1. Credit Cards.
I’ll keep saying it. Credit cards make people poor and stressed. Cut up your card now. Save for purchases instead of using credit. It’s a big trap!
2. Shopping.
Don’t go shopping without a plan. This goes for groceries, clothes, appliances – whatever you are going shopping for. Have a plan, write it down if necessary. Decide before you go how much you’re prepared to spend and stick to it. Don’t impulse buy!
3. Wait and reconsider.
You want to buy something. You really waaaaaant it! But do you need it? We are used to getting what we want, when we want it, right? If you decide you must have something, and particularly if it’s expensive and not a necessity, I dare you to wait (a week, a month?) See how you go without it. After the waiting period, do you still really waaaaant it? It can be worth the wait, especially if you decide you don’t actually need the item and can save the money instead.
I love your advice- very counter cultural for 'this day and age' and I am right there with you! I remember having a conversation with my dad about how we had no carpet when we were little- he was really surprised I remembered but glad and said 'we saved up for carpet- I'm so glad you know it wasn't just automatically in the house when we moved in'. What a great role model you are.
These are such good tips, Kelly. We have a debit type of credit card so that I can buy online but I love sites that do Paypal. And, I agree about having a shopping plan. I do our main groceries in Aldi. It saves money if I go around the outside aisles but, if I wander into the middle, I get sucked in by their 'specials' and bang goes my good intentions:-/
Waiting has worked for me, too. I can be quite impulsive but I've slooooowly learnt that I never want something quite as much as when I'm standing in front of it, counting my pennies, at the shop. I usually forget about it quite quickly if I walk away.
This year, we've had to budget more and I've realised that we actually used to waste money by not planning enough.
God bless, Kelly:-)