Sometimes it can be hard to stop spending. For me, this happens at Christmas time, birthday times, and any other time when I have a real excuse to spend money. Once I get into the swing of spending, it is hard to stop. But stop I must, or my budget will be in serious trouble.
One of the things that says stop to me is my budget. I have it automatically tally up where I am in relation to my income, and when the two approach, I know that I need to stop spending. However, having a credit card feels like free money sometimes, so I need to put the brakes on that one too. I know how much I will be able to put towards the credit card every month, so I tally up the pending credit card bills within my budget and I make sure I can pay it off. Unpaid bills make me unhappy.
The other thing that stops me is my bank account. I purposefully do not have overdraft protection, and this might seem like living on the edge. However, it works for me almost all of the time, as long as I keep a close eye on my budget and on any pending cheques that might come in. Having no overdraft protection means that I need to keep a little bit of money in my account in case of emergencies or forgotten spending, and it stops me from going into debt.
What do I do when the budget and the credit card and the bank account are all telling me to stop? I stop going shopping, because every time I go shopping I see something that I need, or at least that I can justify to myself as a need. Often these are food items, sometimes they are items for my daughter or gifts. I also avoid the internet, at least the parts that call to me to go shopping.
What says stop to you?