Top 5 Ways to Ditch Bad Spending Habits

What are the top ways to ditch bad spending habits?

We all know how hard it is to ditch bad habits, and how easy it is to develop them, right? Whether, we are thinking of smoking, overeating or eating unhealthy food, or in this case of unnecessary spending money. For some reason, it seems much easier to develop a bad habit, than a good one like exercising often and eating healthy food for example. Why is that? The problem with bad habits is that you are having your “reward” immediately upon acting, and when it comes to good habits, a reward usually comes afterwards. For example, some people really do not enjoy during the exhausting workout, and the pleasure only comes after. And if you grab your favorite burger to eat, you are happy and having pleasure as soon as you take the first bite; the same is happening with the first smoke you take, and buying something unplanned that has caught your attention at the moment. And the bad consequences come later. Sometimes those consequences are not that bad, and the brain only has positive impulse when we see a burger, or a pack of cigarettes – the pleasure of taking one or another. And that’s why it is so easy to develop bad habits, and hard to resist them. We are all humans after all, right?

Oh well, saying “we are all humans” is often times just an excuse for not dealing with your problems, and not being strong enough. There are so many examples of people turning their lives completely, making transformations that are hard to believe. Changing “impossible” to “possible”. And that happens when we are persistent enough and make our brain connect good things to pleasure too, even though pleasure in good habits comes after some effort. More about this topic about reshaping your existing habits, transforming them, and substituting them with some good habit you can learn in the book called The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg.

Often, the problem is unawareness. People are usually not aware of many of their bad habits, but only of the obvious ones, like smoking for example. And it is interesting to know that bad habits usually come in pairs. So, instead of first trying to deal with the worst habit you have, start transforming the one that is easier to give up. You can find some examples of unaware habits in our other article – 7 habits that kill your productivity.

Now, let’s see what tricks for avoiding irrational money spending we have prepared for you, consulting with similar lists from US News, and Save up to name a few. Let’s take a look at the countdown of our top 5 ways to ditch bad spending habits.

5. Shopping lists

Are you one of those people who never make a shopping list before hitting the supermarket? Well, this might just be what’s causing your irresponsible spending. If you are clear in your mind about what you want to buy, it will be a lot harder to get distracted and end up purchasing items you don’t really need or even want. Next time you plan a shopping trip, make sure you take the time to write your grocery list.

4. Do you really need it?

The single most important thing you should be asking whenever you are making a purchase is if you really need that particular product or not. And you shouldn’t be doing this only when you’re considering more significant purchases. Small sums of money add up too, especially if you have the habit of buying knickknacks everywhere you go.

3. Carry cash

While credit cards have their inherent advantages, they have also made it easier for people to spend more money without really realizing. If you’re one of those people who only use their credit card for shopping, try to take a breather from this potentially devastating habit. From now on, withdraw money from the ATM and try to pay for all your products in cash. This will make it a lot harder for you to spend money erratically, which is why it is among top 5 ways to ditch bad spending habits.

2. Track your expenses

Not knowing how much you spend is the easiest way of letting your expenses go out of control. From now on, make it a point out of tracking every single cent you spent. If paper and pen is a too old-school method for you, you can easily take advantage of all the free tracking apps available for smartphones and tablets.

1. Come up with a budget

One of the main reasons why our spending habits tend to go awry is because we never really take the time to make a budget for ourselves. Even though this activity should not last more than a few minutes, most people never get around to setting a budget and sticking to it. Using the information you’ve acquired by tracking your expenses, try to figure out how much money you need on a weekly basis. Set aside money for rent, bills, and everyday items and also allot a portion of your paycheck to personal pleasure expenses, such as eating out or cinema tickets. Compile a budget in such a way that, at the end of the month, you’ll still be left with some money to set aside. Creating a budget is definitely one of the top ways to ditch bad spending habits. If you don’t believe it, try it for yourself, and share with us your experience through comments below!