If we are completely honest with ourselves, most of us have moments when we are spending money that we know we should not be spending. It may be splurging on a new book or splurging on a new wide screen television. Whatever the splurge, it could be undermining your financial goals. So how do you stop spending when you already know you shouldn’t, but you do it anyway?
1) It is important to understand why you are spending the money. Do you overspend when you are bored, or stressed out? Are you spending the money to make life easier (you are too tired to cook again)? Or is it an emergency that you hadn’t planned on?
2) Once you realize why you are spending the money, then you need to find ways to help yourself stop. If you find that you are bored, take up an inexpensive hobby. You can visit the library to find books to read or join Netflix and rent more movies. You may be saving money by keeping cable, if it stops you from hitting the stores twice a week. If cooking is your downfall, try cooking once a month or visiting a store where you make your meals all at once.
3) It is important to make yourself accountable to someone. If you are married, then your spouse is the ideal person. You may want to agree to call each other and ask before you spend money on certain areas. This can help you to not spend unnecessarily. (I advocated separate spending for each spouse that would not fall into this rule.)
4) If you are spending all of your money at a certain store, then stop going there. If a website is too tempting, then stop going there. Change your habits and your routine and it will help you stop over spending on a regular basis.
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