4 Tips for Balancing FOMO and Your Finances

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FOMO can drive us to spend money we otherwise wouldn’t. Try these tips to find a better balance with your finances. 

The Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO, is that nagging feeling that if you don’t do, or buy, something now, you’ll regret it forever.

FOMO used to be something more or less reserved for the water cooler, where coworkers talk about their latest vacation. These days, however, social media and advertisers have ramped it up so hard we’re all facing FOMO every time we turn on a screen.

Pair that with an ever-increasing cost of living, and it’s no wonder U.S. credit card debt keeps hitting record highs.

You don’t have to let FOMO impact your finances, however. There are plenty of ways to find a balance between satisfying your FOMO and responsibly managing your finances. Here are a few tips.

1. Set aside a FOMO fund so you can partake responsibly

The goal of budgeting is never to eliminate all the joy from your life. You can set aside a little bit of “fun money” — or, in this case, a FOMO fund — so you can have the occasional splurge, guilt free.

One easy way to set aside FOMO funds is through credit card rewards. If you have cash back cards, for instance, you can save up your rewards to cover a monthly splurge.

I get a lot of travel FOMO, so I focus on saving up points and miles from my travel rewards cards to pay for annual bucket-list trips. You can do a surprising amount of travel for free with a smart card strategy.

2. Embrace free trials, discounts, and bundles

Giving into your FOMO doesn’t always have to mean spending a lot. So many services and products offer some type of trial or new customer discount these days that you can preview most things affordably — or even for free.

The only downside? Most are very limited. You need to plan a little to maximize your trials.

For example, if you’re curious about a streaming service and want to try it out, do a little research ahead of time to see what shows you may want to watch. Then, plan your trial for a time you know you’ll be able to settle in and enjoy a bit of binging. That way, you can check out all of the shows on your list during your limited trial.

If you can’t get an outright free trial, poke around the internet for a good discount code. You can often find great promos by checking company sites, social media pages, and coupon sites. Also, look for referral codes online or from friends and family.

Finally, check out any bundles or partnerships you may already be eligible to use. For example, many museums are part of a reciprocal program that offers free or discounted entry to members of other organizations. Lots of public libraries offer discounted tickets or free memberships to local venues. And even your credit cards could provide freebies or discounts in their offer portals.

3. Use logic to stop those FOMO spirals

No matter how top-of-the-line your devices started out, they always seem to look shabby compared to the brand-new products hitting the market basically all the time. But I’ll tell you a secret: The new stuff is rarely that much better than what it’s replacing.

Sure, sometimes you get some stellar, mind-blowing improvements from one iteration to another. Most of the time, though, you’re looking at incremental improvements that you probably wouldn’t even notice anyway.

The best way to put these things into perspective is to compare the features side by side. (Most retailers make this pretty easy with handy comparison charts.) Chances are good you won’t notice any “updates” that are really worth the cost of a brand-new device.

4. Remember that your value isn’t dependent on what you buy

Social pressures can be a big cause of FOMO. You may think your social group won’t like or appreciate you as much if you can’t share directly in their (pricey) experiences.

Your value to your friends should go well beyond what you choose to — or can afford to — buy or spend money on. So it’s understandably painful if you find yourself excluded from your social group because you don’t have a piece of fancy tech or because you can’t afford to go on an expensive trip.

That’s no reason to go into debt to stay a part of the group, however. It may simply be a sign that you need to look for new friends that better share your financial values and/or suit the place you are in your life.

As with any relationship, sometimes you need to break up with old friends if you aren’t compatible anymore. It can be sad, but it’s a natural part of life.

A fear of missing out is something we all get from time to time. But you can’t let FOMO ruin your finances. Hopefully, some of these tips can help you find the right balance.

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