How to prevent yourself from buying stuff you don’t need

Grab your most recent bank statements, or even easily access this info using tracking software like mint.com.  Quickly scan through and place a checkmark next to any items you see that may have been unnecessary; this means those fancy lattes when you could have had coffee for free in your office, the random items you threw in your cart at Target when you went in just for toothpaste, etc.  

Tally up this number and take a good hard look.  Even if you only have $100 or less in unnecessary spending in the past month, multiply that number by twelve and see just how much you could save after only one year without those seemingly harmless purchases.  

For me just taking a look at these numbers helps me curb my spending, however, if that is going to work for you for about five minutes and you are halfway through a $6 coffee consider going on a spending freeze.  For a pre-set amount of time (1-2 months is usually a good start), you spend money only on the things you absolutely need. For example rent, groceries, utilities, insurance, etc.  If you force yourself to really stick to this you will be shocked at how drastically you can cut your overall spending.  I’m serious, I tried this for a month and saved a ton.  Don’t fool yourself either, it will be hard to not treat yourself to a manicure on Friday afternoon if that’s what you’re used to, but when you have all that money in the bank it will be so worth it!