She's On The Money - 7 Sneaky Christmas Traps That Make You Blow Your Budget (and How to Beat Them)

Starting point is 00:00:00 My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Tii, gulinyan ganya, nianakaka yao yinbina waka, nianakai nianbina yakarumja, duminyagumiga dumiga ithawaka nirawamundamun imalan, mumubangada boma ininyalan waka, gaunan yakarumja, wutunarana. Hello beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. we thank acknowledge and respect the aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see she's on the money podcast acknowledges culture country community and connections bringing you the tools

Starting point is 00:00:42 knowledge and resources for you to thrive she's on the money she's on the money Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast that's here to keep your budget merry and bright, even when Christmas has other ideas. It always creeps up on us. Yeah, you know, I feel like, I mean, everyone always says this, but it literally was felt like it feels like it wasn't that long ago. No, and also it's crazy. same day every year same day every year weird we never see calendars or something

Starting point is 00:01:29 oh my god I'm so excited Christmas is such an exciting time so you know the moment when you check your bank account after Christmas and then think like okay where did all my money go well I was a bit too festive yeah okay I should have reined it in a little bit I'm excited with me is the woman who's going to help us figure out why this happens and more importantly how to stop doing it. Victoria Devine. Hello. So this is going to be like a little bit of a do as I say, not as I do episode because I love getting a little bit festive. Oh my God. I love getting a little bit merry. And I think that it's important to top the episode with that because I don't want you thinking that I do frugal Christmas every year because I try. I manifest

Starting point is 00:02:10 that and then I just flow out. I genuinely can't believe that we are recording Christmas episodes. I am so excited to talk about it though, because I feel like it's really well-timed for us to get a little bit more prepared in the lead up to Christmas. So if you're like, what the hell V, it's not even December yet. I know, but the shops have had Christmas stuff since August. So I feel like that was the gateway to letting me have a Christmas episode. Sorry. Take it up with corporate. Yeah. Take it up with somebody else. So this episode isn't about being a Grinch or like sucking all the fun out of Christmas because like I love Christmas I love traditions now that I'm a mum I think I love it even more like Bec I'm gonna have a nearly two-year-old for Christmas

Starting point is 00:02:54 this year and last year it was fun like I dressed him in his little festive outfit he like ripped his paper off but didn't get it I think he now is gonna like get the concept of gifting I'm just so excited but this episode is gonna be about I guess spotting the sneaky little traps that nudge us into spending a little bit more than we had actually anticipated or even wanted to. And then once you know them, you can kind of pause and ask, do I want to spend my money here? Or is it just like this Christmas spending psychology at work? So this episode is all about spending with intention so that you still get all the joy at Christmas without the financial hangover come January. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. You've always got our back, don't you? I just wanted to talk about

Starting point is 00:03:37 christmas thank you for thinking that that was me having your back but this is also a fyi to victoria episode uh-huh because i just i don't want to miss out you know you should listen to this when it comes out and be like okay that's actually great advice do you know i can't listen to our episodes oh my god same i hate hearing my voice hearing myself i'm like i still do for quality checks yeah i give myself the biggest ick oh my god same i can't do it same i'm like why did say that even though it's something I can't I can't if I listened back to every single episode I would be calling our producer Emma and be like rip it down yeah actually not let that go live actually I would rather bury myself thank you let's call it all off that's why did you give

Starting point is 00:04:21 me a microphone let's stop doing this right now okay so where should we start all right let's start with Victoria's feeling of missing out um so feed FOMO um so scrolling yourself broke before you even shop. I've already started saving TikToks. Oh no. Yeah. I've already started saving things on Instagram. Like you jump on TikTok for inspiration or I do. One of my girlfriends recently was like, oh, I don't have TikTok. I just know I wouldn't be good at it. I'm like, you're a better person than I will ever be. I know. Those people are like, I just don't download it. I'm like, that's impressive. But I jump on TikTok and I know a lot of you guys also jump on TikTok through the inspiration and suddenly your $30 budget feels underwhelming next

