Having recently seen The Odyssey, I compare this feature to Odysseus asking to be tied to the mast. The sirens in this case are a Twirl duo, and I need to resist spending £4 a day on nonsense in Tesco Express.
Bookies let you self-exclude. It would be amazing if Monzo could do the same — stopping your card from working with a particular merchant, or in a particular retailer, for a period you set.
£4 every weekday is over £1,000 a year. The savings would be glorious, and it would pay dividends for the bottom line and the waistline.
Personally i’d get a lot of value from this feature.
Gambling is very much the opposite to day to day grocery shopping.
Set a calendar reminder every half hour saying you don’t need to spend today. Or divide your money by 30 and then schedule a payment every day from your Pot as an allowance and then you’re only able to spend X and use initiative to save it if you want Y in a few days etc.
Amazing. Thank you. I’ve set this up, but don’t see the option to block when i click into a recent transaction. Have closed/reopened the app. Any ideas please?
It’s a good a idea because it has multiple uses including blocking recurring charges from a merchant, of course it’s probably better to work on not going yourself or you could just end up going to a different shop.
Depends where you live. I’m rural so banning Tesco Express makes it more difficult to the point it removes temptation, as it’s my only nearby shop.
It’s an idea that could help, not a silver bullet. Which is quite funny feeling the need to state, but some of the responses have drifted into that territory.
Update: spend block works but it appears the feature is not applicable to grocers. I checked Tesco, Lidl and Aldi and none have the option. Whereas I can apply it to other merchants.
Would love a staff update as I presume this is intentional, given it appears to be a blanket approach to grocers.
I’d guess certain merchants cannot be blocked which might be deemed essential IE groceries.
Ideally you need to address the issue internally, but can also speak to Monzo via the help section of the app if you are struggling to manage your finances in any way.
Budgeting, and setting yourself a daily limit is a good place to start.
I think the problem you have is struggling to deal with boredom, like Carl said, it’s an internal issue needs addressing.
I recently moved to a rural area, too, and can totally relate with this. I used to spend a silly amount of time entertaining myself by walking to the local Waitrose when I first moved from a big city to a small town, and of course 9/10 times I ended up purchasing something. I am now 1 hour walk away from the closest village high street, I’ve learnt to make sure I get everything I need whenever I go to any supermarkets and boredom shopping can’t be a substitute for entertainment anymore.
I can only share what works for me, which is accepting boredom is just part of being humans. Moving to more rural living has taught me how much the modern world has rewired my brain to getting used to constant stimulus. Each time you think “Gonna go to Tesco Extra”, try counteracting that thought with “Is there anything I actually need there”, “Do I just want to leave the house for a bit, and can it just simply be going for a walk and enjoy nature?”.
