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You are here: Home » Personal Finance Tips » How to Stop Spending Money You Don’t Have

November 30, 2020 By Stacy Williams

How to Stop Spending Money You Don’t Have

Filed Under: Personal Finance Tips Tagged With: Frugal Living, Ways to Budget

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Always finding yourself broke? Check your spending! If you’re overspending, these tips and tricks will help you stop spending money on unnecessary things quickly and painlessly. You might just be surprised at how much money you have!

Always finding yourself broke? Check your spending! If you're overspending, these tips and tricks will help you stop spending money on unnecessary things quickly and painlessly. You might just be surprised at how much money you have!

Spending money. It’s a problem that most of us have had at one point or another. Maybe you had an issue with it in the past or maybe you’re currently having an issue where you’re stuck and don’t how how to stop spending money. If so, it’s okay. We’ve all been there. I would be lying to you if I told you that learning how to stop spending money – especially on unnecessary things – is easy. It’s not, but there are things you can do that will help you re-teach yourself how to be great with your money and how to build good, healthy spending habits.

How to Stop Overspending

I am not ashamed to admit that overspending is an issue that I myself have struggled with quite a bit. In fact, it’s an on going struggle for me and one that I have to constantly put myself back in check for. In other words, if I allowed myself, I could easily become a habitual overspending.

I think most of us are like that if I were to be completely honest.

Learning how to control your overspending and how to stop spending money on wasteful things is the single most important thing someone can do for their budget. Sure, knowing how to create a budget (Six Dollar Family) is important. Yes, knowing how to build wealth is important (Six Dollar Family), but all of those things are moot if you are overspending.

Because overspending will ultimately cause you to go broke.

Ready to Take Your Savings to the Next Level?

We all hit a wall with our savings sometimes and need a little bit of help kick starting things again. If this is how you feel, my book, “Six Dollar Family: From Six Dollars to Six Figures” can help!

Not only is it packed with great ways to save money, simple budgeting tips and more, but you’ll also get great my own personal DIY recipes to help you save even more money!

Available in both Kindle and paperback, it’s perfect for anyone; no matter how long they’ve been saving money!

Click Here to Get Your Copy of the Six Dollar Family book

Spending your money well at its core ultimately boils down to teaching yourself a new financial habit (Six Dollar Family). It’s a financial skill that everyone should have (Six Dollar Family) but unfortunately very few learn.

Which brings us to this post and how to teach yourself that new habit.

How to Stop Spending Money on Unnecessary Things

If you really want to learn how to break a spending habit, read on. It won’t be easy and it will take some self (Six Dollar Family) discipline to really do, but in the end, it is worth the time and trouble.

Know Why You’re Overspending

Every single person who has a problem overspending has a reason they do so. Boredom or emotional shopping are two of the biggest. For me personally, it can be both just depending on the day.

Just like any bad habit, if you don’t know why you’re doing it, you stand very little chance of breaking it. Knowing why you’re overspending gives you the first tool to being able to stop yourself the next time the issue pops up.

Know Your Wants and Needs

Part of the reason that most of us overspend is that we confuse our wants with our needs. The simple truth is that a lot of the time we think we need something when it really is a want.

To be blunt, human beings only have a handful of true needs. The rest are wants; pure and simple. And if you don’t learn how to tell the difference, you will never overcome a spending habit.

Basically, it boils down to this: Your needs are food, water, shelter, clothing and transportation to get to work.

If you’re having an issue keeping to your budget, a program like Tiller Money can help.

When you sign up for a Tiller Money account, it will automatically import your spending into a Google Docs spreadsheet everyday to help you budget better. For those of us that do well with spreadsheet budgets and for those that need a bit more help keeping track of their spending, it’s a great idea and works incredibly well! It’s one of my favorite new programs – well new to me that is! They’ll even give you the first 30-days free!

Click Here to Try Tiller Money Free for 30-days

Audit Your Bank Account

The next step to teaching yourself to stop overspending will require you to take a real, honest look at your bank account. with a hard audit of your spending.

Normally, I tell people to do the past three months of spending but if you are already aware that you have a spending habit, you can skip the “becoming aware of your spending habits” step.

Instead, do a full audit for the past 6-8 months at a minimum. In fact, a year is actually best to provide a much better picture of your spending but a six month minimum is a good place to start. By the end of the six months, you should have at decent idea of where your money is going and exactly how you’re overspending.

If you’ve never done a full spending audit, it’s not as hard as it sounds. You will need a spending tracker. I like THIS printable spending tracker (Etsy) but if you prefer an actual book type, THIS account ledger (Amazon) is also one of my favorites. I use the printable version for our family finances and the hard copy for my business accounts.

After you’ve decided which to use, scour your bank account for each category type of transaction. Keep a running total of each category so you’re able to see where your biggest spending issues lie.

How an External Bank Account Can Help You

One of the best ways to build savings without risking it being spent is to use an external bank account. This means you use an account that is not directly connected to your regular account.

This makes it harder for you to withdraw the money. To do so, you will need to transfer it to your regular bank account and that takes 2-3 days. This gives you time to re-think whether spending the money is necessary and to put it back if not.

My favorite account for this (and other banking) is Qapital. Not only does Qapital help you balance your checking account and pay bills on time, but they also have great savings accounts and even help you invest.

Click Here to Check out Qapital

Re-Create Your Budget

After you have your bank accounts audited. you’ll want to completely recreate your budget. This step is especially important so do yourself a favor and don’t skip it.