Starting point is 00:05:09 to somebody's $700 Christmas haul. And you just feel like, oh my God, maybe I shouldn't be getting back a $30 gift. Maybe I need to bump that up to a hundred dollars because like, I can't get her enough. Like we start to think that we aren't enough and going back on this, it does go back to psychology. So you know how I said, do as I say, not as I do. For those of you who might be new to the podcast, before I got into financial advice, I was in psychology. I actually have two psych degrees and I use that a lot to help swindle your bank accounts into a better situation. But this is a thing called social comparison theory. So seeing curated gift guides, which there are a lot of this season, I've already started to see like under $50 gift guide,

Starting point is 00:05:57 under $100 gift guides. Fantastic. But these spark what's called benign envy. Okay. And benign envy is something that you've probably never spoken about before, but it happens all the time and it's wanting what other people have. Studies show that this kind of envy boosts purchase intentions, especially when that person feels relatable to you. So if you're watching your favorite content creators. We're not just like mindlessly scrolling TikTok and a rando comes up like, but if your favorite content creators are posting things, you're more likely to be like, Oh, I want that. Totally. I love that. I love that she has that. I want that. And just a little interesting fact in influencer research, relatability and credibility, both strongly

Starting point is 00:06:46 predict buyer behavior which is why I quote normal girl hauls influence you so hard got you so like don't get me wrong we're not looking at their influencer haul and going oh my god I need to spend a thousand dollars on the brand new Dyson Airwrap like maybe we do because that's how I feel right now but it's often the smaller things that you're like all of these things add up and that feels like a relatable purchase but because they feel like normal girls that you're following they influence you so hard. And you know what? That's why so many businesses spend so much of their marketing budget on influencers. Yeah. And it's kind of that feeling of like, oh, this person doesn't seem super rich, but they have this super expensive thing. I,

Starting point is 00:07:27 why is it not in my budget? I deserve that. Yeah. I'm going to try and make that in my budget. It seems like a normal thing to own. I just, I get it. We work hard, Bec. Yeah. I think every single person in our community deserves the absolute world. But if you do not have the budget for it, you just don't like I cannot like don't give me the oh but I deserve it oh but I worked really hard this year I don't care if you don't have the budget it's a no like it's hard and it hurts and it's not that fun but I'm sorry just because you feel like you deserve something doesn't mean that we compromise our budget and future us for that. Budget does not discriminate. No and so what I want you to be doing instead, my favorite button on TikTok and on Instagram. I don't know if I

Starting point is 00:08:15 should tell you guys this because like some people might get offended, especially like other content creators. My favorite button is mute. I like muting people. So I'm not unfollowing you. I really like you. I still want the connection with you, but I don't want to see your stuff. Just in case. Yeah. It's just not my journey. So mute the whole accounts or the people that our big influences during this period of time. Yes, just for now. Just for now. And you can maybe find some like budget friendly creators. Do you know who's a really good budget friendly creator? Miss Jessica Ricci. Oh, true. She actually does some really good stuff and write your gift list before you open your apps or even better. Do you know what? I think that your social

Starting point is 00:08:55 detox, like your social media detox should happen in December. Delete your app for December. Weirdly, you'd probably save a lot of money. You know, you would in an indirect way. But I get FOMO and you get FOMO. We just need to find a deal or a way that we can deal with it. Okay. Okay. So what's number two? Okay. So I've written down the vibe tax. Okay. I don't know if these are lame headings. They probably are, but hopefully you're here because you resonate with my lameness. Spending more because the store feels magical. Oh my God. This is so relatable. How many times do you go in and it's just a little something, something or a little trinket. They get little, they have little trinkets.

Starting point is 00:09:35 Oh, my God, I did this in. Yeah, like, I feel like you walk in for, like, an ornament or something. Yes. Because, like, we're Christmas shopping and you're like, I really want to get Beck an ornament. And suddenly you're wheeling out with half of Kmart. Oh, but it's so magical. It's so fun.

