The psychologist gave advice on rational purchases

To stop spending money uncontrollably, you need to engage in your financial thinking, record your expenses and analyze them, psychologist, gestalt therapist Elena Masolova told Izvestia on April 27. She also explained how the Diderot effect is related to spending.

"The essence of the Diderot effect, which was described by the Canadian anthropologist [David] The point, McCracken, is that all the goods we purchase are related to our identity. He claims that these things correspond to each other and seem to be an extension of ourselves. And when we buy such goods, they seem to trigger the consumption process, leading to an increasing number of new expenses," the expert noted.

So, often buyers take an additional item for one item. For example, new shoes are selected for a new bag, especially if it is branded. In addition, social media shows the attributes of a rich life on a daily basis, and a person wants to identify with them, but he often does not think that in order to buy certain shoes, you need to spend his entire salary.

What the state is getting richer: the level of Russians' welfare has increased

Financial literacy rates have also increased significantly

"Stores manipulate us, using the so-called "unity of Diderot", when they put on the shelf not only the dress we need, but also a bunch of related products (all kinds of accessories), which we safely buy. Marketers always have something to offer us so that we can move further down the consumption spiral. And if we don't realize the process of spending money, we don't have financial literacy skills, and this is also reinforced by unconscious attitudes that often sound like "we didn't live rich, there's nothing to start," we fall under the influence of the very "Diderot effect," Masolova emphasized.

As a result, a person who can't stop spending money uncontrollably buys up unnecessary things that they don't even use.

"What should I do? Start practicing your financial thinking, and the very first thing to start with is to write down your expenses and analyze them, noticing when and how we make unnecessary purchases. This will make it possible to bring the shopping process into a conscious process," the psychologist advised.

Then a person needs to think about what kind of feelings they have when they want to buy their twentieth shoes. After that, you should postpone the purchase until tomorrow. Often, deferred action helps to save a decent amount of money, the expert said.

"You can analyze how your parents interacted with money, what they said about money in your childhood. Often, already at this stage, you will be able to see parental attitudes that force you to "get rid" of money. But in any case, working with money thinking is a voluminous process that requires time and different directions — from financial literacy to working with the family system," concluded Masolova.

Earlier, on April 17, it was reported that among the Russians surveyed, more than half (53%) keep records of income and expenses. Another 18% plan to start doing this, while 29% do not consider how much they earn and spend. This is stated in the results of a study by analysts of the Humopeu wallet.