How do you learn to save money without spending it?

Question

How do I control the temptation to spend the cash I have in my pockets?

Answer 1

Don't carry the cash in the first place. It will "burn a hole in your pocket" and make you feel the need to spend it. If you start reaching in your pocket and find no cash, you'll definitely learn to curb your spending. The same thing goes for credit... leave your credit card at home. Once you realize that you can survive without buying a lot of impulsive purchases, you may be able to better handle carrying cash. I also get cash back towards gas based on the amount of my purchases, so I earn about $200 a year just for charging everything!

Another thing you can do is start writing down on a single piece of paper everything that you've purchased and then add it up all at once. This may help a bit and clarify how many of these purchases were really necessary.

I personally carry only about $50 at any one time and it lasts me about 2-3 weeks. I charge a lot of things, but I always pay 100% of my bill at the end of the month. The advantage to this is that I can see exactly what I've bought and realize how often I'm eating out or just buying junk. It also helps show how much I've spent on gas and groceries.

You can probably do the same thing with a debit card, but I like using the credit card because I end up getting a free loan for 3-7 weeks and can earn interest on the money with which I end up paying the bill. I may only earn a couple of dollars, but I've never, ever paid a finance charge or late fee on my credit card so it doesn't hurt. I also get cash back towards gas based on the amount of my purchases, so I earn about $200 a year just for charging everything!

Answer 2

Make a desicion about how much you would like to save out of every pay check start with a small amount like $25. Set up a savings account. When you get your paycheck the first thing you do is make your deposit. Then you are not walking around with that money in your pocket.Its kind of like you already spent it. If you have checks for that account never take them out of your house. In fact, if you have a really hard time not spending the money, I would shred all of the checks but one so that you probably won't use it unless it is an emergency. Don't worry, if you really need the cash for some thing there are ways to get it out. You just want to make it difficult, and you want to put yourself in a situation where you have to think about it first.

Answer 3

One of the things I've learned since I graduated from college was to spend less than you earn. This might seem easier said than done, but ultimately you have to discipline yourself and organize your finances accordingly. The first step you need to take is to begin keeping track of your expenses monthly. Determine which are the recurring expenses (bills, auto-loans, mortgage, etc.) and which are the non recurring misc expenses (tv, eating out, movie). Once you have separated your expenses, attempt to lower the amount you spend on the misc expenses each month. Start by trimming off a nominal amount (ex : $50/month) and deposit that into a savings account. As you save each month, you'll begin to lower your non-recurring expenses. But this requires a lot of discipline and resistance on your part to keep these expenses down.

Answer 4

Sign up for your companies 401K plan. The money will go to your retirement savings before you get it. If this is not available or in your interest, sign up for online banking with your bank. You can have funds automatically tranfereedd from your checking to a savings acct. on a schedule of your choosing. Get a little discipline, and just don't look at the acct. before you know it, you will hyave a lot of money socked away.

Answer 5

I followed the Automatic Millionaire book. I get the bank to automatically transfer a certain percentage to my savings account, and pay my bills.
I always carry cash and my goal is $5.00 a week but usually I spend up to $10.00 a week and it could be usually to buy lunch or coffee.

Answer 6

Personally, I try to work as many hours as I can without burning out. It saves me from shopping and I'm making money at the same time.

Answer 7

Like me leave your money home. I only carry $20 with me at a time.

Answer 8

Deposit them in your bank account.