Starting point is 00:09:47 Like, they've got it all VM'd to perfection, like the fairy lights. Oh, my God. They're playing Mariah Carey. Oh, you got to. Like, sorry, I'm feeling very festive. And the decorations, they're all styled to look like they're straight out of pinterest yeah and everything just feels like it just needs a little spot in your trolley well you gotta have the fairy lights when you see them up and you gotta have the tree

Starting point is 00:10:07 right but do you know what this is psychologically speaking it's called the halo effect okay and it's working it's working baby it's working and that's when the environment if the environment feels good we assume the products inside of it are better as well yeah christmas lights playlists the smell oh my god how many times have you walked into peter alexander and been like it's intoxicating in here yeah it smells like a sweet treat oh i love a sweet treat i do and then they're like decorated for christmas and it kind of flips your brain into holiday mode and then all of a sudden you're feeling like slightly warm slightly fuzzy yeah slightly spendy and then you're like i can have this vibe at home it fills into your shopping choices and then we're trying to take the vibes

Starting point is 00:10:53 home. Exactly. Exactly. Right. And we don't like hearing this because that's a little bit confronting. But again, this is why marketing spend so much money on visual merchandising the store so that you spend more. It's not so, oh, we love our customers so much. We would love them to hear Mariah Carey when we walk in. Yeah. Girl, they're trying to get your money. That makes it sound. They're strategic. Yeah. They're manipulative. It doesn't feel as magical when you hear it like that. No, you walk in, you'd be like, I feel the manipulation in here. exactly and when it comes to research because like i like backing everything up with research there have been so many studies that show that the christmas vibe really does change how we spend

Starting point is 00:11:34 in so many sneaky ways and i've written down a little list from a lot of different places okay so shoppers stay longer in stores that play festive music and one american department store actually found the average spend jumped 30 on the days when they had like live carolers in the store oh my god of course so you're thinking oh my god I'm at Maya there's like cute little live carolers out the front live love laugh yeah yeah yeah no I'm spending yep yep that's why they've got them there and when festive music is playing shoppers are more likely to add a little extra just in case items to their baskets things that they didn't plan on buying and then products are actually perceived, like they literally tested this, products are perceived as higher quality

Starting point is 00:12:24 and more gift worthy when they're displayed under Christmas lights and decorations. That makes sense. I feel like there are things that I buy and I'm like, I take them home and I'm like, what the hell am I going to do with this thing? Like a shower speaker? And even on the internet, right? Yes. You go onto a website, all of a sudden they've got a Christmas background. There might be some Christmas music. I just, you're getting me because you guys have put a lot of time, energy and effort into researching what is going to increase your conversion rates. We appreciate it. Do you know what? I live in this rock and hard place, right? So I don't want

Starting point is 00:12:59 my community to have the mickey taken out of them. I don't want you spending more than you need to. On the flip side, I am wildly passionate about small business. Yeah. And I would tell every small business owner, yeah, festify your website, like increase your conversion rate, increase your average customer spend, you know, send them festive emails. That's such a good idea. But then on the flip side, I'm like, Beck, don't, don't fall for this stuff that I'm helping with. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Because there's like my love for small business, but then also my love for being like, hey, be a smart consumer. Like just make sure that you're not making impulse decisions.

Starting point is 00:13:37 Yeah. I just work for the devil, I suppose. So you know what we're going to do instead? Yes. What? DIY vibes. Okay. So make your own magic at home. yeah it's really nice with a playlist and then christmas treats so that you're not chasing it in shops and stores you're not trying to go down to the local shopping area and like get your vibes

Starting point is 00:13:58 there we have that at home yes and then while your vibes are high maybe you made a little hot choccy at home we're playing the mariah carey christmas list you know what we will do actually yeah we will put together all of the she's on the money favorite christmas songs into a christmas playlist on our Spotify. Cause I think a lot of people don't know that we actually not only have our podcast on Spotify, but we have a Spotify account with different playlists. And in these playlists is like investing, budgeting, saving. I'm gonna make a Christmas one. Yes. And it will be our favorite songs. Some Buble. Yeah. A lot of Buble. Cool. Like if, if you don't like Mariah Carey and Buble, steer very clear. Absolutely. Cause we're going to go ham. But what I want you

