I spend too much and have caused financial hardships in my marriage, how can I stop this behavior?

Question

I realize stop spending is the easiest solution. What I am looking for is tips on saving.

Answer 1

First, you need to find out where your money is being spent. Write down all recurring monthly expenses (rent, bills, groceries, etc.). Next, write down all other expenditures, whatever they be. Once you find where your money is going, you can cut back in certain areas. For example, if you find that you are spending too much money on eating out or entertainment activities, you can cut back on those. Trust me, every little bit helps. I was sorta in the same situation. I am a newlywed...almost 2 years now and I had to make changes to my spending habits. The hardest part for me was be able to show where all my money went. If you list everything, I think you will be shocked at what you find. After you list everything, then you can decide where you want to make cut backs and start a monthly budget to adhere to.

Answer 2

Set a budget and stick to it. Don't buy things you don't need. My darling and I have to watch what we spend because he's in a tough financial state and I don't make a whole lot. However, we live in a very nice apartment, have nice cars, and always have plenty to eat. We only purchase luxeries when we are 100% certain that we can buy them and it not cost us later on. You should do the same. Watch your money and remember, the more you save, the more you can splurge later on. Just watch yourself and you'll be alright. You may want to start up a savings account. You can have some extra/emeergency money set aside and if you let it sit for awhile you can draw interest on it. Then, you'd have a little more then the original amount.

Answer 3

First things first. Based on your own admission you have admitted having a spending problem. Without going into details, you may want to consult the services of a qualified psychiatrist. Spending can be a form of addiction.

As for saving? The fastest way to do that is to create a monthly budget based on the last 3-5 months of actual expenses. Cut out the non-essential spending and cost cut on the essential. Learn to buy when things are on sale and learn to accept non-branded products. Find out where your biggest expenses are and find ways to reduce them.

Case in point: My wife and I used to spend $400-$600 eating out every month and about $300 on groceries. We've since cut that down to $200 eating our and about $250 on groceries. This doesn't mean we buy crap, we just learned to buy only what we really want and use.

Answer 4

Tips on saving ... best bet, IMHO, is to open not one, not two, but THREE bank accounts. Account A - BILLS. Account B - Spouse Personal Account. Account C - Yours.

Plan a monthly budget. Assume your utility rates, average your fuel bills, groceries, etc. Lay that amount PLUS 15-20% into BILLS account. Figure out what remains and split that between B and C. That left-over amount is PERSONAL BUDGET. This can be used for non-essentials. (NOTE: Manicures are non-essential). Now ... the initial amount set into personal accounts is the MAXIMUM amount allowed in the account. Any funds in excess of that, after deposit of BILLS funds, are to be set aside as a savings. I'm supposing that it sounds complex. I need a chart.

Let us say, for example, that your monthly income is $5500. The total of your BILLS is $4000. 20% of 4000 is 800, so every month you'll be depositing $4800 into BILLS account. This leaves $700 to be split into HIS/HERS personal expense accounts. Now, that leaves you $350 to spend on anything non-essential for the month. Say that you spend $200 that month, and the next month you still have $150 left over in your account. As opposed to adding another $350 dollars, you add ONLY $200. The remaining $150 is to be added to savings. Using this method you'll also end up with automatic savings in BILLS.

Is complicated, and all figures are fictional. Just work with the percentages, and maybe it can work for you.

Answer 5

Oprah recently did a whole series on her show called the Debt Diet, which gave tips on cutting back and reducing your debts.

You should check it out on her website, there is a link called America's Debt Diet.

See if there are some pointers on there thay may help you out. It helped me.

Good Luck.

Answer 6

Dawn,
Is your spending necessity or habit ???? Disipline on spending is very critical.....Please listen to Dave Ramsey, he has a site called Dave Ramsey.com, you can find a local radio station near you...he has a 2 or 3 hour show daily....If your serious about changing your financial problem, give Dave a try !!!!!