How to Adopt Good Spending Habits: 5 Top Tips

How to Adopt Good Spending Habits: 5 Top Tips

Sometimes, it feels like the world is geared up to get you spending money. Relentless TV adverts, tweets from your favourite brands, and even text messages from your most loved retailers can make it really hard to not part with your cash. But there are a number of things you can do if you want to get better at spending. Here are our five top tips for better spending habits so that you’ve got a bit more cash knocking around in your current account at the end of the month.

1. Plan your spending
   Do a bit of forward planning when it comes to your spending. If you know that your hair needs a trim, for instance, plan it for the following month once you’ve been paid so you know you can afford it. But if you’ve a dental appointment and a car MOT to cough up for in the same month, consider delaying that haircut until you’ve paid for the important stuff first! Planning like this will help you to think about what you spend your money on and help you to prioritise your spending too.

2. Delay unplanned purchases whenever possible
   Another great tip is to put a bit of time between seeing something you want and actually paying for it. For instance, if you’ve caught sight of a great pair of jeans in a shop window (but didn’t plan to buy a new pair), then don’t allow yourself to head to the counter to pay for them. Instead, commit to giving it a week – or 30 days if you can manage it! Then, see if you still want the jeans. Impulse shopping can cause us to spend more than we mean to, and delaying purchases a bit might see you get better control over your spending.

3. Don’t spend more than you have to

It’s inevitable you’re going to spend money throughout the month, but you can be smart about how much you spend. Reduce the amount of money you’re spending by buying things in bulk, shopping at cheap stores and supermarkets, and putting off big purchases until sale seasons. For instance, bed linen is often on sale in January, and electronics are reduced in spring. Also, consider switching over your debt too. If you’ve got a logbook loan or another form of finance to pay off, shop around and see if you can switch lenders to get a better deal so that you’re not spending more than you absolutely have to.

4. Try to distance yourself from bad influences

Next, tackle the people or things who make you spend money! For instance, talk to friends who egg you on to buy things, or partners that aren’t committed to the same financial future as you. Remove shopping apps from your phone, log out of online stores so you can’t just buy things in a few short clicks, and make a deal with yourself not to use your lunch break for a spot of online window shopping. Go for a walk or read a book instead!

5. Give yourself rewards for good spending habits

Finally, if you’ve been able to implement all these tips successfully, reward yourself! This could mean spending money on yourself, but if you really want to break that habit of thinking that spending equates pleasure, do something else to celebrate. Perhaps a movie night with friends, or a pamper session in your own home would be a nice way to mark the fact you’ve practised great spending habits and will do so again next month?