Monday, September 13, 2010

How to Resist the Temptation to Spend Money


We're all victims of the temptation to spend-spend-spend when we really want to save-save-save. Here are some ways you can trick yourself into socking more money away.

1. Stay off of shopping websites and stay out of malls, because you'll be less tempted to spend. Essentially, don't put yourself in a situation where you are likely to spend a lot of money.

2. Always give yourself time to comparison shop. Never jump into a deal until you know for certain that it is a deal.

3. Take the money you want to save and change it into quarters, in order to make it inconvenient to spend. Take those rolls of quarters home and store them in a jar or box. Then, when you're ready to spend that money, take the rolls of quarters back to the bank and get your cash.

4. Have a certain amount of money direct-deposited from your husband's paycheck into a savings account every pay period. This is easy to set up with your employer's business office.

5. Keep only the money you need for bills and other essential expenses, such as food and gas, in your checking account. Keep what is left in a savings account--one that's difficult to access, which will not transfer the money to your checking instantly. 
6. Before you go to the register to make your purchases, go through all of your items. Ask yourself, "Should I really buy this? Do I really need this?" When buying for someone else, ask yourself, "Does this person really need or want this item? Could I find something that this person would like better?"

7. Look for free shipping deals, or shop at local stores to save gas money. Just be aware of free shipping deals when they involve spending a certain amount of money.

~Ideas were adapted from eHow

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