Critical thinking skills help to save money

“Critical thinking skills help to save money“. Luckily, we can use our previous failures or can learn from other’s real-life experiences to grow. We can learn critical thinking, which can help us in the future.

As I told we can learn from failures…Now we all can learn from it…

Critical thinking

Critical thinking consists of more steps. It is a process when you realize whether an information what you find

• is the information what you need or not.
• It is relevant or not.

Protecting ourselves by finding the relevant information

Just because we are at the comfort of our home it does not mean we cannot meet with dangerous psychological traps or people who threaten our peace or influence our behaviour on the big zoo called the Internet.

Emotional vulnerability

We are emotionally vulnerable if we do not face the fact that through online

• we can meet people who are not real,
• write about things, which is not real, or
• people can scam us because they are smarter than us.

Critical thinking is important to find the relevant information for ourselves from a huge data set by thoroughly analysing it.

How to develop critical thinking abilities?

Identify the problem/question…

before you start critical thinking, first identify what you’re solving, what is the question? For example: the question is valid or not, who asked it etc.? Who write an article, who told you that something is real or not? What else can be true regarding an opinion or not?

Research

You cannot trust in everyone and everything, so you need to make research. Plus need to find out what kind of information already exist. It means if you don’t know something you need to start to learn from the basics. Only if you understand the basics fully then start to learn advanced knowledge. For example you start to learn Math with additions, not with derivatives.

Determine data relevance

Determine if an information relevant to your question or not. It means it has to have alignment with your question…you need to practice this.

Ask questions 

ask if it relevant…ask if it has sense…ask if it can be real or not etc.

Identify the best solution

Identify the most relevant answers to your question and ask for more. It means you ask from yourself what if the already existed information not all the information? What if you can find new information for example if Elon Musk never learn about how to make batteries better Tesla probably would not exist, so go back to the basics.

Present the solution

Choose the most effective information and solution you find or need.

Analyze your decision

It means find out if your answer or solution have the results you wanted or not.

For advanced readers think about how you think…why do you think what you are thinking? Just because you think in a way that does not mean it is true. Learn to see things from different perspectives. Ask others how they think regarding a topic.

What critical thinking is?

To simplify “What critical thinking is?” we can explain by saying it is the moments when we think through how our next critical decisions will influence our own life. This means we need to ask simple questions before we make important decisions or buy something.

Critical thinking is the process of analyzing and evaluating information and arguments in a systematic and objective manner to form a reasoned judgment or decision.

It involves the ability to

• examine information from different perspectives,
• question assumptions,
• consider evidence, and
• reach logical conclusions based on that evidence.

It requires a range of cognitive skills, including

• analysis,
• interpretation,
• evaluation,
• inference,
• explanation, and
• self-regulation.

It involves

• being open-minded and
• willing to consider alternative viewpoints
• and to revise one’s own beliefs and opinions in light of new evidence.

Developing critical thinking skills is important in many aspects of life, including

• academic pursuits,
• problem-solving,
• decision-making, and
• communication.

By improving your ability to think critically, you can better

• understand complex issues,
• identify biases and assumptions, and
• make well-informed decisions.

I’ll give you some very simple examples.

Ask questions

When you eat something

Before you eat the 3rd chocolate biscuits STOP & STARE and ask. Do this 3rd biscuits will help to maintain my health on the long-run or just make me more fat?

When you see something in a newspaper or any news site:

You STOP & STARE before you read and ask from yourself. Does this time what I spent on reading about a celebrity will help my life to get ahead or should I hit the gym instead?

When you see an advertisement:

You STOP before click & STARE and ask from yourself.

When you buy something:

You STOP before buying it & STARE and ask. Do I need this pink pet toy or do my dog will be happy without it? Do I need the 666th shoes or just 1, which is comfortable & high quality? Do I need to go to the shop and buy the 5th package mineral water or should I buy a water purifier instead, which could save me a lot on the long-run. Start to think and count…

When you go to home:

You STOP – before you turn on your TV or buy your next Netflix subscription – & STARE and start to think. What else can I do to make my life better? For example, go for a walk, an enjoyable conversation with your family, a real game. Help to others. Go out to do sport, exercise, run, driving, read. Go to a museum, gallery, theater, restaurant, spa. Search after healthy food options, salad, smoothie, drink, try out cooking etc. etc. etc. Try out a new hobby.

