We have all been guilty of buying things we shouldn’t buy. Change your spending habits with these tips that teach you how to stop buying things that you don’t need. Looking for more unique ways to save money? Check out this video:
Hi i’m tasha from one big happy life on behalf of the financial diet and this is the lifestyle fix brought to you by skill share in today’s video i’m gonna be sharing eight strategies to help you stop buying things that you don’t need now when it comes to deciding what your financial priorities are and which things are worth the money there’s no one right answer as
The old saying goes one person’s trash is another person’s treasure but given that 38% of americans have credit card debt and overspending certainly contributes to that it’s also really important to be conscious about where you’re spending your money and avoiding spending it on things that don’t truly matter to you all right so let’s get into those tips tip number
One have a spending plan a spending plan aka a budget allows you to decide in advance exactly where you want your money to go instead of wondering where your money went at the end of the month by planning out your spending beforehand you’ll have a firm idea of exactly how much money you’re working with that month then you can decide what you want to do with that
Money your spending plan should include both fixed expenses like your housing and transportation costs and it should also include planned discretionary spending like clothing shopping travel and entertainment now i recommend creating a one year spending plan so you can budget for expenses that you know are coming later on in the year if you don’t have a one year
Spending plan yet and believe me it will change your financial life you can put what together in just 15 minutes head over to one big happy live.com forward slash budget to download your free budget template when you create a spending plan that’s aligned with your financial goals and priorities you decide in advance what you’re gonna spend your money on which means
It’s that much easier to say no to the random things that come up during the month that don’t mesh with your plan tip number two have a needs and wants list impulse spending can really throw off your spending plan enter the needs and wants list a simple yet effective way at cutting back on unplanned expenses the way this works is that whenever the thought comes
Into your head that you need or want to buy something instead of acting on that urge and potentially busting your budget right the item down on your needs and wants lists this list can be digital or paper but i recommend having both the needs and the wants together if possible but divided into separate columns then as you’re planning your spending for the month
You can prioritize your needs and wants and set aside money to purchase the items in advance tip number three have a 30-day cooling-off period when we get the urge to buy something it can be really hard to resist but it does get easier over time and with practice the great thing about a 30-day cooling-off period is that you don’t have to tell yourself a hard no
Instead you’re saying just not right now but soon put the item in your virtual cart and set a date in your calendar to come back to the item in 15 to 30 days and in the meantime use that extra time you’ve bought yourself to plan for the purchase in your spending plan when the time comes taking some time to let the urge to buy something we’re off is a great way to
Cut back on buying things that you don’t really need if you still actually want the item at the end of the waiting period and i bet more often than not you won’t actually find yourself wanting the item as much as you thought you did at the time but if you do then you’ll have the money to purchase the item tip number four do a no spend month so much of what we do
On a day to day basis is entirely based on habit when it’s a good habit like brushing your teeth as part of your bedtime ritual well these habits help us build the kind of life that we want like going into old age with most or all of our teeth but when it’s a bad habit like a daily lot a habit that causes you to bust your budget and rack up credit card debt month
Over month then you’ll want to reset that habit and replace it with a better one now don’t get me wrong there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your daily latte if you’ve planned for it in your budget we’re talking about unplanned habitual spending here one of the best ways to reset your spending habits is by calling it quits on spending for a month a no spend month
Helps you confront your spending impulses when they happen and consciously choose something other than indulging in spending at the end of the month you might find that you don’t even miss things you used to automatically spend money on out of habit tip number five join a buy nothing group a great way to stop spending money on things that you don’t need is to get
Them for free instead buy nothing groups are great sources for things that we might not technically need but would still love to have for example maybe you’re looking to add a new board game to your rotation but buying a new game isn’t in your spending plan for a while check out your local buy mething group to see if someone’s offering a new to you game that you’ve
Been dying to play other similar options would be going to the library to borrow books games magazines or other items or to swap items with a friend this type of swapping is great for your wallet and for the environment tip number six declutter your space for me nothing makes me not want to buy things like spending time regularly decluttering my home going through
Items that i thought i needed to buy over the years and recognizing how little i actually use them is sobering visual clutter increases our stress so taking time to declutter is worth it for the peace of mind alone but it’s also a great preventative for the next time you’re thinking of going all-in on a new hobby and acquiring all the shiny new gadgets and
Supplies that go along with it on a whim not to mention that the more time you spend cleaning and declutter the less idle time you’ll have to contemplate spending on something new now the one caveat with declaring is that sometimes it inspires us to implement a whole new organizational system in our new space complete with bins boxes and cute labels all of which
Costs money if your brain starts pining for organizational supplies just add them to your needs and wants lists so you can plan to purchase them in the future tip number seven practice gratitude taking time to be grateful for and to appreciate the things that you already have is a great practice generally but it can also help you curb impulsive spending and stop
Buying those things that you don’t actually need focusing on all of the wonderful things that you already have in your life will give you an emotional boost that can counteract that urge to overspend over time reinforcing a feeling of contentment about your life as it is now will make it less likely that you’ll feel the urge to buy things you don’t actually need
And don’t add value to your life because you’ll already be happy where you are tip number eight figure out what you really want out of your life this one is actually my favorite tip of them all because i am all about spending for the life that you want and i found that one of the best ways to stop spending on the things that you don’t need in other words things
That don’t actually add value to your life is to know exactly what a good life looks like for you it’s all too easy to get caught up in what society advertisements are friends or social media tells us that a good life looks like and then spending our money on things that don’t actually matter to us so i encourage you to have regular check-ins with yourself and
Really think about what’s important to you what a good life looks like and which purchases are worth it to you now that we’ve covered eight simple strategies that will help you be more intentional with your spending let’s talk about a great place to learn some new things skillshare skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes in design
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Transcribed from video
8 Money-Saving Rituals You’re Probably Not Practicing By The Financial Diet