Take your bank account audit and make a list of any unnecessary wants you’re paying for. Before you get started recreating your budget, cancel anything that needs cancelled. Do it now so you avoid being charged again.

Next, make a list of your true needs. These are the categories – and the only categories- that should appear on your budget. Take any “want” categories out of your budget and re-create it so it fits your new non-spending attitude.

Stay in Your Budget Often

Having a recreated budget is only the first step. If you simply create your budget and then put it away, you’ll stand a very, very good chance of forgetting it and finding yourself right back off track again.

Out of sight out of mind applies here.

Instead, stay in your budget. In other words, check it and update it everyday. In fact, at first, you should update it as “real time” as you can. Doing so will keep it in the forefront of your mind and make it less likely that you will overspend.

My Favorite Side Hustles

Having multiple streams of income is sometimes the only way to have a fully funded budget each month. It can seem complicated to do though; especially if you’re already stretched to the limit on time.

But having multiple streams of income doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it can be as simple as working for a few minutes a day online. Two of my favorite side hustles are just like this.

InstaGC

InstaGC is a survey site that pays you for doing quite a few things. You’ll earn points for surveys, completing offers, clicking links and even things such as listening to the radio. I have been a member for years and it’s a huge help! Save your points and cash out with as little as $1.00. Once you cash out the first time, your cash (Paypal or ACH) or gift card (to hundreds of places including Amazon!) are instantly sent! Plus when you sign up you’ll earn 10 points FREE just for signing up!

Click Here to Sign Up for InstaGC

Swagbucks

If you search the web, you need to be a Swagbucks member! Swagbucks literally pays you for searching the web! Plus, you’ll have the chance to earn points in tons of different ways! You can earn for surveys, videos, games, printing coupons and loads more! Prizes are sent as gift cards or Paypal 7-10 days after you request them. I have been a member for almost a decade and have earned several thousand dollars in that time!

Click Here to Sign Up for Swagbucks

Stay Out of Stores (or Websites)

If you’re trying to learn how to stop spending money on unnecessary things, the worst thing you can do is spend time in stores or on websites that encourage you to spend money.

It might seem silly but it’s basically just teaching yourself to avoid temptation.

The more often you’re in the store, the more you’re going to spend. Impulse buys (Six Dollar Family), paying higher non-sale prices, and more will keep you spending money on things you don’t necessarily need to or want to.

This also includes your email. As you’re working on breaking your spending habit, take the time to unsubscribe from any marketing emails from websites that want you to spend money too. Things like store websites that you’ve placed orders with and more can all help you overspend. After all, some of those deals are really good.

Your inbox shouldn’t be a financial temptation.

Have a (Few) No-Spend Months

Have you ever heard of a no-spend week or month? While I don’t believe that no-spend months really fix the problem of a spending habit (Six Dollar Family), they will help you to stop spending money long enough that you can build a starter savings.

If you’ve never done a no-spend month, the concept is pretty simple. You only spend money on your absolute needs and do not buy anything that is not a need or is unnecessary. It can also be helpful to start smaller if you’re new to a spending pause. Starting with a week and working up to a month or longer is best.

If you’re familiar with them and have done them before, try to go for a longer time periods. A month is a great start and will give you a great opening to a longer time period. Yes, longer spending freezes can be done. In fact, my own family is getting ready to start a year long long spend challenge at the beginning of 2021.

This applies if you’re trying to stop spending money on food as well. Doing a pantry or freezer challenge works great for helping to stop overspending very quickly. To do one, use a pantry and freezer inventory like THESE (Etsy) to make a list of what you have available. Then, makes meals only from those ingredients for whatever time period you have set.

Think Pennies Can’t Add Up?

Why not put that theory to the test? It’s super easy to test and requires you to do basically nothing! Acorns is a micro-investor that invests the spare change in your checking account. Sign up for an Acorns account and choose how you want to invest your change. Once the trade happens, you’ll watch how quickly your pennies really do add up!

Click Here to Visit Acorns

Lock Your Debit Card

I could end this post by telling you to use cash only, but honestly some people just do not do well with cash spending. I am one of them. If I have cash, I spend it far quicker than I do if I use my debit card instead.,

But there’s one reason for that. I keep my debit cards locked.

The reasoning behind it is the same as people who use cash only. When your debit card is locked, you have to physically open your banks app and unlock it to spend money.

Doing so makes you far more aware of the money you’re spending.

I have a Free Gift for You

When I created Six Dollar Family, I did so with one goal in mind; to help you and others like you to save as much money as possible without having to sacrifice your quality of life.

and now, I am extending that help to you in e-book form!

Join our community of other like minded money savers and in return, I’ll give you a FREE copy of my e-book “The Ultimate Guide to Cutting Your Household Expenses!” Not only that, but but you’ll also receive the very best frugal (Six Dollar Family) tips, recipes, DIY and tips I have to offer!

and yes! It’s really free with no strings attached!

Once you join our community, be sure to check your email for your free e-book!

Click Here to Get Your Free Copy of “The Ultimate Guide to Cutting Your Household Expenses”


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Bio of Stacy Williams, blogger and authorI’m Stacy - 1/4 of the Six Dollar Family. I'm on a journey to become a six figure family and I would love if you came along with me! We'll kick off our shoes, sip sweet tea, eat loads of goodies, save some money and maybe even learn a thing or two along the way! Six Dollar Family Bio

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