The Finance Blogger


How Can I Fix My Spending?

How Can I Fix My SpendingMany consumers wonder every year about how can I fix their spending and get control of their financial situation. They may feel that their spending is out of control. They may feel that they are spending too much money on interest and loan payments. Many may find it difficult to pay all of their bills every month. They wonder how they will ever pay for an emergency, major repairs, or even go on a vacation.

It takes hard work and some discipline. However, it can be done. But like trying to lose weight you have to really want to take control of your spending before anyone will really be successful. Consumers will find that they may have to give up many of their favorite things if they are in serious trouble. The sad part is they can either do it now under their own control. Or have someone make the decision for them and force them to do it. This usually occurs when they lose the house, the car is repossessed or they are turned down for a loan.

How Can I Fix My Spending

Here is our proposed set of steps to answer the question, how can I fix my spending:

Set up a budget

The first step is to set up a budget. Total up all of your income and then add up all of your expenses for everything that you must pay monthly. Next, add in a monthly amount for yearly expenses. This might include such items as property taxes, annual insurance charges, etc. If you find that your expenses are higher than your income, it is time to take stock and start reducing some of your expenses to get them in line with your income.

Track your spending

Knowing what you spend your money on is also important. For some, it may be a surprise when they find out all of the things that suck their cash away and help them end up with not enough at the end of the month. Know what you spend your money on and then control your cash expenses to help meet your budget.

Compare to your budget

Compare your actual cash expenses to your budget and make appropriate updates to how you are actually spending money. You may find that you need to reduce further to meet your income level. It is all about living within your income!

Make adjustments

Make adjustments as your income or your spending changes. Recheck your income levels and spending levels on a monthly basis and make adjustments to your budget and your spending to make sure that you are continuing to live within your income level.

Focus on quick wins

Begin by focusing on quick wins. In other words, there will be some items that are easy to cut from your spending and in fact may cause little pain or difficulty if you stop spending on these items. One friend of ours was paying a personal trainer to help them lose weight. Get serious, dump the trainer, save some money and exercise yourself! There may be lots of examples of this sort of thing in your life that you can quickly change that will deliver a quick win.

Focus on big items

As part of the quick win strategy, focus on the big spending items. Eliminate or reduce them first to get the biggest bang for your time. These can quickly get your budget in line and help you balance your budget.

Be disciplined

This is the hard part. Being disciplined about getting your spending under control is tough. Once you have a plan and you are seeing results, you will be encouraged and you may actually have more money available to spend.

Summary

So if you’re still wondering how can I fix my spending. Reread this post. Take a moment to consider all of the suggestions. Which ones can be applied to your situation? You may be surprised that with a little tweaking here and there, you can get your spending under control and actually save some money. Saving some money for emergencies can improve your life greatly and make your life much more secure.

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