How to stop spending?

Rebecca01 · 4 January 2018 at 11:37AM

How do you just stop spending?

I have read Martins Mantra. I have spending diaries and goals.

But I just cant seem to stop wasting money.

My money goes on takeaways, amazon, and just stuff that I do use but could live without.

Anyone got any tips for how they cut the rubbish out?

poppasmurf_bewdley · 4 January 2018 at 12:02PM

Rebecca01 wrote: »

How do you just stop spending?

I have read Martins Mantra. I have spending diaries and goals.

But I just cant seem to stop wasting money.

My money goes on takeaways, amazon, and just stuff that I do use but could live without.

Anyone got any tips for how they cut the rubbish out?

It is quite simple really.

You say to yourself "I do not need to buy this."

It's called self control, and is quite easy to master once you get into the mindset of moneysaving.

MEM62 · 4 January 2018 at 12:02PM

Rebecca01 wrote: »

How do you just stop spending?

It is called self-control. You either exercise or you don't. There's no magical solution - only a choice.

Fireflyaway · 4 January 2018 at 12:04PM

I used to waste money on food and takeaway coffee etc but now it actually annoys me! Until you get to that stage, maybe move to using cash for everything? I have my pay paid into a savings account. I can withdraw cash at the machine but it won't work for purchases. Of course I transfer money from there to a ' bills' account where everything is paid by direct debit but what's left in the ' savings' is mine to spend.
The other tip is to work out what you have to spend and divide into 4 plastic envelopes one for each week.
Do you do a budget? You should know how much spending money you have so you don't go over.
I try to think that every purchase I don't need is just delaying debt repayments.

S1984 · 4 January 2018 at 12:08PM

I got a couple of apps on my phone which am using this year which seem quite impactful.

Ipon: 52 week saving challenge
Bucket: Lets you add an amount , a goal and saving towards a target
Yolt: Breaks down your bank transactions to what you spend and waste on

The reason I got these was because I significantly need to stop wasting money and it needs to go to paying off my HUGE debts!!!!! It was impactful to me to see where money was going.....a lunch here, a coffee there and really made me think about how the lack of care and attention with plastic cards has got me into this mess

So for me (a person that has limited self control) the apps are useful

The 52 week saving challenge is fun - although I won't save as much I can add 50% or even less. £1 here, £2 there

What i do is when I think....I fancy a costa coffee (4.20) - I am making a coffee and putting a £1 in a pot or £2 in a pot

The end result should be a significant reduction in my debts over the years, a debt free future and the small amounts I save I can treat at some point during the year. Even if its something simple like a meal out or a nice bottle of wine

Hope these help

fatrab · 4 January 2018 at 3:15PM

Where do you want to be in 1, 5 or 10 years time?

I decided that in 5 years time I want to be debt free. So I made a plan, I thought about what I want and why I want it, and created a realistic set of targets.

From now on, every time I am about to spend money on anything I will ask myself - Is this in the plan?

Maybe you need to ask yourself what's in your plan.

Self discipline is not easy. My spending diary is enough to help me control my frivolous spending.

Good luck

-taff · 4 January 2018 at 3:29PM

Add what you spent last month up, times it by 12 to see how much you waste every year. Be horrified.
Crack open your store of self discipline

Ilona · 4 January 2018 at 3:39PM

Discipline. I stopped spending when I was in my mid fifties, I cut my working hours down to the minimum I needed to earn enough to pay for the most basic living costs. I literally stopped dead. The only things I paid for was mortgage, utilities, council tax, car running costs (I cut down on journeys, walked a lot), and the basic food I needed to survive.

Not to have to work long hours in a job I was not enjoying was a weight off my shoulders. I converted to yellow sticker shopping, foraged the hedgerows for food, and started growing my own vegetables. I kept busy to distract myself from running to the shops.

I worked out the difference between what I needed and what I wanted, and knew that I couldn't have everything I want.

I retired at 60 on a state pension, and by being a frugal skinflint superscrimper tightwad I managed to save enough to pay off my mortgage early.

If you don't trust yourself with cards, only spend cash. When your monthly allowance is gone, it's gone. Look at why you spend, is it to give yourself a boost? Think about how you can distract yourself from spending. Good luck.

Ilona

phizzimum · 4 January 2018 at 5:04PM

Try to think about what triggers your spending

For some it’s boredom, for others it’s feeling sad, or a way of procrastinating. Do you get takeaways because you come home late from work or because you feel you deserve a treat or perhaps because you’re not confident cooking? Do you find yourself browsing Amazon or looking round shops as a recreational activity?

If you can work out what your triggers are you can start to find ways to avoid those situations.

datlex · 4 January 2018 at 6:59PM

Use the tomorrow trick. i.e. I will wait until tomorrow before buying that.

CapricornLass · 4 January 2018 at 7:04PM

Hiya - a couple of suggestions -

Its worth keeping a few quick meals in the freezer/something you can make quickly from what you have in your storecupboard, for those days when you are too pooped to cook. I'm thinking along the lines of pizza, shepherd's pie, bolognaise sauce. Then when you think about a takeway because you're too tired/don't fancy cooking, you can just dig it out of the freezer and sling it in the oven, rather than reaching for the phone.

Browsing on Amazon is more difficult. As Phizzimum says, are you using this to fill your time? What about doing things like knitting, or sewing or reading, or inviting a friend round in the evening for a chat and a coffee instead? (if you are a knitter/sewer/crafter, perhaps you could start thinking of making things to give as Christmas/birthday presents!)

The only other thing I can think of if you really can't give up looking at Amazon is to put the things you've selected into a wish-list/basket, and then leave it for 24 hrs before you go ahead and press the Buy Now button. It at lease gives you a second chance to consider whether you really want that item after all.

How to stop spending?

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