It’s a not uncommon for both men and women to indulge in a little shopping spree every now and then.
But many Australian women are now feeling more guilty than ever for their purchases – especially if they spent more than they intended.
This guilt is often so bad that is develops in an overwhelming feeling of shame – so why do they feel this way?
Speaking to FEMAIL, the CEO of Australian company Wealth Enhancers, Sarah Riegelhuth, explained why those feelings develop and how women can rid themselves of them for good.
‘Often these feelings come from a sense of wanting to give and look after others, and putting others before ourselves. Spending money on a little self-care can feel selfish,’ she said.
The CEO of Australian company Wealth Enhancers, Sarah Riegelhuth, has helped explain why those feelings develop (pictured)
To change this way of thinking, Sarah recommends people set aside time each week to do something for themselves.
‘This may involve spending money or it may not, but if we build a little into our budget for this, it really shouldn’t be an issue,’ she said.
‘How we treat ourselves has a direct impact on how we show up for others, to be our best selves it’s important to take time out to nurture ourselves.’
Sarah also explained that feeling this way about spending money can also boil down to low-self esteem.
To change the feeling of guilt you may have when it comes to spending money Sarah recommends that people practice self-love and self-compassion
‘Learning about money, being in control of it and being intentional with it is a great way to build up our self esteem when it comes to money,’ she said.
‘Low self esteem can affect many areas of our lives, and money is certainly one of them. If we don’t value ourselves, it’s hard to value our money.’
Sadly a lot of people have preconceived notions surrounding money which can often lead to them worrying about what others think about how they spend their cash.
‘Worrying about what others think is pointless, what’s most important is to connect with your own truth, follow that, and practice letting go of those thoughts around other people’s opinions,’ Sarah said.
Sadly a lot of people have preconceived notions surrounding money which can often lead to people worrying about what others think
That being said, Sarah said that justifying our purchases isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it can hold ourselves responsible for our spending.
‘However the need to justify our purchases to others tends to indicate that we’ve perhaps spent money we shouldn’t have or feel as though we’ve spent money we shouldn’t have,’ she said.
‘If we have our investments and savings covered, we’re not racking up credit card debt and we’re spending money we allocated for clothes actually on clothes, then we shouldn’t feel any need to justify anything.’
She explained that most of these feelings come from not using a budget and not being intentional around where we spend our money.
Sarah explained that justifying our purchases isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it can hold ourselves responsible for our spending
‘Ultimately we’ve either spent more money than we could afford, or we feel as though we have,’ Sarah said.
‘To avoid conflict or judgement from a partner, friend or family member it can feel easier to just lie about the cost of something.
‘Again, having a budget and being intentional with our money can totally alleviate these feelings.’
Sarah explained that one of the things that financial shame stems from is the fact that many of us are taught how to manage money while we’re at school.
This means that many people assume that they should know everything they need to know to be able to control their finances.
‘It’s also still very much a taboo topic, so we can often feel isolated in our own financial situation and assume that everyone else has it together and it’s just us who doesn’t,’ she explained.
‘Talking more openly about money is a great way to help get a better grasp on how we’re doing and normalise our relationship with money.’