Starting point is 00:14:42 to do is do that at home, write a list, check it twice. Check it twice. And keep the vibes at your house so that they don't hijack your budget. That's so true. And then actually bake gingerbread cookies so your house smells. Oh my God, it's so cute. And like, I know it sounds so lame, but like girl, I want your baked home goods rather than a present. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I'm exactly the same. Okay. What's next on the list? The payback present. Oh, that sounds so mean. It does. But like how many times have you been given a gift and then you felt like you had to like also give them a gift of similar value that's so true like oh it's peck's birthday she spent 50 bucks on my present now i'm gonna have to get her a present same stuff happens at christmas yeah like maybe

Starting point is 00:15:28 you budgeted 30 bucks for your cousin's christmas present because you got them in kris kringle this year and then she hands you a luxe 70 candle and then the next thing you know you're scrambling for a $70 voucher because you just want to even the score and make sure that she doesn't think that you think she's worthless. Yep. Yep. Is that stupid or is that stupid? I know it's really hard when people, it's nice, but it's like, okay, that's adding to the amount that I've got to spend now. Yeah. And again, back to psychology, it's called the reciprocacy norm. Yep. So it's like this dumb, really dumb social rule that we assume must be return equal value. Yes. At Christmas, I would say the urge to keep relationships quite balanced pushes people

Starting point is 00:16:14 to overspend consistently. I get it. An interesting fact for you, Bec. Psychologists once tested just how deep the urge to give back goes. So this was in the 1970s. And I would say it's worse now because social media didn't exist in the 1970s, but a researcher mailed out hundreds of Christmas cards to complete strangers, like complete strangers, and then his letterbox started filling up with cards in return. That is so cute. I think it's cute, but they were like, oh, my God,

Starting point is 00:16:43 did I forget that I know this person? Like we should send one back. Families literally wrote back. Kids drew pictures. People wished him Merry Christmas as if they had known him for years. that is that is how automatic their reciprocity reflex is if someone gives us something our brain instantly feels like oh my god i owe them something back even if it makes zero logical sense i.e some random researcher sent me a christmas card debate me to see if i would

Starting point is 00:17:13 fall for it and then they fell for it oh that is something this thing's so sweet about that it's also kind of cute like i don't know do good be good send a christmas card they're cute yeah with a little candy cane inside. Oh my God, I know. Like you used to. In grade three, like when you would do your Christmas cards and you would tape the candy cane to the envelope. Actually write something in the envelope though. I mean, inside the card, because some people just do. A well-written card. A well-written card and a candy cane is all you need to do this Christmas. Absolutely. The other thing that we're going to do instead of this reciprocacy reflex is set a family-wide budget. Or I've talked about this before in our previous Christmas episodes,

Starting point is 00:17:50 we do Kris Kringle in our family. And I think you should too, because when the rules are really clear, the pressure to match disappears. Yes, exactly. And like, it also changes our entire budget. Like our family is growing, like not just my family, but you know, more nieces and nephews than we've had before. All of that stuff. Yeah. We cannot be expected to always bring a present for every uncle and aunt and cousin that's coming to Christmas. And I don't know about you, but I love having lots of people around at Christmas. So like the more the merrier. Kris Kringle means that that more the merrier doesn't become more the merrier out of my budget to make sure that everyone coming to my house has a present. Totally. Because regardless, you've only got

Starting point is 00:18:33 to buy one present. That's it. Yeah. And like I have spoken about this before. You can also have like random Christmas rules. Like we have secondhand handmade or homemade as a rule in one side of our family. So much fun. Totally. No, I really, really like this idea. It's so fun. anyway, Bec, let's take a really quick break, but friends stay with us because we're still talking about Christmas. And next we're going to be diving into more of the psychology of exactly why we overspend on gifts. Um, and just spoiler before we get to the ad break, it has way less to do with them and way more to do with you. Okay. Bye. Welcome back everyone. Before the break, VD dropped something very very I would say a personal attack but it was needed yeah like it's

Starting point is 00:19:21 not you it's me yeah yeah yeah it's me saying it's not me it's you yeah exactly exactly so we were talking about the pressure to match the money people spend on us and I guess like stupid it's really silly but what else is there on the list of why we overspend on gifts I've written this down is the stress to impress. Blowing your budget just because you don't want to look like a stingy gal. Which is hard when you are genuinely broke. I get it. Like, I feel like we're all trying to keep up with the Kardashians, keep up with the Joneses, whatever. I feel like there's this underlying pressure. And do you know what? It's actually crazy because I was thinking about this episode and pulling it all together. And I used to feel that a lot more when I had no money

Starting point is 00:20:09 than now when I am, I would say very financially comfortable. So now I'm financially comfortable. I feel like, I don't think that you would think I was stingy if I bought you a $10 gift. I think that you would just hopefully assume that, you know, I really thought about it because it's this dumb psychology, right? Like deep down, I know that, you know, that I'm not broke. Yeah. So if I got you a $10 gift, I'm hoping that the assumption would be that you just assume that was because I am thoughtful and kind and that's, it's the thought that counts. Yes, genuinely. Whereas when I had no money, if I bought you a $10 gift in the back of my mind, all I'm thinking of is, does Beck know it was worth $10? Does she think I'm being stingy?

Starting point is 00:20:54 Does she think I didn't spend enough? Like you get all of these additional layers of doubt, which keeps you in debt, which keeps you in a position where you're not putting your financial future first. And it's an interesting reflection because I don't feel that about gifts now. I'm genuinely, and this is a privilege and please don't get me wrong. I'm speaking from immense privilege of having financial freedom, but don't get me wrong. I also know I created that myself, but it's an interesting conundrum, right? Like where you don't have enough and you feel like you don't have enough and then you feel like you're being stingy because you're restricting your budget because you should be doing that yeah and to dive a little bit deeper into not me but

Starting point is 00:21:34 more into this concept like you actually have no clue what your partner's mom is into maybe like and this is just an example maybe like you've met her twice and it's kind of a new you know you're meeting Jess's parents for the first time back you're like stressing and all you know is that she's like a bit fancy. She likes nice things. The pressure. So you play it safe and you grab what is maybe the fanciest bottle of perfume or the fanciest bottle of champagne that you can afford because you just go, oh, she likes nice things because at least no one can say it looks cheap. Yeah. You don't want to look cheap, do you? No, exactly. And this is stupid. I know. But you know what it's called? It's called self-presentation anxiety. Okay. So because gifts feel like they're

Starting point is 00:22:21 a reflection of you. Right. And you know what? The more you care about gifting, the worse this is for you. Like the more you deeply care about other people, the more you're going to suffer from this. When you're not sure what to buy, you actually just default to the pricey option so that you don't feel like you look thoughtless. Yeah. It's basically you overspending to save face. oh my god that's so like yeah that's relatable that's literally me and then you end up being like well i can't afford food for us a week but that's fine because at least this random person that i'm buying a gift for doesn't think that i'm cheap yeah it's crazy they didn't even think about it to begin with they were just like oh that's so nice spec didn't come empty-handed you could

Starting point is 00:23:01 have brought a piece of paper with a drawing of a cat on it and she probably would have been impressed like oh my god it's great so annoying right and then going back to research studies find that givers assume people want to be woed, but recipients consistently report feeling closer to someone who nails like the small practical things they actually wanted. Yes. Like maybe you did go to Jess's mum's house one time and you noticed she didn't have a bottle opener. Yes, exactly. And you remembered and wrote it down in your notes app and then that's what you got her for Christmas and it cost you like eight bucks at Dan Murphy's. Yeah. But she's like, oh my God, you remembered that. That's so funny. I've been thinking about getting a bottle opener,

Starting point is 00:23:39 but I always forget. Totally. That's the woe factor. One of my favorite gifts this year for my birthday was a microwave, really cheap one from Kmart. That was just like small, practical. And it's just like something I kept, I kept banging on about. I was like, I need to get a microwave, but I didn't realize anyone was like paying attention. I was just like constantly complaining. And then I got a microwave for my birthday and I was like, this is the best. It makes you feel so seen. So yeah, I totally agree. Not that that's like any small feat, like it's quite expensive, but it's like. No, but it's not the point. You felt heard and you felt seen. Totally felt seen. And so I think that absolutely makes sense. Like if you realize

Starting point is 00:24:12 that someone needs something, even if it's like a spatula, like whatever it is that you see. That's why I have my creepy notes section. That's so cute. It's so important because there was one study where recipients actually rated the gift of a pair of socks that they'd asked for as more thoughtful than surprise jewellery. Yeah, totally. Feeling seen is so nice. Oh my God, I asked for this. That's crazy.

