Break your spending habits and replace them with saving habits

Have you ever wondered where all your money goes even if you are earning a good income?  This happens when you have bad spending habits and never pay attention to lifestyle inflation.

Some people love to save money while others love to spend. If you will not develop money-saving habits, lifestyle inflation will eat up all of your bonuses and raises. It is best to avoid all ( or most of ) those habits that can keep you poor.

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Have you ever paid attention to how you spend? Or, I remember a story told by my mother as a kid. It was told because I and my brother were fighting on something which I don’t remember now.  The story goes like this. There were two ladies who were living separately. One of them was very clever and the other was innocent. The clever lady had a cow and the innocent one had a goat. The innocent lady churned butter from milk and had a container filled with butter oil ( clarified butter).

The clever one stole it from her house and told that it is her. They both started fighting. Then a wise man said I can mediate your dispute. First, both of you take a container each, fill it with water and wash your face and hands and come to me. They both did the same and when they came, that man saw, the clever one finished all the water and didn’t even wash her hands and face properly. But the innocent lady washed everything properly and brought back some water.

Now that man said that I can give the verdict that the container filled with butter oil belongs to the innocent one. Moral of the story is that if you have that mindset of using all your resources wisely, you can save on any income. You just need to change your habits a little bit and have a savings mindset.

I always remember this story and work on it. And it has really paid. I can live on any income. I enjoy saving money rather than spending.  But I am not a miser either.

Here are some of the habits which need to be broken, which along with the right mindset about money, are required to grow your wealth.

“A penny saved is a penny earned”

So instead of working more for the same amount, why not save the money instead of spending it. Sometimes you have to live on a single income to take care of your kids, or for any other reason. Keeping your spending in check always helps in saving money.

Few things you need to do before taming your habits are

• Create a budget
• Build an emergency fund

These will help you in thinking about money in a conservative way and will help you in saving for your future self.

1. Impulse buying

Some people love to buy on a whim. They just cannot sit comfortably until they have bought that particular thing. I was like this while I was a school student. And believe me, this is a really difficult habit to tame. I can’t explain that discomfort of not buying that particular item in words.

To tame this habit, you really need to be strict with yourself. Do this, when you get that feeling of buying anything, just wait for a few seconds. Relax and ask if it really is important to buy? Or if saving this money is a better option. Think about it and listen to the answer which comes from within. Use your mind over heart.

Stepping back from buying something and thinking of buying it later will give you some time to think deeply, whether you need that particular item or not.

If you still want to buy something, why not get some money back on the purchase. Sign up with Rakuten and get your bonus of $10. Always transfer that saved money immediately to your saving accounts otherwise it will be spent on something else.

2. Buying every new product launched

This one is the most difficult to curb. Whenever you watch TV, you are bombarded with so many advertisements, especially technology. You just want to buy every new phone launched in the market. You need to pay attention to how these advertisements affects your psychology. Instead of thinking of buying every new product launched, try to be happy in whatever you have.

I still own iPhone 5 and do many tasks on it. Sometimes I create graphics too for my Pinterest account. Though it is difficult but doable. My phone is with me for 3 years and I think I will be able to stay for one more year with this phone. Lucky me, I don’t get time to watch TV.

3. Using every cleaner and sanitizer

Yes I know everybody requires cleaning agents. But going overboard and buying every cleaning product and the sanitizing agent is not a good idea. It is literally a waste of time and money. Simple and basic cleaning products do wonders for cleaning.

And do you seriously need sanitizer every-time? I think you can do great without these chemical-laden products. Using Basic soap for washing your hands is good for your basic hygiene. A simple cleaner is good for cleaning your house. But sometimes you start feeling like your house has become a hub for bacteria because the companies say so. They say that everywhere is the bacteria and you need to get rid of them.

Think of like this if chemicals can kill those adamant bacteria what they can do to humans? So, stop wasting your money on those chemical-laden products.

4. Buying expensive clothes

Buying expensive clothes without sales is not a good idea. Always buy on sales. Off-season clothes are always less expensive. Go overboard and look for clearance in stores. Sometimes you can find very good stuff at a very low price. I have a 5 dollar top I bought from target. It is still beautiful after 3 years and colourful.

Always wait and shop around before buying expensive clothes. Use online shopping sites to get cashback.

5. Being loyal to brands

Please be loyal to your family friends and your wallet. Keep your money in your wallet. Brands don’t design clothes for you particularly. They design them for business. Their customers are their business. You can have a few pieces if you want for your loyalty. But overthink and stick to brands.

Go shopping with an open mind and buy anything that suits you and your pocket. Try to buy home brands as they are of good quality too.

6. Making excuses for spending money

Sometimes when you feel stressed, shopping gives you a feeling of happiness. Or if you have to go shopping for buying gifts, you may go crazy for spending your money. But spending money mindlessly just to make yourself happy is not a good idea.

Find something that can give you happiness and gifts laden with love will do wonders, even if they are not very expensive. Gift of love is the most precious gift for anyone, give it and receive love.

7. Eating out every weekend

I have some friends who say that going out for dinner on weekends is a must for them. This is their enjoyment. It’s okay to go for dinner outside but if you want to save money then you need to curb your wants and go for your needs. Once you have got out of any kind of debt, you have your retirement fund ready, you can go for enjoying your life more.

But until then, curb your wants and try to ave as much as you can.

8. Going for an outing every other week

I know some of my friends who start feeling bored if they don’t go for an outing. It’s okay to go occasionally but if you have a habit of going for an outing every other week, then please change it. I mean it becomes very easy to spend money when you go for outings.

Buying drinks and snacks feel good and give you a feeling of a picnic. You can do exercise to figure out how much one outing can cost. After your latest outing, write down all the things you bought on an outing. You will be surprised how much you spent on that day. It really adds up even if you are spending a few dollars here and there. So a better way to cut your spending on an outing is, go for free outings or reduce the frequency.

9. Paying for subscriptions you don’t  use

There are always some subscriptions which we never use. My husband always buys a gym membership and never use it. But he cannot curb that impulse of a gym membership. He is so busy that he never gets time to go to the gym. Or he doesn’t want to go. He just makes excuses for not going to the gym.

And if he doesn’t buy the subscription he starts feeling restless. Breaking these types of habits are necessary and it takes some time. To tame this, give yourself some time and try to cut your subscriptions. Wait for sometime before subscribing for magazines and gym memberships

10. Using Credit cards mindlessly

Keep your credit cards only for emergency. If you will go on spending money from your credit cards for grocery and other basic necessities, it will pile up credit. You need to keep credit cards but don’t use it for your daily expenses. If you forget to pay on time, it will incur a huge fee on it.

Try to use cash instead of credit cards. Or make it a habit to pay every month on a fixed date to avoid any late fee.

11. Not paying loans on time

When you don’t pay your loans on time, you incur a fee. It could be hefty depending upon your loan amount. Always pay on time. If you have a habit of postponing paying loan till last minute, you need to change your habit. This can cause you loss of big amount in the long run.

These are the habits I feel one should work on. Replacing these habits could really help you in growing your wealth and your bank accounts. Please share if you like this post and share your tips in comments. I would love to learn more.

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