Spend Wisely - and have fun!

Okay, we've talked about saving. But saving is boring, right? (Well, maybe not so boring when you see your savings balance grow) Spending wisely makes shopping even more fun - it's satisfying! Not only are you still hearing that cash register ring, your wallet stays pleasantly full.

I'll bet that when you make up your budget that you are just plain shocked at how much you spend at, say, the grocery store. Or how about at clothing stores? It's amazing how quickly it all adds up - and you don't even notice! How can you get a hold of these expenditures?

Well, the first and most important thing to do is prioritize. Know what you need - going to a store and meandering aimlessly guarantees that you'll walk out of there with that seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time sweater that you'll wear once and forget about. We can all live without another one of those, right?

Only go shopping when you truly need an item. It's a rare person that can fend off an attack of I-gotta-have-it-itis while out shopping with the girls. (Or, if you're of the masculine gender, then any trip to the hardware store) If you do go shopping with the girls and you know you can't handle the pressure of all those cash registers singing to you, take away your temptation to spend. Hide your credit cards, your debit card and only take a small amount of cash.

For the bigger excursions like going to the grocery store, make an itemized list. This may sound bizarre, but I keep an organized list that has the layout of the store on it and what items are sold in what departments. I go through the list and circle what I need. That way I can get it over with faster and have less temptation to grab the bag of Hershey's Kisses. (Okay, so maybe those are on the list and permanently circled - a gal's gotta have some release, right?)

Oh, one more thing about grocery store trips: go on a full stomach. It's a small thing, really, but compare a grocery bill from when you were hungry to one where you weren't. You probably don't even realize how much more food you get when you're hungry. I mean, I always knew that was a good idea, but until I saw the numbers in black and white, I had no idea. Try it!

For the larger bills in your household, try shopping around on the internet. You'd be surprised at the deals you will find. For example, I thought I was getting a pretty good deal on my long-distance calls. I was getting 10 cents a minute. Wow, was I wrong! I went to http://www.lowermybills.com and found a 3.7 cent a minute rate! My phone bill has dropped dramatically!

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic