Psychologists call it the “what the hell…” effect, and we all feel it. We get a t-shirt, then we see cool jeans, and before leaving the store we also see sneakers. What the hell? Why don’t I take them? Did you pour yourself a whiskey (max 5) and text your ex-girlfriend? This is it! And in the period between Christmas and New Year, the effect increases many times. Throw money away, because, to hell, it’s the New Year!

Exit from this loop occurs in the first few days after. This is a financial hangover that is not easy to get rid of. A little “diet” is needed to balance the financial expenses a little.

1. Set daily walking goals.

“We all know we should be moving more and that 10,000 steps is a good number to reach, but it can be intimidating,” says Manisha Thakor, author of MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your ‘Enough.’ Therefore, instead of looking for a free hour or two for a walk, she breaks her day into several walks of 1000 steps every 60-90 minutes. “Sometimes I go around the same block multiple times until I reach or exceed my goal,” she says.

The financial benefits of this practice are surprising, says Thakor. This keeps her awake so she doesn’t have to buy a $7 coffee at 3 in the afternoon to wake her up. It also gives her more energy throughout the day, so she’s ready to cook herself dinner instead of ordering takeout. She even noticed that she felt calmer, so she was less tempted to compulsively shop online.

2. Organize your closets.

Sometimes you buy without realizing that what you bought is too much for you. That you still have 3 tricks identical to the one you recently bought. “I just cleaned out my closets and I don’t feel like buying clothes anymore. I forgot what I actually had!” says Farnoosh Torabi, host of the So Money podcast and bestselling author of The Healthy State of Panic.

3. Go to bed earlier.

Maintaining good sleep hygiene is another thing that brings significant financial benefits. “We all know the health benefits of sleep, but it’s also an effective money-saving practice,” says Torabi. “I, for one, am guilty of making unnecessary online purchases late at night when I have a harder time controlling my impulses.”

I also find that I go to bed early and the next day I feel great – rested and relaxed.

4. Spend only on what you need

“I always suggest that people look back at their spending over the past year and take inventory of where their money went,” says Pari Hashemi Magura, a financial advisor at Wells Fargo. You should find a few things that are beneficial. But remember that spending money is not necessarily bad. Just need control and clarity, what the hell…

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