Everyone is always talking about saving money and investing to grow your wealth, but whatever happened to spending less?
The truth is that the world we live in is expensive. Forget buying a house or car, just basic amenities such as food and clothing have become so pricey and at the same time so accessible through the use of the internet that often you’ll find the largest charges to your credit card coming from uber, amazon or just eats.
The secret is to adopt a frugality mindset. Don’t buy things that you don’t absolutely need. I like to say think like the newly immigrated couple, with nothing to their name trying to get their feet on the ground while preparing to start a family. If any of us were forced into situations where we absolutely could not buy a $7 drink at Starbucks than we wouldn’t right? It’s hard at first, especially if you’re not used to it, but spending less is a lot easier than you might think. If we’re being honest, spending money feels kind of nice, and obviously we buy things we value so that makes us feel nice too.
However, most of the time it’s all just instant gratification. Much like choosing a night out over staying in to study, buying things like food and drinks or even clothes because you feel like getting something nice for yourself gives you temporary satisfaction. If you choose to stay in and study or cook your own food, it may suck a little in the short term but it’ll pay off in the long run.
Many people think that saving is the key to getting rich and I’m not saying that isn’t true. It’s just how do you have any money to save if you can’t even manage how much you spend? You don’t have to go cold turkey with it and never indulge yourself. Set a monthly limit for leisure shopping and eating out and spread it out evenly over each week. I challenge you to just spot your own careless spending for just 30 days, you might be surprised at just how much less you’ll spend. If you’re like me and are addicted to eating out, then you might even lose a couple pounds, so it’s without a doubt a win/win situation.
