Consumptive is also known as excessive and uncontrollable behaviour. It also occurs when a person tends to buy goods or services without considering their needs or financial condition wisely.
This phenomenon of consumptive behaviour can affect various aspects of a person's life and society. In this article, we will review what consumptive behaviour is, identify the characteristics of consumptive behaviour, what are its effects, and some ways to overcome consumptive behaviour.
Characteristics of Consumptive Behaviour
Some characteristics of consumptive behaviour that are often experienced, but rarely realized by someone include the following:
1. Impulsive Buying
Impulse buying occurs when a person tends to buy without planning or considering their daily needs. Thus, this impulsive purchase is clearly without planning or careful thought beforehand. Purchasing decisions are made suddenly, usually triggered by emotional factors, visual appeals, or situational pressures.
For example, impulse purchases are often influenced by emotions such as excitement, sadness, stress, or hunger. These emotions can trigger the desire to immediately satisfy themselves by buying something.
2. Excessive Credit Card Usage
Relying on credit cards to buy goods or services without paying attention to the ability to pay off is one of the characteristics of consumptive behavior. Be aware that excessive credit card usage can have various negative impacts on one's finances and well-being.
There are several effects that may occur due to uncontrolled credit card usage, including high debt. The use of credit cards can result in high debt accumulation. If one only pays the minimum amount each month, the debt may continue to grow due to interest and other fees.
3. Piling up useless items
Buying items that are not really needed so that they accumulate is one of the characteristics of a consumptive lifestyle. This phenomenon occurs where a person excessively buys goods or objects that are not really needed or do not provide significant value in everyday life.
This is partly due to an impulsive shopping attitude, where a person is caught up in a consumptive culture that encourages them to keep buying new items, even though they may not actually be needed. This can be triggered by advertising, fashion trends, or social pressure.
4. Social Pressure
Social pressure plays an important role in shaping consumptive lifestyles, where individuals feel compelled to meet certain standards set by society or their social group. For example, when someone feels the need to buy certain items or brands to achieve a desired social standard or self-image.
This social pressure factor can influence a person's shopping behavior and consumption decisions. Through social media, celebrities and fashion trends often create social pressure to follow a lifestyle and own the latest or "up to date" items in order to appear to conform to accepted standards.
This happens because society often judges a person's social status based on the items they own. The pressure to maintain or improve social status can encourage a person to engage in a consumptive lifestyle.
5. Not Having a Financial Plan
Lack of long-term financial planning can be one of the characteristics of consumptiveness, where a person does not set aside funds for urgent or future needs. A consumptive person will be more inclined to spend their money rather than setting aside some of it to save or invest. This can make it difficult to achieve financial goals such as emergency funds, education, or retirement.
Excessive consumption and lack of a long-term financial plan can lead to financial stress, which can then make it difficult to focus on larger financial planning.
That said, it's important to remember that everyone has different financial circumstances. There are people who love to spend but can still manage their finances well. However, there are also people who may need help developing healthier financial habits.
Awareness of the importance of long-term financial planning, financial education, and developing financial management skills can help one to overcome consumptive behavior and build a stronger financial foundation.
Impact of Consumptive Behaviour
Consumptive behaviour can have a significant impact on both individuals and society, including:
- Financial Problems
Consumptive behaviour can lead to debt and financial difficulties. Consumptive people may struggle to pay their monthly bills, resulting in late payments, penalties, and lower credit scores. In addition, they may also have trouble setting aside an emergency fund, making it difficult to deal with emergencies without going into debt.
To overcome financial problems caused by consumptive behaviour, it is important to develop better money management habits. For example, budgeting, developing a long-term financial plan, and reducing impulse purchases. Financial education and consultation with a financial advisor can also help.
- Emotional Stress
Another impact of consumptive behaviour is the lack of awareness of the consumptive behaviour itself and ultimately leads to financial problems that can cause emotional stress. Poor financial conditions due to excessive consumption can cause significant financial stress and psychological distress. This stress can affect one's mental and emotional well-being.
If you are married, but have no certainty about your financial future, including how to make ends meet or pay bills, it can create a high level of uncertainty. This will certainly lead to stress, anxiety, and also a variety of other household problems.
If emotional stress related to financial issues persists or impacts mental health, it is important to seek professional help such as a counsellor or therapist who can provide support and guidance.
