6 Ways to Rein In Spending
The experts are all recommending rapid debt reduction to soften the current economic crisis. So here are my top 6 ways to rein in spending on luxury items, while still enjoying their benefits – well, sort of:
No. 1 – Gym membershipA quick look at family photos from the 50’s begged the question “how did they look so good without gyms?”. Well, they exercised in other ways, with more physical work, both inside and outside of the home, and a lot more walking. So I cancelled my gym membership and increased my exercise by
· Parking half a mile from work and walking the rest of the way.
· Taking the stairs instead of the elevator (see your doctor first if you 're on upper floors).
· Starting an exercise class in the lunch break
No. 2 – Cable subscriptionReview your plan, and check out the competition. See what you can do to reduce your subscription, so you are only paying for the channels you watch. The pain will only be temporary.
No.3 – LunchesIf you buy your lunch every day, cut it back to 2 days a week. Bring lunch from home and arrange “group lunches” with your work colleagues, where you each bring enough to share. It’s fun trying different foods, and you will all save money.
No. 4 – Cell phonesCheck your usage, look for a better plan
and reduce your dependency. Like lots of modern conveniences, it’s a habit. Before cell phones, we weren’t at each other’s beck and call. Sometimes we waited until we got home to talk! Trust me – I cut back for a week, and I didn’t shrivel up and lose interest in meaningful communication with my fellow humans. And I am on target to save $130 by the end of the month.
No. 5 – CosmeticsI love make-up, perfume and skin care products, and I use the more expensive brands. I now pledge that as things need replacing, I will try cheaper ones. Research shows that we pay more than necessary for cosmetics, because clever advertising of the expensive brands targets our emotions and vanity. I’m giving it a shot, especially if it means reducing credit card spending.
No. 6 – Dining OutDoes McDonald’s count as a restaurant if you eat your Big Mac sitting down? We are about to find out, as we abandon the higher-priced eating houses. Restaurants will be for special occasions. And if there is food in the kitchen at home, that will be prepared and eaten first. Everything else will be a last resort.
Take heart, everyone. If you just do a couple of these things, you will be saving money you could use for debt reduction. And let’s not panic and rein in our spending too much. Our whole monetary system, world-wide, is built on confidence and
responsible spending. The currency needs to be circulating and not hidden in shoe boxes under bed.
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