dChan
Anonymous ID: ff975f April 9, 2021, 9:59 p.m. No.13395721   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5731 >>5744 >>5746 >>5765

Positive Effects of Spending Less

  1. You begin eliminating your debts.

 

Spending less than you earn frees up the money you need to make larger payments on your debts. Over time, they begin to disappear, reducing your monthly bills and giving you even more breathing room.

  1. You begin to save.

 

First, you build up some cash savings in your savings account, enabling you to roll through emergencies (like a car breakdown or a job loss). You’ll also have the breathing room to start saving for retirement, paving yourself a great future for your golden years.

  1. Your stress level falls.

 

Knowing that you have fewer debts, your emergencies are covered, and your retirement is being planned for reduces your stress level. You sleep better, your overall health improves, and you feel happier about life.

  1. You are now able to explore possibilities closed to you before.

 

When your debts are gone and you are spending far less than you’re bringing in, you suddenly have many more career possibilities. You don’t have to stick with your high-stress job – you have the financial freedom to move on and chase your dreams. You can live where – and how – you want to live.

 

All of that comes back to one basic principle – spend less than you earn.

 

That statement actually has two parts, though.

 

Spend less refers to the fact that you do need to cut your spending. The first step doesn’t need to be anything drastic – nor should it be. Many of the more extreme money-saving tips come from people who have already tried out the basic tips and love them, so they seek out more intense strategies to further cut their spending. I do this myself – I’m always trying out new money-saving strategies, discarding the ones that don’t work for me and keeping the ones that do.

Getting Started on Spending Less

  1. Go through every monthly required bill.

 

Ask yourself if you really need that service at all. Do you really use Netflix enough, or could you just rent a movie once in a while from Redbox? Do you really use your cell phone much at all, or could you just replace it with a pay-as-you-go phone? Then, go through each bill and see if there are any optional services you can eliminate. Do you really need premium cable? Do you really need unlimited text messages?

  1. Keep diligent track of your spending.

 

Keep a notebook in your pocket and write down every expense you have. The simple process of doing this will make you think twice about unnecessary expenses. When you do have a month’s worth of expenses written down, take a careful look at them. Ask yourself whether or not each of these expenses actually contributed to the value and joy of your life. That process will offer a lot of insight for you as to where your spending is going to waste.

  1. Look carefully at your routines.

 

Watch what you do every day (or most days). Are there things you do each day that cost money? Those things are the most powerful ones to adjust, as trimming just $1 from your daily spending saves you $365 a year. Do you stop at a coffee shop each day? Why not cut down your daily order a bit, or switch to a different shop, or start making your coffee at home? Do you eat out every day? Perhaps you can start brown bagging it a few days a week. Look at every regular expense you have.

  1. Get a better bank.

 

The vast majority of Americans are with banks that don’t treat them very well. No interest at all on their checking accounts. Tons of fees for ATM use. Draconian overdraft policies. A tiny interest rate on savings accounts. Monthly usage fees of all kinds. All of these things are a waste of money. Switch your accounts to a bank that respects you. From my own personal experience, I use ING Direct for both savings and checking. I get great customer service, interest on my checking account, a solid interest rate on my savings account, and I’ve never had a fee of any sort.