Do you feel like no matter how much you’re earning, and even if you’ve a savings habit, extra expenses still have a way of creeping in over time and causing financial stress? You must be asking yourself questions like – how can I limit my spending? Will I have enough money for the future? Why do I keep wanting more?
It’s important to understand that our spending habits are heavily influenced by our lifestyle which is molded by multiple factors such as upbringing, socio-economic status, habits, education, faith, among others and all these factors contribute to how we spend money.
Next, let’s check out these eight simple ways to get your spending under control.
1. Avoid impulse buying
One of the biggest enemies of frugality and your monthly budget is the impulse buy. Most of us are guilty of it and it’s difficult to stop the urge to grab everything in sight when we’re in the shopping mood. An effective way to combat this issue is to plan your purchases by making a shopping list, you’ll eliminate a lot of little impulse buys. It’s also useful to keep a clear goal in mind at all times and remind ourselves constantly to not overspend.
2. Don’t spend more than you can afford
While it’s nice to think about having enough money to spend on luxury goods or unplanned purchases like concert tickets or an impromptu trip, it’s definitely unhealthy to have a millionaire mindset. And yes, you can indulge yourself every now and then, but to what extent? Most of the time, people are just impulsive buyers especially during promotional periods and it became a norm these days. Clueless of this? Try checking online retail websites or any buy-and-sell portals.
3. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should
All of us should learn to differentiate between wants and needs. In the current digital era where online shopping is becoming the norm, we can easily purchase products from clothing to groceries at the comfort of our home by simply using our credit cards, transactions happen faster than before. As a result, most people won’t have enough time to think if the potential purchase is really needed and worth the I’m-broke-for-a-while period. Hence, next time before you hit the “Check Out” button, think twice!
4. Learn to say “NO”
Master the art of saying “NO” can be one of the most useful life skills we all should learn. The ability to say no may not come in handy all the time and learning it is definitely a skill. Having the mental capacity to identify and scrutinize what’s left to reject and accept is a rare but very helpful skill one must learn in order to survive most unwanted financial situations in life.
5. Cultivate good spending habits
Some things just need getting used to. And this is so much applicable to your spending habits. If you condition yourself to a habit in which you do not spend so much for your wants, you will be able to foster a healthy spending habit. This just means that you are able to grasp the ideas of needs versus wants and their sheer difference. Do you need it or want it? The latter speaks so much about unwanted spending. Just because you want it, does not mean you need it.
6. Surround yourself with smart spenders
Your first support system is no one but yourself. The next ones are your family and friends. Can you think of people from these circles who are actually smart spenders? Smart spenders are people who can be wary of their purchases. If you take them into consideration or make them an inspiration, having an effect on your disruptive spending habit is expected to happen anytime soon!
7. Remind yourself constantly
It is best to remind yourself mentally, but a little literal slap on your face would can be so helpful. Try reading stuff about such. As you immerse yourself in related things to battle your unwanted spending, the more you get used to it. Some would even remind themselves through calendar alarms on their mobiles just to remind them about their budget for the day to avoid overspending.
8. Don’t try to impress others. Be yourself!
Are you worried that you will miss out on the current trend? Not being able to ride the popular culture tide? Jokes on you. People would not care if you’re still wearing your old pairs of jeans or you’re going for affordable lunch options at work instead of high-end restaurants. Sometimes, it’s showing up and pretending that make people overspend. The gist is, you do not have to spend so much just to impress people. Be yourself!
For some educators, the indicator to look into is changed behavior. This serves as basis to know if a person has learned anything. In this case, your bank-popping habits should change from overspending to conservative spending. The latter speaks about prioritizing the ones you just need, in a nutshell. This explains how other people can save up so much despite enjoying what life has to offer by living within their means.
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