So you want to change your saving and spending habits? MP Dunleavey shares her seven stages of lasting financial change.
Sometimes I feel like I’m not making enough progress in changing my habits, particularly when I splurge on a $400 camcorder for myself, like I did last month. (To be fair, I’ve held off on this purchase for ten years, since my family’s last camcorder bit the dust.)
In the article, MP mentions five stages that one must pass through to make any change successful:
* precontemplation (“There’s a problem. Things could be worse.”)
* contemplation (“There’s a problem. Maybe I’ll do something about it someday.”)
* preparation (“There’s a problem and I’m going to do something about it.”)
* action (“I am doing something about this problem.”)
* maintenance (“I fixed the problem, now I don’t want to go back into the old habits.”)
In addition to these five phases, the seven steps are interesting as well: panic, determination, cluelessness, confidence, despair, renewed faith, and success.
Some of those steps may need to be repeated, but with this knowledge, attaining lasting financial change should be easier.
Updated February 6, 2012 and originally published June 13, 2005. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
Rank: Platinum
Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 4 comments }
Once you add in denial, it starts to sounds like AA’s 12 Steps. Now all that’s missing is making amends and acceptance of God, or something like that.
I’ve got the same problem Flexo. I just spent a nice chunk of change on Playstation Portable, a game, and an extended warranty. This is my first gaming platform since Xbox (that I sold years ago). I still feel guilty making the purchase, but it helps to get thru some of the free time.
Looks like he left out stage zero… Denial. I think even making it to ‘precontemplation’ is a big step for a lot of people.
–
http://www.fivecentnickel.com/
In all fairness, though, Terry, every once in a while you need to do things to keep yourself happy. What’s the point of having money if you never spend it? If all you are doing is working so that you can make enough money to pay your bills and put the rest away for “later”, when do you actually enjoy yourself? That’s not really living. Like all things in life, moderation is the key.