Ours is a society so taken by consumerism that nearly all of us have problems keeping our hard earned money bottled up as tight as we would like. With credit cards, it’s ridiculously easy to have your money apparently disappear into thin air after a few swipes. It’s not impossible to take control of a dangerous spending habit. Check out these awesome tips and try some or all of them to start saving more and spending less.
Convert cost to work time
Whenever you feel that irresistible urge to make a purchase, convert the cost of that item to the number of hours you would need to work in order to make that much. For instance, if you earn £4 per hour and the item costs £100, you would need to work for 25 hours to be able pay for it. Now, it’s entirely up to you whether that particular product is worth that much work time.
Please stick to your budget
It’s not easy to make a budget and it’s even harder to stick to it. It’s not that it’s some Herculean task like winning an Olympic medal, but somehow, we make it seem so. Making and sticking to a budget may be hard at first but it will get easier with time.
Use cash more than you use cards
When you spend cash, you are more aware that you are giving your money away and you can see what’s left of it by taking a quick glance into your purse. Try withdrawing half of the week’s budget at the start of the week and tucking your cards away somewhere you can’t reach them as easily. You might need to carry at least one card around in case of an emergency but put it in a card holder separate from your purse or wallet. When you need to make payments, you’ll instinctively reach for your purse instead.
Take advantage of mobile apps
Mobile apps have been saving us from ourselves, like fitness apps, and helping us reach our goals, like productivity apps. If you haven’t tried any apps to help you monitor your cash flow, you should do so now. There many to choose from but you should start with ‘B’, and yes, that’s the name of the app. Whether you want it to stand for banking or budget, you won’t be entirely wrong because the app comes with an interesting array of tools to help you take charge of your finances.
Make a “Thirty Day List”
Whenever you go out shopping or find something you’d really like to get online that you think you can’t live without, put this item in your ‘Thirty Day List’. Thirty days later, if you really still want that item, then perhaps you have enough justification for that purchase. Otherwise, let it go. If you shop online, save items in your cart instead of the list.
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