Starting point is 00:24:37 Like you remembered. Pay attention to what people say. Pay attention. Keep a creepy notes app. Yes, I completely agree. So what are we going to do instead? We're going to swap expensive for practical with a personal twist. So choose something that they'll actually use and add a note.

Starting point is 00:24:54 So this is where your card comes in handy that shows you thought about them. Oh my gosh, I just noticed that X, Y, Z. Because even if it's not a incredible gift that they're like, oh my God, like Beck thought I didn't have this, but I actually did. It's the thought. Yeah. A gift card for their favorite cafe plus a little handwritten note is going to beat any random luxury buy, I promise. Absolutely. I completely agree. What else do we have on the list? All right. So the wall factor tax.

Starting point is 00:25:23 Okay. I told you these were going to be lame. I told you, but hopefully you remember them. So that's when the gift costs more than it's worth to the recipient. Yeah, okay. So what does that actually mean? So maybe you've splashed out $120 on like a gadget or like a novelty thinking this is going to land as like a whoa gift on the day, but instead they didn't even open the box

Starting point is 00:25:47 and it's like the end of January and money has gone down the drain. Yeah, yeah, that's it. They didn't give a shit. I know. So why does this happen? This one happens literally when there's a misalignment between what you think they'll value and what they actually do value and give as often chase surprise or like spectacle. And the misfire then happens because you're shopping from your perspective,

Starting point is 00:26:09 not their perspective. You didn't actually put yourself in their shoes. And that's why we say pay attention and keep a creepy notes list. Yeah. So there was actually an economist. So his name's Joel Waldfugel. Oh, yeah. I wanted to call him Joel Wald Bruegel, but that's not how you say it.

Starting point is 00:26:27 I thought it would be good, but it wasn't. Anyway, he studied holiday gifting and found recipients typically value gifts at 10% to 30% less than what the giver actually paid. Ah. So, girl, you better be getting your Christmas presents on sale because your friends are assuming they were discounted. And this gap is just pure waste. and honestly proof that the woe factor spending often completely misses the mark because the

Starting point is 00:26:53 giver and the recipient aren't aligned on what is actually meaningful and what these things actually mean so what are we going to do instead we are going to close the gap so stick to wish lists yeah stick to practical upgrades maybe consumables or shared experiences which are one of my favorite things to gift people these i would say align better with what people actually want so that your money isn't ending up in the re-gift pile. Yeah. Yeah. Honestly, like I'm so sorry, but also I believe in re-gifting. Yeah, I totally agree. If you've got it, you know, someone else will value it. Why the hell not? Okay. What's next on the list? All right. So the done, but not done Twitch. Okay. Okay. You've had it before. I know you've had it before. You're

Starting point is 00:27:34 Bex Syed. You just care too much. Oh, so like, you know, when you go shopping for Jess's presents. Yes. And then they're all in front of you and you're like, I'm not done though. Oh my God. totally. It's like, oh, I need to get something else. Yes. Like tell yourself you're finished. And then you're like, oh, just twitching for one more thing. Like I just want to add another thing to the other, to the Christmas tree. Or I just want to make sure that, you know, Jess has another thing under the tree or like, you know, the twitch. Oh yeah. Like you just have an overwhelming feeling that it's not enough, even though it bloody is. Yes. You've wrapped like your last present. You ticked the list. You even bragged to all your friends. I'm done my Christmas shopping

Starting point is 00:28:11 early sit down but then you see a perfect little extra or oh you got to you worry that the pile once it's all wrapped doesn't look as good under the tree like that looks a little bit thin and suddenly you're topping up right until Christmas Eve which is so dumb because that wasn't part of the plan and then you top up one person you gotta top up for everyone because you don't want and psychologists literally call it the shopping momentum effect like you made one purchase you're more likely to make another even if it's completely unrelated yep so that first yes and this is again something that I teach my small business friends we're just trying to get that first yes you want to get over the first hurdle right but that first yes flips your brain into

