How do you value things? This can be one way that can help you if you are constantly overspending in one area. It gives you an easy comparison of what something is worth to you. You can break it down into whatever form that you want to and then make the comparison to decide if the money you are spending is worth it.
My husband measures everything in comparison to the value of a video game. He plays video games to relax. He purchases one about every two months, so it is not a common purchase. When we are spending money and he feels that it is unnecessary (like when we go out to eat—my favorite way to spend money), he likes to say that he could have purchased a video game with what we spent. That is an exaggeration, since we generally do not spend close to that much on eating out.
I like to measure everything in relation to how much I have to work in order to pay for the item. This really helps me to put into perspective how much I am spending. It also helps me to realize that the extra half an hour I spend making dinner actually saves me at least two hours of work for what we would pay for a nice meal to feed our family eating out.
You can look at what you are spending money or time on and compare it to what you value the most. You can do it in comparison to things that you like to treat yourself with—video games, massages, dates with your spouse. Or you can do it comparison to the time it costs you to earn the money to pay for that item. Similarly if it saves you more time by paying to have it done, then it may be worth the extra money. This is an effective easy way to watch what you are spending money on and to adjust your habits as needed.
Related Articles:
Feeling Out of Control with Your Budget? A Hint
Celebrating the Small Victories