Death By A Thousand Paper Cuts

"I can't get into the flossing thing.  People who smoke cigarettes tell me, 'Man, you don't know how hard it is to stop smoking.' Yes I do, it's as hard as it is to start flossing." - Mitch Hedberg

 Bad habits are hard to kick and good habits are hard to implement.  In order to be great at something, you need to develop a habit. A habit is formed by doing one small thing a lot. The same is true with bad spending habits. It's not the huge purchases that blow up your budget but the little ones, over and over. It's the drive through, Starbucks, or one more pair of shoes.  It's death by a thousand paper cuts. But there is a way for your money to avoid that slow painful death, and to jump start your financial goals.

Here are a few tips to keep from losing all your income to little purchases. 

1. Create a monthly budget. It sounds painful but start with three categories you need to track; Groceries/Dining, Shopping, and Blow It. Figure out how much you will need each month for each category.  It is important to know how much you will spend on groceries and how much you will spend on eating out. You will find significant saving by cooking at home.  Shopping will be all those household items like cleaning products and toiletries. The Blow It category is there so that you have a little each month set aside to spend however you want.  Just having a plan will get you started in the right direction.
2. Use cash. Take out cash after payday for each category. Use the cash from each category for your purchases. This will be the biggest thing you can do to control your spending because you will think twice about your purchases.  Using cash also hurts so you will be reluctant to hand it over for those impulse purchases.
3. Stick to the budget. Plan carefully because when you run out of money, you stop spending.  This will be tough, but will be worth it when you have a lot more money at the end of the month to put toward your financial goals.

• Bonus Tip - Driving costs money.  Be aware of how much it will cost you to go somewhere.  It sounds crazy, but I know it costs me $3 for one round trip to work and back. You don't have to live the life of a hermit, but just remember that 20 mile trip to the mall will cost you even if you didn't spend a dime while you were there.

You may be thinking that you want to live life and not deprive yourself, but living paycheck to paycheck, only one financial emergency away from financial disaster is no way to live either.  What will you choose?  Will you sacrifice your financial future for things that will end up in next year's garage sale?

What spending tips do you have?  Let me know in the comments.