Spending less money is something that can be really helpful to many people for different reasons. It can mean that they will be able to pay off some debts or that they will be able to save more money or even pay off loans or things like that. It can be very worthwhile but in practice it can be very tricky. It is hard to spend less money, because we feel like we deserve to buy things and when we cannot it feels like we are being punished. Therefore, you may need to make sure that you keep motivating yourself so that you find it easier to do. There are things that you can do in order to help with this.
- Set a firm goal – it is wise to set yourself a firm goal and then it will be much easier to stick to it. This means that you should think hard about how much less you want to spend and note it down. This could be influenced by a certain savings target you have or by calculating how much you think you will be able to reduce your spending by. You can always change this goal if you think that it is either too ambitious or not ambitious enough once you get started with it. However, by looking at your current financial situation you should be able to make a reasonable goal.
- Make less money available to spend – if there is less money available for you to spend then you will find it easier not to spend so much. In order to do this it is a good idea to move the money into a separate account. So as soon as you get paid then have the money put into a savings account so that you are not tempted to spend it. You will still be able to get it out if you put it in an instant access account and so you will not need to worry about being short of money if you do this.
- Compare prices – it is wise to compare prices on everything that you buy. This will allow you to not only be aware of what the cost is but also see whether there are cheaper alternatives. This is quite an easy habit to get into/ Even if you only change a few things that you buy, those few dollars that you save could make quite a difference. If you can do this with more expensive things such as insurance or utilities, then you can make more of significant difference but even the small savings will all add up.
- Keep your goal in mind – it is so important to make sure that you keep thinking about your goal all of the time. This will help you to remember why you need to be careful with your spending. It is a good idea to keep your goal written down as well as the reasons for setting that goal. So, keep a note of the amount that you want to reduce your spending by and why you want to do this. Have this stuck somewhere prominent such as on a mirror and this should enable you to be able to have a constant reminder of why you are doing this. It should enable you to keep a focus and also to feel positively about spending less as you will be able to think about the positive future that you will get as a result of this.
- Factor in some treats – it may be that you find that reducing your spending is really difficult. This may depend on how much you have to reduce your spending as well as how much spending you normally like to do. It can be wise, to factor in a spending treat every so often. Perhaps leave yourself enough money so that you can buy a few things or withdraw some money from your savings occasionally to do this. This will obviously mean that you will not be saving so much money but it could help you feel like you are not struggling so much and that you are having a reward for all of the hard work that you are putting in with spending less most of the time.
Once you get into the habit of spending less money it may not feel so difficult. It can take time to get used to doing something a bit different but once you build up a habit of doing then it is easier. If you are comparing prices then you might be able to spend less without even buying very many less things. This might seem like an effort but it can mean that you will be able to feel less restricted in the amount of things that you are buying and this could be a good thing for you.