For context I am 17 and this is my first ever job as a paid summer intern for my city's government.
I became over excited at the possibility of having money to buy everything i have ever wanted.
I've never been good with spending and saving money, most of it goes to food and clothes.
food is spent a lot on doordash because i cannot drive, i know this is a really bad habit and i always regret it.
and with clothes i am in a huge constant cycle of buying-regretting-then reselling my now used clothes for less.
the money i make from reselling is less than what i paid for the clothes, but then i use the resale money to buy MORE clothes that i again regret and resell again.
These spending habits were exacerbated when I started earning real big amounts of money (for a teen) for the first time.
looking at my bank statements I spent $1,600 from my earnings and saved about $1,300 ($1,800 total in savings).
I did not budget at all, and I feel so despaired by my choices because my goal was to save well over half if not almost all of my earnings.
It concerns me how low my impulse control truly is, I know its bad so I feel nervous to look at my bank statements but when i do it forces me to see how bad it is.
I'm losing money on NOTHING, a week ago i spent $30 on a burger and a dr pepper at a pricier place and it wasnt even good. How am I spending $30 on a burger when I have like $100 in my spending right now just because i didnt want to eat the food we had at home.
I need to change and do it fast, looking at my spending choices I just feel a huge weight on my chest.
My dad makes decent income and my mom is poor but neither of them are good at money management so we struggle, I don't want to continue this cycle and it feels depressing that I already basically am.
Any advice on how to cut impulses and seeking immediate gratification of your wants or is it just something you must do out of pure self control and will?
Submitted September 21, 2024 at 02:12AM by Ok_Guarantee_8639 https://ift.tt/1LVt6CX