- Waste of Natural Resources
Not only does consumptive behaviour result in financial and personal problems, it also contributes to the waste of natural resources, energy, and materials. Because when someone behaves consumptively and does not apply a sustainable lifestyle or sustainable living, it will result in the exploitation of natural resources which clearly has a negative impact on the environment.
For example, excessive consumptive behaviour encourages the purchase of goods that are not actually needed. This leads to overproduction, using more raw materials, energy and natural resources.
There is also the use of single-use items such as, plastic packaging, water bottles, and plastic shopping bags. This leads to an increase in plastic waste that is difficult to decompose and damaging to the environment.
Not only that, the habit of buying excessive amounts of food or choosing food that is produced unsustainably can lead to the waste of natural resources such as water, soil and energy in the food production chain.
To reduce the negative impact of wasting natural resources due to consumptive nature, a change in consumption patterns to a more sustainable one is needed. This involves being aware of the environmental impact of consumption decisions, choosing more environmentally friendly products, recycling, and reducing purchases of unnecessary items.
How to Overcome Consumptive Behaviour
Consumptive behaviour is not a good behaviour if it is allowed to continue, therefore it is necessary to overcome consumptive behaviour.
To overcome consumptive behaviour, awareness and concrete steps are needed, including the following:
1. Make a Shopping Budget
Planning and managing a budget to avoid unnecessary purchases is very important. Because budgeting can help reduce consumptive behaviour and improve personal financial management.
Budgeting requires a thorough review of income and expenses. This helps to increase financial awareness, which makes one more understanding of how one spends money. Thus, by creating a budget, one can set limits and control over their spending. This helps prevent impulse purchases and overconsumption.
By doing so, one can create a more stable financial base, reduce unbridled consumptiveness, and plan for a better financial future. Creating a budget is not only a financial planning tool, but also a guide to achieving greater financial goals.
2. Understand Your Own Emotions
To overcome consumptive behaviour, one must be able to know the emotional causes behind impulse purchases and look for alternatives to cope with their emotions. For example, when someone is very happy to see a branded shirt advertised by their idol star, there is a strong desire to buy and own it. Being happy is an emotional trait that a person has, which ultimately drives impulse buying, even though the person does not necessarily need the clothes.
If one can understand their own emotions well, one can identify and understand the things that drive the desire to shop or over-consume. Whether it is to cope with stress, seek instant gratification, or fulfil certain emotional needs, this understanding is the first step to overcoming consumptive behavior.
Understanding one's emotions also allows one to identify positive alternatives in addressing certain needs without necessarily involving the consumption of useless items. For example, expressing oneself through art, exercise, meditation, or talking to someone for emotional support.
Through a good understanding of emotions, one can form a healthier relationship with money and consumption, improve emotional well-being, and make wiser financial decisions. Ultimately, self-awareness and the ability to respond to emotions in a more positive way can help overcome consumptive behaviour.
3. Prioritize Needs
Distinguishing between wants and needs, and focusing on meeting basic needs first is a surefire way to overcome the problem of consumptive behaviour. Because prioritizing needs is an important step to overcoming consumptive behaviour and building healthier spending patterns.
Some steps that can help you prioritize your needs include determining your primary needs that must be met, such as food, shelter, education, and health care. Focus on these as priorities in your budget and daily spending.
Also, learn how to recognize the difference between needs and wants. Needs are things that are essential for survival, while wants are things that may be avoided or postponed. Make sure to always think when you're about to buy something, whether it's just a whim, or whether you really need it.
By prioritizing needs and following a wise budgeting strategy, you can establish healthier spending patterns and overcome consumptive behaviour. Always remember that long-term satisfaction and financial well-being often lies in the ability to prioritize more important needs over temporary wants.
4. Financial Education
Financial education plays an important role in helping people overcome consumptive behaviour. Some of the reasons why financial education can help overcome the problem of consumptive behaviour include understanding the negative impacts of consumptive behaviour, including excessive debt, financial stress, and financial instability. This awareness becomes the basis for changing consumption patterns.
Financial education can also improve understanding of financial management, investment and financial risk management. One can better recognize and set their financial priorities. They can learn to differentiate between needs and wants and determine the appropriate allocation of funds.
Not only that, financial education can help one develop the financial management skills needed to plan a budget, set financial goals and manage expenses. Thus, it can help in creating better financial management.
Consumptive behaviour can have a serious impact on one's financial life and well-being. Therefore, it is important to know what consumptive behaviour is, recognize its characteristics, understand its impact, and take proactive steps to overcome consumptive behaviour. With awareness and the right actions, one can create a better consumption pattern.