Starting point is 00:28:52 buying mode and then each checkout gives you a little bit of a dopamine hit especially if you're like Beck and I we're a little bit spendy we love we love a little bit of a dopamine hit yeah yeah but it reinforces that loop right weeks of gift hunting have trained your little brain into a habit, see, buy, reward, repeat. Even when the list is finished, the urge to keep buying lingers. It's a bit like a phantom itch. Yes, I get it. But we want to keep spending. It was fun. It's fun. It's so fun. It's so fun. And then let's add in like decision fatigue and then all of the social pressure that you're finding exists during Christmas time, which is why you should delete socials over Christmas. What if the pile looks too small? I hate that. What if someone gifts me

Starting point is 00:29:38 more than I gave them. Yeah. And then the constant cues from all your ads on social media and they're like Twitch to overspend almost becomes automatic. Yeah. You just go, oh, I have to. Yeah. In your head you have to. And it's so, it just stays in there. It just grows and grows. Yep. And researchers once ran an experiment where people bought a tiny item. So like a key chain and found that they were far more likely to buy another unrelated product straight after. That makes sense. That makes sense. Yep. And there's like brain imaging studies that back this up. Making a purchase triggers a real quick burst of dopamine. So we're not just saying, oh, it feels good because we've made it up in our heads. No, no, no. We literally release dopamine. Yep. Like it's the feel good hormone in our body,

Starting point is 00:30:25 but it gives us this quick burst of dopamine in your brain's reward center and the high, sorry it doesn't last very long which is why you like a little bit twitchy for another buy even when your list is completely done Bec. Oh my god how do we avoid this? I don't know we've got to be less impulsive but like it just feels so good. It does feel good. What are we going to do instead? Tell me. When the list is done move leftover budget to savings or invest it because like when it's invested as you know it feels even worse to pull it out of that. Yeah it does. And that's going to add some friction to other purchases because you've removed your card or you've deleted the app. So like, sorry, we're actually all done. Like there's another hurdle

Starting point is 00:31:06 in the way for me to actually add another present to this pile. Cause I actually don't have any cash. I'm going to have to transfer it back, like create hurdles for yourself. And then also wrap everything early and put it under the tree to signal to your brain that the job is done. Yeah. Complete. Like we do not have to do anything else. Cause I think so many times for me, it's out of sight, out of mind. It's like in, you know, the shopping bags in my study and I know I need to get to wrapping it, but I haven't. And then I forget what's in the shopping bags in the study. Like I forgot. And then it doesn't feel like a big enough pile even there that I think I have to continue. Yes.

Starting point is 00:31:38 And we're also going to switch the ritual. So every time you feel the little twitch, we're going to do a little festive task. Yes. Good idea. We're going to bake. We're going to put on a Christmas song. We maybe are going to watch a Christmas movie or like write Christmas cards. Cause how many of us leave all of those to Christmas Eve as well? Yes. A Christmas card. Okay. What's last on your list? Okay. So it's the last minute markup. So rude. Spending more because you left it too late to

Starting point is 00:32:07 properly order it online for the most discounted price. Dogs. Yeah. Like, I mean, we also need to make sure that if we are doing this, like for example, if we're going into JB Hi-Fi to pick up something last minute, girl, they price match. Yes. So you make sure you're doing your research because the last minute markup is so rude because you miss the shipping cutoffs or the early sales and suddenly you're paying premium prices just to get something in time so that you don't look like a terrible person or a terrible friend even though that's not the case at all that might mean copying like express post fees so you might still be getting it online be like I need to pay for express post yeah or settling for like the last overpriced option on the shelf or panic buying

Starting point is 00:32:48 a more expensive gift because the cheaper ones are all sold out yeah I meant to get them this like small gift pack with two items in it but the only one left over is like the four pack I'll just get the four pack like that's it exactly that's it and you know what happens yeah tell me so as the deadline looms decision making gets messy we get more stressed and we're stressy with less time and fewer good options left your brain literally prioritizes getting it done over getting it right just buy it just do it because I'm stressed and psychologists call this time pressure decision-making. When we're rushed, we lean on the easiest solution and it's often overpriced. How many times, and I know you've done this, you've been like, I am so stressed.

