if you cannot remove the spending situations, you will have to work on your response to those situations. Think about putting money in a savings account so it will not be as accessible as cash or the money in your checking account. Think about redirecting your attention to other activities besides spending money. You can find a substitute activity, such as walking or reading, to do instead of spending money on items you later find you neither want or need and which do not fit into your financial goals.

In summary, THINK. Think about what influences you to spend money and how you can better control them. Only you can make a difference in your spending habits.