1. Limit impulse purchases
Unnecessary spending often occurs on the spur of the moment. You walk into a shop, see something and feel you just can’t leave without it, even though you didn’t know it existed 10 minutes earlier. Sound familiar?
To prevent this, make a list before you set out. Write down the things you need and try to stick to it. If you know you’re a regular impulse buyer, have a long honest thing about your spending pattern. When is it that you splurge money? When you’re sad? When you’re feeling stressed? If so, try to avoid shopping in these situations and consider cheaper actions to repair your mood, such as exercise (clinically proven to help reduce mild depression) or going to the cinema instead of buying an expensive new outfit.
2. Track expenses
Most of us are not good mental book keepers, mainly because it’s difficult to keep track of how much money we spend and on what. If you’re forever wondering what happened to that extra $20 you were sure was in your wallet, start writing down every cent you spend during the course of a day – every newspaper, every chocolate bar, even that handful of change you gave to a busker. Most people are stunned when they realize how much they habitually spend on insignificant things.
3. Setting realistic goals
If you’ve ever tried to go on a diet, it’s likely that, as soon as you started, all you could think of was food. In a similar way, simply telling yourself not to think about shopping and spending money won’t help – but setting realistic goals might. Nothing is more frustrating than constantly underachieving one’s goals, so avoid all or nothing ultimatums, or your angry inner being will start to rebel. Try restricting how often you go shopping, i.e. one weekend in three instead of every Saturday and Sunday, and ask your friends to help to do other fun things in your spare time, to take mind off it.
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