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Have you ever wondered where it is that all of your money has gone? Do you go out shopping and come home at the end of day and ask ‘what did I spend all my money on?’ Do you ever wonder how you can stretch your dollar further?

Become Aware- Write it Down

One of the most effective ways to stay on top of wasting your money is to write down every thing you spend your money on so that you can see in black and white, where you are unnecessarily spending your hard earned dollars. It’s easy to get credit cards, pay it off at the end of the month, and never look at what you bought, but don’t do that, it’s self defeating.

Consider Your Spending Habits

Each time you go out on the town do you buy yourself a coffee or two? Is that money that you could save by brewing your own at home before you leave? When you calculate the average cost of a coffee it is a significant amount of money that you could be saving yourself over the course of a month if you frequently buy your coffee while you’re out.

Have a smoking habit? Some people buy a pack or two of cigarettes every day- have you ever stopped to calculate the total cost each month spent on cigarettes? It’s enough to take yourself on a quality vacation if you multiplied your monthly cigarette purchase by 12 months!

What Millionaires Know That Most of Us Do Not

After reading many books written by millionaires on how they became that way, I learned that all of them seem to have one thing in common: they are frugal in their spending habits and consciously aware of how they spend their money.

Avoid Overspending

Another effective strategy for saving money so that you don’t over spend, is to ask yourself the following simple questions next time your reach for your purse or your wallet:

  • ‘Am I spending money on a need or a want?’

  • ‘Do I really need to purchase that item or do I just want to purchase that item’

  • ‘How important is it to me to have that purchase?’

  • ‘What would it mean to me if I didn’t go ahead and make that purchase?’

  • ‘Could I save my money today and use it another time?’

I guarantee if you can ask yourself these questions for the next three months each time you go for that purse, you will have trained yourself so well that you will automatically know when you can and can’t afford to buy it.  This helps you save money without even realizing it.

Getting into the habit of asking yourself these very simple questions before you spend your money will train your brain to become conscious of your spending habits. You will be surprised at what triggers you to spend money, when perhaps it would be wiser to save it.

Limit Your Cash On-Hand

Another effective strategy that will work every time, is to carry a minimal amount of money in your purse. I commonly carry no more than $5.00 and I have now trained myself to be able to carry that $5.00 in my purse for an entire week without spending it.

Set and Keep a Budget

Setting a budget is always a sure fire way to go and this will ensure that you stay on top of your bills and don’t fall into debt. Setting up direct debits to allocate specific amounts to pay bills on a regular basis, not only helps you to get into a routine of always paying your bills on time, but allows you to regulate your payments so that you still have some money left over at the end of the week.

With a little planning, you can be sure to stay out of debt and on top of your bills. You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing there’s money in your purse, so that when that little ‘want’ does come up, you can afford to say ‘yes, please, I think I will buy that today!’

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This is a guest post by Colleen Cook, a student of MakeMoneyFromWriting.com.  Colleen is learning about freelance writing and how to turn it into a profitable business.



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