Overspending? Get Your Personal Budget Back on Track with EFT

Written by Nick Ortner

Do you frequently have shopping bags in your house – little ones, big ones, bags of all different colors?

It doesn’t matter how expensive the contents are; in fact, what’s inside of them doesn’t matter at all. The main concern is that you’re always spending money, especially if it’s laying waste to your personal budget and ballooning your debt.

It also doesn’t matter whether you feel rich or poor, because overspending can affect even the wealthiest among us. These days, you don’t need to look very far for evidence of that.

For some, outlining a personal budget simply doesn’t help, and many people have never worked with a financial advisor either. When these practical steps have failed or can’t be accomplished, how can you hope to end overspending?

In my mind, that’s not the question to ask. The approach worth taking is “why are you overspending to begin with?”

Why the Money Just Goes…

Overspending is commonly regarded as a problem relating to self-discipline, and while that’s definitely a component, there’s often an emotional element to the problem as well.

Over the last 10 years, I’ve been teaching people all over the world how tapping can solve their personal problems, the common ones being debt and overspending. During that time, I’ve come to notice that many people who overspend or find themselves faced with crippling debt are compensating for some degree of personal dissatisfaction with their life.

For example:

• Many compulsive shoppers feel under-appreciated and unhappy
• Major debt and hoarding things you don’t need can be an expression of grief
• Boredom and disillusionment can lead to profuse spending

The list goes on.

How Tapping Can End Your Overspending

If you’ve tried being strict with yourself in sticking to your personal budget, but have found no luck, you might want to try investigating your emotional connection to overspending.

Tapping, also called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), works by tapping on your energy meridian points, some of the same places on your body that are manipulated during acupuncture.

By tuning into and verbalizing your feelings while you do this, you’re able to discover and remove emotional blockages that have been manifesting themselves as behavior you’d like to quit such as overspending.

In case you haven’t tried tapping before, you can learn this simple technique in just a few minutes by checking out this short How to Tap video. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to dive in.

Begin by thinking about how you feel when you’ve “caught” yourself overspending. Rate the feeling on a scale from 1 to 10, and repeat these phrases while tapping on your karate chop point:

• “Even though I feel guilty for spending so much money, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
• “Even though I feel as if I have no self-control, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”
• “Even though it bothers me that I don’t seem to notice when I’m overspending, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.

Next, move through the tapping points.

Eyebrow: “This is so frustrating.”
Side of Eye: “I can’t stop spending.”
Under Eye: “I feel so weak.”
Under Nose: “Why can’t I stop?”
Chin Point: “I’m like a child with money.”
Collarbone: “I just can’t figure this out.”
Under Arm: “I feel so needy; I always want more, even if I don’t need it.”
Top of the Head: “I feel so insecure.”

Eyebrow: “Why do I always do this?”
Side of Eye: “Just when I think I have it all figured out, the money goes down the drain.”
Under Eye: “I’m so out of control.”
Under Nose: “Why can’t I stop?”
Chin Point: “I just want to figure this out.”
Collarbone: “I wish I knew what to do.”
Under Arm: “I’m so fed up and angry with myself.”
Top of the Head: “Why am I so undisciplined?”

Repeat this routine as many times as you need to until the feeling subsides. Be sure to note any feelings that arise along the way, as they may give you some hint as to why you feel the need to overspend. You can use them as phrases while tapping as well.

Once you’ve neutralized the feeling a bit, start again at the eyebrow.

Eyebrow: “I don’t want to feel frustrated anymore.”
Side of Eye: “I am stronger than this.”
Under Eye: “I grant myself the wisdom to understand why I’m overspending.”
Under Nose: “I now choose to release this pattern of overspending.”
Chin Point: “I can figure this out.”
Collarbone: “It’s not that hard.”
Under Arm: “It’s safe to release this pattern.”
Top of the Head: “I can do this. I choose to do it now.”

Something to keep in mind is that there’s a strong chance that your sense of personal power is attached to your personal finances. By doing this routine, you can not only curb your overspending once and for all, but also improve your sense of self. There are few things worth more than that!

What emotion do you think your overspending might be linked to? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!

 

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