Slow down | Why is it so difficult to reduce your expenses?

The economic context of recent years has put pressure on the budget for many of us. Despite this, it is sometimes difficult to reduce certain expenses. This is because our relationship with money is often (very often!) more complex than it seems. Explanations.

A particular symbolism

First of all, we must remember that we are not all equal when it comes to spending. And that has nothing to do with our income.

Otherwise, as soon as our income increases, we could save more.

However, it is often the opposite that happens, recalls Myriam Ertz, from the marketing department of the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC).

“It’s how people have become accustomed to something that will determine spending behavior,” she says.

Explanations: we generally start with more modest incomes in our adult lives, specifies the professor. And then, still according to a usual scenario, income increases after studies.

“We are starting to have more and, therefore, we could save more. But in fact, as money inflows increase, spending structures increase. Because we want to move up the social stratum. We are therefore not necessarily going to save more: we are just spending more. »

And backsliding is not a natural movement.

“It would be to have a level of consumption and go a notch below, rather than a notch above. However, our nature and society push us to go a step higher, to always want to go further. »

A concrete example: many people will be tempted to opt for a more luxurious car if they reach higher incomes.

“The pace of life is changing,” explains Myriam Ertz. How far is it possible to lead people into an ideology of demotion rather than growth and accumulation? I don’t know. »

Spend, but for what?

Myriam Ertz is head of the Laboratory on New Forms of Consumption at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi, a research unit that is interested in consumers, organizations and social well-being.

According to her, we must distinguish two types of behavior regarding the money we have left, when we have surpluses – and already, this shows two spending trends.

There are those who will meet basic needs (eating, clothing, housing) and then spend more in the same categories. To go to more chic restaurants and treat yourself to clothes with logos that are worth their weight in gold. We would therefore meet the same needs, differently, explains Professor Myriam Ertz.

And then there are consumers who will buy other things, services and goods, that they would never have purchased before having better income. “We spend on things which, quote, are of no use,” explains Myriam Ertz.

The times are changing

Another point to consider: our lives are changing and it is difficult to return to a level of spending that no longer corresponds to our realities. Alone, we have fewer obligations than if we are a parent; if you become the owner of a car and a house, this inevitably involves costs.

Before blaming yourself for excessive spending, you also need to put things into perspective. “In 2024, we are no longer in the same context as in 2020: we had a major shock in the economy,” recalls Myriam Ertz. Everything is more expensive. »

For a large part of the population, salaries have not followed this upward curve, she indicates. Already, the inflationary effect has changed the situation: we spend more on the same thing and on basic needs like food.

And then there are pleasure expenses. Restaurants, cinema…

Are these hedonic expenses essential?

“Yes and no,” answers Myriam Ertz. We could all have a more Spartan lifestyle, but there is this pleasure aspect that must be taken into account because it is good for people’s morale. »

Money as a social vector

We should initially ask ourselves what role money really plays in our lives, says Tayssa Waldron, author of the book The money click.

“Today, money is a socialization tool,” she says bluntly.

This allows us both to facilitate our exchanges with each other, but also to participate in the “great economic game”.

“It’s unnatural today to say that we’re not going to spend,” she said, “in a society where everyone spends and where everything is done so that we spend. »

Is reducing your expenses a mission impossible? Not at all, replies the author, who nevertheless warns that reducing one’s standard of living means going against the grain.

“We spend to belong to a social class,” explains Tayssa Waldron. Tell me what you spend money on and I’ll tell you what social class you belong to. »

The end of guilt

We should also put an end to the guilt of spending, believes Tayssa Waldron, who is particularly interested in women’s finances. “It makes you feel guilty to spend. But today, there are plenty of systems in place that take the pain out of paying. » Credit or deferred payments, in particular.

According to her, everyone must spend knowingly, make the decision to spend and live well with it. This will make it easier to reduce expenses.

“It’s important to do it,” continues Tayssa Waldron, “but we have to be careful about what we reduce. »

If we reduce the restaurant budget while all our friends go to restaurants, we risk an exclusion which may not ultimately be beneficial, calculates the author who warns that the reassessment of expenses must go beyond ease, to -beyond the termination of a subscription which has a certain importance in our well-being.

The famous consumer society…

No offense to the idealists, we still live in a consumer society.

“We are in a society which is essentially materialist,” argues Professor Myriam Ertz. We don’t necessarily want to say it or admit it to ourselves, but we always evaluate people according to their assets rather than their being. This leads to a cascade of behaviors, as a result. »

According to her, society continues to evaluate success with materialistic criteria. “The materialist reference remains the ultimate reference,” says Myriam Ertz, who specifies that it is sometimes a reality that we do not like to see.

Slow down, together

According to Professor Myriam Ertz, a structure will be needed to promote global decline.

Small gestures make the difference. It can be as simple as adopting bulk consumption, says Myriam Ertz, because it already gets us thinking – if only by thinking about bringing our containers.

“Little things like that, here and there, emerge. End to end, after a certain time, they will lead us towards a more sober society. »

“The proverb says: small streams make big rivers,” recalls Myriam Ertz, who maintains that slowing down consumption is a movement that will require systemic changes.

The professor also reminds us that sobriety is at the heart of the Québec Circular speech which encourages a reduction in our consumption to protect resources. “But we still feel that there is resistance when we talk to people about sobriety in consumption,” admits Myriam Ertz.

A minority is attracted by a more sober lifestyle. “The majority,” she explains, “will be pushed into a dynamic where we put more rather than less. »