How to Save When You are a Neo-Shopaholic

• You MUST buy it because it looks too cute to not be in your safety deposit box.
• Most items you buy you never see again after ten minutes of playing with it.
• Your SDB has thousands of items in it that you bought under impulse.
• You have begged the bank keeper for a loan for that cool toy you saw at the store but don’t have enough for and got kicked out of the National Neopian Bank for making a huge scene.
• Your favourite neopets store is set as your homepage so you don’t miss one restock.
• You need to buy all the items because you think the Meepits will steal them.

If one of these points sound like you, you may be a neo-shopaholic. If they all sound like you, go to the Neopian Hospital right away to get help because you are far too ill for this article to help you.

Now that we have that out of the way, if you are a neo-shopaholic or just want to learn how to save your neopoints for your goal, try some of these six tips to help you.

1. Believe you can save your neopoints. Confidence is everything. If you think you can save, you will be able to save. So say it out loud now: ‘I will save X amount of neopoints so I can buy _____’. Replace the X with the amount of neopoints you need and the ___ with the item you want. Now that you believe in yourself, you now have the energy to try to save your money. Try to keep this feeling, and if you start to doubt yourself, tell yourself out loud again that you can save.

2. Treat yourself when you save some neopoints. For every 100k you make, spend only 10k, so 90k goes towards your goal, or save half of the neopoints you make and spend the other half. It all depends what makes you happy and wanting to continue saving. If you save all your money, you may get bored and frustrated, but you can’t spend it all or else you’ll never get that item you really want. If you get frustrated, pick a different way. Neopets is supposed to be fun and not seem like a chore. Pick a plan that suits you best and you’ll have lots of fun while saving.

3. Set a realistic goal for yourself. Don’t think ‘I want to make 100,000,000 NP right now!’ because that won’t happen. Take your overall goal and make some smaller goals. For example, set a goal to make one million neopoints, then two million, and three... if you are trying to make ten million neopoints, so it doesn’t seem to take a long time.

Don’t forget to give yourself time. Most people can’t make millions of neopoints a day. Remind yourself that, and be patient with yourself. A goal to make 25k or 75k is a much better idea, and more realistic. Remember to take baby steps towards your goal.

4. Ask yourself each time you want to buy an item, ‘How often will I use this item?’ You may want the item now, but will you in a few weeks? We have all done it, spending our hard earned neopoints on something because it was shiny or a pretty colour. If you are just buying it to look at it, look at it in the shop! To save your neopoints, buy only items that are useful and that you really want so the item won’t be rotting away in your SDB in a few days.

5. When you put your neopoints in the bank, don’t take them out until you have reached your goal. This way you won’t take too much out and before you realize it spend all of your neopoints. It would also help you not buy junk since most of your neopoints would be in your bank account. To help with not buying on impulse and taking NP out of the bank without thinking, set up a pin if you haven’t already! But you should have one already for extra security on your account. This way you won’t be able to easily take out all your neopoints and give you time to think about what you are doing and stop yourself. If you have trouble keeping your neopoints in the bank, think about it this way. The more money you have in the bank, the more interest you get each day, meaning you will get to your goal faster and will be spending again sooner. (;

6. Have a saving buddy! Try to save with a neofriend or a guild member. It may seem like you are the only one that has to save for what you want, but you’re not. Find someone who is saving too, and try to reach your goals together, whether it’s playing games with each other and trying to beat the other’s scores for fun while making neopoints off the game or just talking about how much each of you save, it will make saving seem a lot more fun than saving by yourself. Just remember that people earn and save money at different rates, so if the other person is saving more than you, don’t worry about it! You’ll get there in time.

If you follow these tips, you will soon be able to afford a Cool Negg, that Terror Mountain Igloo Background you have been dreaming about at night, or anything you want. As you get used to saving, it will become much easier. Just don’t give up and good luck saving!

Disclaimer: The points above is not the actual neo-shopaholics test, and should not be taken seriously, it is just for fun and entertainment.