Starting point is 00:33:34 I just need to get to this appointment. I need to get to this location. I'm going to park somewhere. I might get a fine. Oh yeah. Every day. Because you're like, I know it's going to be expensive, but I just, I don't have a lot of, you feel like your decision-making is taken away from you. totally totally that's we don't want that no layering gift giving guilt yeah so you're feeling bad already like oh my god I can't arrive empty-handed girl you're just going to grab whatever's left on the shelf and pay for express shipping just so that it solves your stress in that moment that creates future you problems exactly oh and you know what this isn't just me going oh I feel this and I want to share it research on consumer behavior shows that when

Starting point is 00:34:14 people shop under tight deadlines, they become far more likely to just choose the easy option rather than the one that is of best value. And that's why florists and delivery apps make an absolute mint on Christmas Eve. It's not the price. It's the panic. You're like, I just got to get it done. I'm just going to pick up some flowers on Christmas Eve. Oh my God. How kind is this florist to be open on Christmas Eve? I know, I know. Oh, that's so nice of them to be open. Yeah. It's one of their biggest trading days of the years because we're all useless, Bec.

Starting point is 00:34:47 Oh my God. They are smart. So what are you going to do instead? You're going to plan a cutoff for yourself that's earlier than the real one. Yeah. I have to gaslight myself this year. Good idea.

Starting point is 00:34:58 Turns out Christmas, weird. I need to have everything done by the 15th of December. Yes. Good idea. We're early. We're 10 days early. It has to be done by then because in my head,

Starting point is 00:35:07 I like literally have it in my calendar. Christmas shopping done here. like I've put a count down, like we are making sure that everything is done by then. Or if you know you're a last minute girly, cause some of us are, I would pre-decide a go-to gift category. So like, what's your default? Is it going to be a voucher? Is it going to be an experience? Is it going to be some type of consumable? So that you're not paying the desperation tax. So, you know, okay, well I've left it too late. This is my default option that still fits within my budget. and I'm going to get back that instead because I can't get the thing I actually wanted to get her

Starting point is 00:35:44 yeah and we're not paying a premium on that this has been extremely helpful and every single thing is a personal attack very relatable and I'm just a girl as well I get it absolutely and you know why I knew all those things because I suffer from all those things well okay so that was the last one on the list and I've got to admit I feel a little bit better about facing the Christmas chaos start your creepy list in your notes app right now. Start it right now. Write down all of the names you need to buy for. Yes. And then start brainstorming ideas under it. It doesn't mean you need to buy every single item under that, but you could be like, oh my goodness, like, oh, earrings for Jess or, oh, I really want to get her this, like all that. And then you might

Starting point is 00:36:25 pick a couple of those options. Yes. And then don't delete the note. Keep it for her birthday. Keep it for like future things. Exactly. Exactly. Just because it's on the list and you think it's a really good gift doesn't mean it isn't a really good gift for later. Totally. Future you win a winner. Oh yeah. So I think let's leave it here. Let's put it in it. Let's go back our list and check it twice. Yeah. And I guess that's why I love doing episodes like this because once you know what these little spending traps are, you're like, oh, they're so manipulative. You get to take some of your power back and you can still lean into, I guess, the fun and the generosity of the festive season and make sure that you're spending on your own terms.

Starting point is 00:37:03 Guys, if this episode gave you a little bit of a Christmas confidence boost, I would love it if you sent it to a friend who's also really trying hard not to blow the budget this Christmas because it might put them in a better position. And don't forget to follow or subscribe so that you don't miss what's coming up next. We've got plenty more episodes on Christmas, but also to help you kick off the new year feeling calm, confident and in control of your money. And we'll see you guys on Friday. Bye.

Starting point is 00:37:29 Bye. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice

Starting point is 00:37:55 tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of MoneySherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.

She's On The Money - 7 Sneaky Christmas Traps That Make You Blow Your Budget (and How to Beat Them)

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