One survey found, that people are spending money they hadn’t planned to because of what they saw on social media.

If you’re a millennial, you’ve probably experienced “FOMO” — the fear of missing out. However, social media “FOMO” is not just a generational problem, it’s a societal problem too.

As you scroll through your Facebook feed, you find these perfectly composed posts of “events”, “Videos” and “images”. Post’s about food, travel, clothes, or cars… the list just never seems to end – Literally!

As it turns out seeing these “images”, “videos” and “events” pop up on our social media newsfeed’s, could be putting a dent in our bank accounts. A recent study found that 57% of Millennials have spent money they didn’t mean to because of what they saw on social media, with some even citing “FOMO”, or fear of missing out, as the biggest reason for their spending.

Maybe, like many of us – we’ve never really paid attention to our spending habits on social media and spent money that we didn’t plan to or even budget for.

If you have come to a profound realisation that this sounds a lot like your personal life – now is a good time to reflect on your social media-driven spending and ask yourself the following questions:

How is social media putting a dent in my bank account?

Social media is playing a big role in our lives and if we’re honest – it’s beginning to influence how we perceive lifestyle – and I am not referring to the lifestyle display of material wealth, it goes far beyond that. For example, many of us enjoy spending money on experiences rather than on materialistic items – so seeing and clicking on posts of travel, food and fun events… leaves us sometimes giving into this pressure of missing out and we feel the need to go spend money on these experiences – often money we didn’t plan on spending.

Is it wrong that I’m spending my money because of what I saw on my social media?

No, of course not. It’s also not realistic to ever expect people to stop spending money on what they saw on social media, as social media has formed such an integral part of our lives. So, it’s healthy to allocate a portion of your budget for your social media-driven spending. The key however is allocating a portion of your budget towards it, and sticking to it. Simply put, budget for it – and don’t overspend on the budget.

When should I be concerned about my social media-driven spending?

You should be concerned when you use anything less than cash on social media-driven spending i.e. using your credit card for your social media spending. It might light up those pleasure centers when you do swipe that credit card and leave you feeling good… but it’s not healthy – and if we’re honest with ourselves, it could lead to a debt situation that will in the end negatively impact our lifestyles.

What should I do to help control my social media-driven spending?

1. Focus on your goals, not your temporary gratification.

The key to not giving into social media-driven spending, is to rather focus on your own goals and understand what’s important to you. You’ll have an easier time focusing on things that matter to you financially instead of spending money for your temporary satisfaction.

2. Hold yourself accountable to somebody.

People who have admitted to getting in debt to try keep up with the lifestyles they saw on their Facebook newsfeeds, found that holding themselves accountable towards someone i.e. a trusted friend or professional Financial Planner, helped them get their spending in control.

3. Give your social media budget a name

An effective way to stick to your social media budget is by giving it a name. For example, give your social media budget a funny name, like “The Me Messing around – fund”. It might make your friends laugh when you tell them about it, but it will serve as a helpful reminder to stick to the budget, when your faced with a situation to spend money because of what you saw on your social media.

In closing:

Getting our finances in order on our own can be an overwhelming experience. Sometimes so overwhelming that we end up giving up along the way – and then continuing the path of spending money for our short-term gratification.

Having the help of a financial planner to guide you on the financial journey you’re on, will help. Not only will the help of a financial planner better equip us, we will have a better sense of our financial situation and how we can put our money to better use, towards reaching our goals. Isn’t it about time we reach out to a financial planner?