To get out of debt, you either need to spend less or earn more. Stop spending money and potentially improve your finances with these tips.
Key Points:
- The best way to stop spending money unnecessarily is to stick to a budget.
- Don’t always purchase things new. Think “gently-used”!
- Using cash can help you prevent unnecessary spending.
The best way to stop spending money unnecessarily is to create a budget and stick to it. A budget gives you a visual of your finances to see where you are overspending and where you have room in the budget. When you know how much you can spend in a category each month, you may be more motivated to stop spending money.
Stop Spending Money
It may be difficult to stop spending money but it’s not impossible and doing so may improve your finances greatly. These tips can help to get you started.
- Avoid opportunities to spend money. Don’t give yourself the temptation to spend money by eliminating the possibility. Whether you prefer shopping online or in the store, don’t browse or you may end up spending more than you planned.
- Don’t get caught up in a sale. Think about how much you’re actually saving, or not saving, in a sale to decide if you really need it. Often, the sales don’t save you as much as you would think. For example, 20% off of a $25 item is only a $5 discount. You are still paying $20 for the item.
- Give an item thought before you buy it to cut down on splurges. Don’t get caught up in the excitement of buying something new. By giving your purchase some thought before buying, you may find that you don’t need to spend the money after all.
- Borrow or trade with a neighbor or friend. If you’re only going to use an item once, it may be beneficial to borrow or trade it. Even borrowing books from the library rather than purchasing them can save you money.
- Make online and television shopping less convenient. Use the parental block that many televisions have to make it harder for you to spend money impulsively on an item you see while flipping through the channels. Stop spending money online by removing stores from your browser bookmarks. It may also help to unsubscribe from marketing emails and unfollowing stores from social media.
- Take advantage of hand-me-downs. Don’t be ashamed to accept your friends’ and family members’ offers of free furniture, clothing, or other things you may want or need. That free item may bring you one step closer to paying off your debt.
Better Money Habits
It’s not realistic to completely cut out all non-essential spending but you should try to cut back on frivolous spending on unnecessary items. Cook at home instead of eating out or buy gym equipment instead of paying for a gym membership. You can often find deals on barely used exercise equipment because people often don’t stick with an exercise routine. Find other creative ways to save money without giving up the “fun” things in life.
A good way to spend less money is to use cash instead of credit cards, especially if you are already in credit card debt. Using cash is more tactile than paying with a credit card is so you may be more conscious of how much you are spending. It’s also easier to stay within your budget with cash by only taking a certain amount with when you shop. You can’t spend more cash than you have in your wallet!
If developing better money habits isn’t enough to get you out of debt, ClearOne Advantage can help. Contact one of our Certified Debt Specialists at 866-481-1597 to discuss your best debt relief options and get a free savings estimate today.
