Curb your spending

Anoop Verma

You should never underestimate the power of meaningless purchases; if you end up buying large number of such products, you could loose your entire savings and even find yourself neck -deep in debt. Unless you curb your spending habits to suit your income, your financial situation will remain unhealthy. Here is a list of seven painless ways by which you can curb your desire to buy things that you don’t need and save the money that you have earned after hours of hard work:

Lock your credit/debit cards away

When you swipe the card to buy something, you don’t feel as if you are spending real money. But in the end, the bill is going to arrive depleting your bank account and even putting you in debt. Once you force yourself to spend only through cash, there will be a significant improvement in your spending pattern.

Avoid ATMs

Withdrawing money from ATM is simple; on most days you can do it in a couple of minutes. But it takes time to withdraw money from a teller, in some banks, it can take upto 2 hour for your transaction to be processed. If you are not sure of the purchase decision, it is better to withdraw the needed money through the teller. The time you spend in getting the money can be utilised to think about all the pros and cons of whatever you need to buy.

Prepare a shopping list before heading into the market

Walking into a large mall without any grocery list in mind is a sure way of overspending. You should make a thorough list before heading to the store and you have to stick to it. You need to remember that most impulsive purchases are among the more expensive ones. Tempted by something extra? Then, make a note to add it to your next shopping list.

Have a system of cooling off period

Buying something  expensive,  like  a smartphone or a laptop! Time to relax and visit few shops, and online stores, to check out all that is being sold. The period that you spend on research will give you the much-needed time to ponder over your original decision to buy this product. If after a couple of days you still feel that you need it, then you can go ahead and buy it.

Shop without a cart

Do you know why the shopping malls have such large and deep carts that can carry so many items? Because a larger cart has been scientifically proven to be a potent inspiration for purchasing more. Avoid this clever spending trap by only taking a cart when you have a lot to buy. Just grab a shopping basket to hold your items.