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The Basics
12 easy ways to keep from overspending
While you're tempted to spend and spend this holiday season, there are ways to save money painlessly. Here are 12 tips on how to keep spending from getting out of hand.
By Janet Luhrs
It’s the silly spending season, when a lot of family budgets get bent, if not broken. Yet it’s also a good time to save money -- by consciously spending less and thinking about how you spend money. Here are a dozen painless ways to get started.- Know the difference between wants and needs and act on them. For instance, you might need a new car and you might want a new Mercedes. Or you might need a new pair of shoes and you might want two new pairs of designer shoes. You can save a lot of money by learning this rule.
Get out of debt fast. You can save a fortune on interest payments alone.
Who says money equals love? Agree with your spouse/friend/family that from now on, you’ll only spend $10, $20 or $30 or so on each other’s gifts this year. Once you get past the idea that spending lots of money equals love, you can begin to save and live a balanced life.
Rethink success. Many people who look like they’ve made it with expensive cars, designer watches and the rest are simply renting a lifestyle they cannot afford by buying these things on credit. Success is being financially fit.
Check your small spending. I once interviewed a man for my journal, Simple Living, who was going to college. He feared he wouldn’t be able to continue because he couldn’t afford it. Then he sat down and looked at his checkbook. He saved $300 a month by no longer buying lattes and newspapers, etc., every morning on his way to school. He was able to continue with school. For him, his larger goal of graduating from school was more important than the immediate gratification of a latte.
Question your insurance. How much do you really need? Look over your policies and make sure you are taking advantage of every break that is due you. I recently talked to a woman who saved $1,000 by combing through her medical and car insurance premiums. It took her six hours of work, but at $167 per hour, it was worth it.
Not sure about new duds? Leave the price tags on a while. If you like nice clothes and aren’t ready to shop in typical thrift stores, check out the burgeoning business of second-hand boutique stores, filled with lightly used designer or upscale clothing for much, much less.
Got a credit card that charges a yearly fee? Why? There are hundreds available with no yearly fee.
Share equipment with neighbors. Get to know your neighbors and save money at the same time by sharing large equipment like lawn mowers and by sharing small purchases like newspaper subscriptions.
Know when you have enough. Get to know that voice inside known as “Desire.” It is never satisfied. Once you are aware of “Desire,” you can begin to know when you have enough.
Account for your money. People who know where their money goes spend far less and save more. Keep a little notebook with you to record your small cash purchases.
Return your impulse buys. If you can’t resist the impulse to buy an article of clothing (it happens to all of us), leave the sales tags on for a week. I often find that the “gotta have it” feeling passes in a week and I return the item. Never once have I missed an item I returned. I did, however, enjoy hanging on to the money.
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