Sleep Deprivations Makes You Spend Money | brokeGIRLrich
There are so many ways that financial health and physical health overlap it’s ridiculous – one of my favorite bloggers is Tonya over at Budget and the Beach and she’s super into physical fitness as well as financial fitness. She often advocates for both.
I’ve definitely noticed that discipline in one area of your life often starts to spill over into other areas. When I’m doing my best with exercising or sticking to a healthy diet, my finances often benefit. In very practical ways like making sure I hit the gym makes sure I’m not spending any extra money for X amount of time several days a week (granted, there is the gym membership fee to consider, but there are also ways to stay in shape for free) and saving money on eating out by buying fresh foods and cooking myself to the more abstract ways like learning how to deny myself things and practice more self-restraint.
One thing I’d never really noticed until lately though was how much sleep plays into my spending habits. I don’t know what most of you know about the average children’s tour schedule, but I have some long days.
I’m not even complaining and there are tours that have it way worse, but fact of life, sometimes we load in at 6 AM, do 3 shows, load out and then drive for several hours to the next city. And sometimes we do that a few days in a row.
I can literally look at my credit card bill over the last month and tell you which days those were based off of my spending habits (and where I spent). Days without enough sleep almost always include at least one Starbucks stop, several snack stops, and crappy fast food meals.
Fully rested Mel takes advantage of the free hotel continental breakfast, fuels up on caffeine at the Kraft service table in each venue and often eats half of whatever meal I buy for lunch and the other half for dinner. And I do all this with no problem.
Sleep deprived Mel requires caffeine and sugar and other bad-for-me crap as fast and effortlessly as possible… which means it costs more.
Sleep deprived Mel also runs into stores to get something she legitimately needs and leaves with a lot of weird items, often dinosaur themed, that she had no intention of buying.
Well rested Mel only shops for what she needs, after considering it carefully (um, unless it’s a computer charger, in which case she considers it carefully and then buys the sucker anyway).
Sleep deprived Mel writes posts late at night in third person, while lamenting this new danger zone she’s found.
Haha, you’re funny. And I totally know what you mean. It’s hard not to be sleep deprived on tour though.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…Diversity of Income, Diversity of Happiness: Why Having a Back Up Plan Isn’t Resigning Yourself To Failure
LOL. So true, when you are tired you just don’t give a …., and that’s where the bad habits health wise and spending begin.
Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…Week End Round Up #70
You know I really never considered this. I don’t suffer much from sleep deprivation – goes with the territory – but I can definitely see a correlation. Just like with other areas of health. This will make a good Facebook discussion. Thanks for the inspiration.
Toni @ Debt Free Divas recently posted…The Cost of Romance with LaTisha D Styles @ Young Adult Finances
This was one of the first things I realized, when I went on a yearlong takeout coffee ban: that I’d built in a habit to buy takeout coffee whenever I was ultra tired. I’d wake up on those days and think, “ugh, I’m too tired to make coffee. I’ll just grab one.” As soon as I wasn’t allowed to buy it, I realized how little effort it actually takes to make it… but 7 months later, tired Cait still wants it sometimes! Old habits die hard!? Or maybe we just need more sleep. 🙂
Cait Flanders recently posted…If We Were on a Coffee Date…
Haha, I vote for more sleep.
Sleep deprivation negatively impacts my finances too! When I get tired I’m less likely to cook at home and more likely to just go out to eat. When I go out to eat while I’m sleep deprived I also spend more on my meal and eat less healthy food too. When I go out to eat when I’m not sleep deprived I spend less, eat healthier, and usually enjoy my meal more.
Kayla @ Everything Finance recently posted…3 Ways Dieting and Budgeting Fails are Similar
Aw, man! I can totally relate to this. Sleep deprived days on the road can be tough, and I was always buying cupcakes, candy, extra coffee, etc. Kudos to you for pushing through and doing your best to stay on track.
Kate @ Cashville Skyline recently posted…The Gender Gap in Investing Needs To Go
Hahaha I’m totally with you, but for me it’s not when I’m sleep deprived, it’s when I’m hungry! Oh boy. I know this about myself and always keeps snacks handy, in my desk, in my car, in my bedroom, you name it. Because once I get really hungry, boom! All my discipline goes out the window. 🙂 Snacks save me money!
Chela @SmashOdyssey recently posted…Time Travel and Free Fun
What a great post. So entertaining and so true. When I’m sleep deprived I always convince myself that take out coffee and a bagel is better than making my own breakfast, even if it means waiting in a long line to do it!
Kelly recently posted…How to De-Stress
I can agree with this post, I spend more money buying coffee than buying food because I am always deprived of sleep. Now I’m trying to rearrange my sleeping pattern in hopes of saving more money.
James recently posted…Argh Matey! 4 Swashbuckling Pirates
Oh my god! We couldn’t get any more alike! Well, in my case if I oversleep, I won’t be able to prepare food for my kids and so I just resort to take outs which is just like what you said, obviously more expensive compared to food prepared at home. You made a clear connection between sleep and financial status! I hope many others can read this article of yours. I will definitely share this to them!
Thanks! Sleep deprivation isn’t good for ANYTHING.
Haha this rings true.
I tend to make Bad Life Decisions when tired (a.k.a. grumpy). Bad food choices in particular.
Olivier Poirier-Leroy recently posted…15 Sleep Strategies for High Performance Athletes