Tips to curb your spending to save your money!
Y’all…. I love to shop. I love to buy. I love to spend. I just hate using my money.
In my other life, I was a professional princess. Where I get to do whatever I want, live a life of leisure, and spend someone else’s money, with no expectations from me. Since I am not, I must manage my money and curb my spending. So how do I do it? Well, I will definitely say it’s not easy.
So in terms of buying here are my tips… DON’T. If it were that easy then everyone would do it. So here are my simple but effective ways that have helped to curb my spending.
- Remove all credit cards from your wallet and phone.
- Carry cash— Once the money is gone, so is the fun. When you see the cash dwindling in your pocket, it helps you to think twice about your purchase.
- Unsubscribe from marketing emails- All your favorite shopping websites, UNSUBSCRIBE from, then you won’t be tempted to “browse” the sales.
- No. More. Browsing.— Don’t go to the mall or to the website to “just browse”— I’ve used this excuse before, but I got your number. Don’t go to websites and build carts, even if you abandon them. Just stay off the site period. Remove the temptation.
- Shop your own closet—get creative with what you already own. I am sure you have plenty.
- Eat at home— This is a big one, a lot of y’all are eating your money. Going to your favorite restaurant or even fast food can quickly burn down your bank account. Grocery shopping can be expensive. Spending $200 at the grocery store can last 2 weeks while that same $200 at a restaurant was only for one meal or a few meals, depending on the restaurant.
- Socializing— For my extroverts out there, this one may hurt your heart. I am an introvert so I have no problem declining any ‘outside the house’ invitation. Socializing gets pretty expensive at the end of the month if you are doing it every weekend. Going to dinner, getting drinks, and going out can add quickly no matter the location. Try activities that are free or economical to help limit the impact on your budget.
- Lastly, pay attention to your money. Don’t nickel and dime yourself to death (constantly spending small amounts of unplanned money that ruin your budget). Think about something you like to do that sounds cheap initially, such as spending $20 on food or $50 (or more) at Target once a week. This doesn’t sound like much in one week, but if you do this every week for a month, that $20 now equals $80, and $50 equals $100. Now add that to a bevy of other small transactions, like this each week, and you have quickly blown your budget. Nickel and dime-ing yourself can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars each month.
These tips may seem simple, but they can have a positive impact on your budget.
