Yesterday I read a brilliant little article titled “To Be Or Not To Be…You.” It included a couple of thought-provoking quotes. My favorite was this one:

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” ~ Chinese Proverb

I thought about that for a while, and then I realized that finances, particularly overspending, can be one of the greatest sources of tension around. Especially if we are overspending as a result of not being ourselves.

Buying expensive dinners with friends for example, or purchasing clothes, electronics, or cars that we can’t afford – just so that we can impress someone else.

So I thought I would turn this over to you guys. How do you go about being “yourself” as far as your finances are concerned? How do you manage the impulse to spend? Do you ever buy things just to impress others, and then regret it later?

Leave me a comment below!

There were tons of excellent articles this week. I’d love to share a few of my favorites with you.

Saving Money:

• The Happy Rock advises us to Sacrifice and Save Money with Store Brands.
• Wise Bread has an article on How to find the sweet spot when buying electronics.
• Prime Time Money has paid off his car. What will he do next?
• Money Smart Life offers up another view of Lending Club in the article “Lending Club as a Debt Consolidation Option?“.

Making Money:

• Money Saving Methods tells us how to get $75 free from PNC bank.

Losing Money:

• The Digerati Life focuses in on How Trading Stocks Can Make You Poor: Reasons Why Stock Traders Lose Money.

Wacky and Wild:

• The Smart Spending Blog offers up some Personal-finance lessons from an ex-con.
• Taking Charge reminds us to watch out for scams on CraigsList.
• Finance for a Freelance Life wonders, “What Kind of Work Is Beneath You?“
• My Two Dollars told me something I didn’t know: The White House Has A Blog Now!

Carnivals, Festivals and Celebrations:

• The Road to Financial Independence @ One Family’s Blog
• The Carnival of Saving Money at Deposit Accounts
• 123 of investing and financial planning at Invest Internals
• The Rich Life Carnival @ Rich Life Equals Better Life
• Financial planning demystified @ RaagVamdatt

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 15:41 and is filed under Debt Reduction FAQ. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.