When you want to travel:

You STOP & STARE before booking the ticket and start to think. Where else can I book it? Sometimes you can book online directly from the hotel or from the airlines too…, so you can compare them etc.

When you want to take out a loan:

You STOP before taking & STARE and start to think do I need a loan for 30 years, what I might cannot pay back if anything bad happening or will I be able to find out something better? Just because you do not know how to you might be able to find out and learn it later…

When you want to buy a new spinning bike.:

You STOP & STARE and compare prices etc.

So always ask would/will I ever use (e.g.: small enough, worth it, can I use inside too, is it loud or not, can I connect and use with my smartphone or not etc. etc.) and if the answer is no, then what is the sense to buy it?

What do you need to think critically?

To be able to think critically first you need

• Self-awareness: to be able to stop your activity while you are doing something. Ask yourself why do I do it? How is it influence my life? Does it make my life better or worse on the long run? Always think on the long run…

• Focus: that is what you need when you do something to be able to STOP it in the middle. Then ask critically important questions. Focus on your long-term goals.

• Self-control: to be able to STOP your urge. Because every company wants to use out human’s urge to have instant gratification to buy from them…

Why do you need to think critically?

To gain back your own focus & life, otherwise you will always be controlled by others (huge tech and media companies). They want your focus to create an urge to buy their products and services.

Stressors are against your critical thinking

A 2016 study found that people are more likely to spend money when they are stressed out. Stress triggers the release of a hormone called cortisol. This helps us respond quickly and effectively to threats in our environment. In the modern and developed world, the stressors we face often are not physical but psychological. Businesses capitalize on this according to Big Think.

How critical thinking help you to avoid impulse buying?

Start to rationalize your thoughts before doing an action or making any money related decision.

• Do I really need this item in my life or align with my long-term goals?

Unfortunately no one else will STOP You from buying.

Only You can do it.

You can learn this on million courses and watch 100 000+ Youtube videos, but if you do not stop yourself, then no one else will. This will not happen on day one, as you need to change your habits, but with practice you can improve a lot and fast.

Practice to avoid impulse buying

• Goal setting: Have goals regarding spending on clothes etc.

• Budgeting: Audreyrose Forrest from Quora said to teenagers: “My father was a very wise man. He made a box into 12 compartments. Each space said snacks, food, movies, clothes, rent, etc. all the things a child would buy. Give your child an allowance and show how to split that, so some money was in each slot. Do not give a credit card. Demonstration to you showing responsibility on how the money has been distributed for at least 1 year is a good thing.”

• Track your spending habits, either use a paper, diary on an app follow your spending habits…start to create different boxes for different spendings etc.

• Grocery lists: yes, write down what you need and do not buy what you do not need or use an app.

• Avoid subscriptions as much as you can: do not subscribe for everything, no you do not need: there is a free version too…

• Do not have a credit card, if you cannot pay it with cash or cannot spare for it then you cannot buy it and tutor your kids too to save without credit cards.

Give yourself time

• Planning a time slot when you spend. Online shopping allows you to buy anything anytime, but you need to practice self-control, to go on a physical shop and do not buy online. Start to practice self-control by not buying anything anytime e.g.: if you need electronic items go to a physical shop before buying, try out, touch it, ask do I really need this for 1000$ or 2000$ or 5000$? Sleep more nights before you decide, compare prices, guarantees, ask a lot, and do not take loan out or do not buy it for a monthly subscription (it usually not worth) …

• Delaying: it helps you, give you more time especially when a machine tells “buy it now”, just do not buy it now or immediately, sleep on it…

• Exercises: reduce the stress level, go out for a short walk, go for a run, or hit the gym, before you buy or click on the latest item to land in your cart, or put in your cart, this will give you more time to think...

To sum up the most important things always start to think before you do an action…

STOP & STARE and ask yourself

• What do I do?
• Why am I doing it?
• Is that my idea?

Self-awareness will come with time and practice…

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