How to stop wasting money?

Are you trying to solve your problem with excessive expenses? Perhaps, for this you have frozen your credit cards, do not travel further than several kilometers from your city, and do not visit places that can tempt you with new purchases. Nevertheless, somehow you still do not fit into your budget every month. It's time to once and for all get rid of the habit of doing impulsive spending.

Saving and willpower

The problem with most of the tips on controlling impulsive spending is that they are not focused on the right things: your willpower. Of course, it may be useful to literally cut your credit cards, but this does not detract from the fact that you still feel tempted to buy things. A certified financial planner, Carl Richards, advises people to create a space between the incentive (your impulse to buy, for example, a new gadget that you do not need) and the answer (your decision to buy a gadget). In other words, it's not just about avoiding the impulse or eliminating the consequences, but also about fighting. If you really want to nip the problem in the bud, concentrate on your willpower with the following tips.

Wait

What's the easiest way to test and sharpen your willpower? Make yourself wait.

Try to use what is called the "$ 100 Rule". When you have a desire to buy something that costs $ 100 or more, make yourself wait at least a week. Thus, you will have time to think about whether you really want this thing, or whether your decision to buy was impulsive. You can adjust this amount to meet your own budget. Maybe you are broke, and even a purchase worth $ 25 is not allowed for your budget. Then set the "Rule 25 dollars" for yourself. Or maybe $ 100 is not so much money for your budget. Cool, then set the "Rule of 1000 dollars" for yourself.

The main thing here is that you just have to give yourself time to make a conscious decision about the costs that fit your budget. In addition, you are waiting for a bonus: when you wait, you also give yourself time to look for additional discounts or the best option.

Small expenses

Although, of course, impulsive spending may not always be great. Sometimes you can buy an unnecessary lipstick on the box office or a new case for the phone on Amazon. For small purchases like these, you can follow the rule "10/10". If you want to buy something worth $ 10, spend at least 10 minutes to think about this solution. If a thing costs more than $ 10 and you are still not sure of the purchase, it should go back to the shelf. For such impulsive purchases, this rule does work. Again, you can change the amount to match your situation.

In addition, you should think about the Amazon Contemplate. This extension of Chrome, which is ideal for this kind of situations. When you press the button on Amazon, in order to buy something, the extension forces you to wait 30 seconds so you can think whether or not you really want to make this purchase. Half a minute is not so long, but sometimes it's enough to keep you from impulsive purchases.

Focus on the financial goal

If you have a goal, it will greatly help you to refrain from impulsive purchases. When you save on something, it is much easier to resist the desire to spend money, because you can perceive impulsive spending as an enemy of your financial goals. For example, do you want to get rid of all debts by July? But this new pair of shoes will not allow you to do this until September.

For this there is even a technical term: an alternative cost. INVESTOPEDIA defines costs as "loss of potential profit from other alternatives when choosing one of them." In this context, an alternative value can be considered a thing that you refuse, when you use your money to buy something that you really do not need.

Do not look at yourself as a victim

Opportunity is the key word here. Let's face it: when you have to deny yourself a thing that is not really needed, then, as a rule, you feel like a victim. No one likes to be a victim. But if you have financial goals, you will be able to convert "sacrifice" into an opportunity. Then you will have the opportunity to use your money for the right things. It is much easier to take control of your expenses, when you can see what benefit it will bring to you.

Plan your expenses

Many people, for the first time starting to plan their budget, overestimate their own willpower. They believe that they can fight with every temptation to spend money, so they do not plan any other expenses that do not fall into the category of debts or bills. You can guess where this leads to. In this case, of course, you will exceed your budget, because it is unrealistic. And once your budget is broken, you are already on the road to excessive spending.

This means that you must realistically plan your budget. Let's not forget that money is just an instrument. You should use it! There is nothing wrong with spending money on what you love, the main thing is to learn how to make such spending strategic. Thus, you get what you want, but at the same time you will not be in a crazy rhythm to spend money.

Create a small fund for spending or add another category to your budget. Do not go crazy, of course. This does not mean that you can afford some kind of luxurious lifestyle. It's just a small amount of money that you can spend when you want to please yourself with something. Thus, you will have boundaries and principles, so that you can "blast" strategically. You can allocate any amount to this fund.

Share your desires

It also helps to spend money on things that you love, rather than those that you just like. This way, you will get more from your expenses. Divide your expenses into two categories: what you like, and what you like. What things do you like to spend money on, and what do you spend on them for nothing? For example, you might like spending money on clothes, and you can enjoy using them for travel. Give up what you just like, and instead focus your expenses on the things that you love. This will help to weed out impulsive purchases, which you will later regret.

Here's how the financial website Phroogal explains it: "Take a step back and ask yourself: how many purchases have you already made that you just like? Quite a bit of? You are not alone. Imagine that the cigarettes you smoke every day, or the coffee that you drink at the nearest coffee house, take money away from you, saving you money, you could afford to go on holiday. You can complain that you do not have the money to go on holiday, but at the same time continue to buy things that are not really necessary, instead of saving them for what you really love, for travel. "

Set Borders

An attempt to strengthen one's willpower can not be easy. Part of this process is the establishment of its own borders. No one has an unlimited supply of willpower. However, you probably can more than you think. Despite the difficulties, it is necessary to learn to establish these boundaries, especially when it comes to money. These tips are difficult to implement because they focus on restraint, but in the end they will probably pay off (literally).