Okay!
This week I was very careful about how I spent my money. I packed lunches through most of the week, and I found some strategies to help me resist spending money.
Here are some strategies that helped me out:
- Don't carry around any loose cash.
When I have a bunch of money in my wallet I can be a lot more impulsive. I think this is because If I spend cash instead of using my debit card, the purchase doesn't show up on my debit history in my bank account. So it's a kind of sneaky way for me to spend ...
- Leave your debit card / credit card at home.
If you are just going to the library to study, there really isn't a need to take your spending cards with you. I live 10 minuets away from the library, so I could easily just go home for lunch. But if I have cash or my debit card with me, I'll get lazy and buy lunch in the mall.
- Think of how much you really want what you're buying.
When you're about to buy something, sometimes it helps me to think, "out of ten, how much to I really want or need this?" By rating the item in question out of ten, it really helps you realize the importance (or unimportance) of the purchase you're making. Numbers are factual, so if you only give the item a seven or six out of ten, its probably not worth the money you're spending.
So, on that note I'll post how I've spent my money this week:
$13.70 on school supplies.
$6.55 on food
Total : $20.25
Alright! This is a huge improvement from the past few weeks.
These strategies are really paying off. I'm super exited about the progress that I'm making.
However - I am not going to go easy on myself. Twenty dollars a week is still quite a bit of money, and I would still like to see that number go down (even though the majority was spent on school supplies).
Katrina
I'm amazed at how you're able to get by with so little food money
ReplyDeleteDoing this blog does it helps you saving money? Do you like saving money?
ReplyDeleteThe way i see it, there's no reason to spend money on food if I don't need to. I understand that there will be days where I am out all day, and that I may have to buy myself dinner now and then. But more often then not my fridge at home is full of leftovers, and I could take 5 minuets to make myself a PB & J!
ReplyDeleteThis blog really has helped me save. I need to keep myself accountable even more now that I know you guys are watching! It really helps motivate me. I love spending money! When I looked at my total during week 2, all I could think about was "Wow, I could have bought a cute pair of shoes with that money!"
I find that its always less difficult for me to spent money with my debit because I'm not handing over any real cash. I think its actually visually seeing a 20 dollar bill turn into a handful of change makes me realize how much I'm spending but I guess for you its different.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering though is it possible to not be spending on school supplies(if you are trying to do that)? Its great you're pushing to improve but I think you should give yourself still a little wiggle room.