Most people spend just about everything they earn each month, and some even spend more than that and wind up in debt. However, the stress of living paycheck-to-paycheck, worrying that you’ll be able to pay all of your bills and scrimping at the end of the month, is something that you can eliminate from your life. When you 
have some money saved up, emergencies or large bills will no longer upset your delicate balance and make life easier and happier.
Avoid using credit cards
Credit cards are great in many ways, but they have the nasty habit of causing you to spend more than you would otherwise because it just doesn’t feel like “real” money. If you’re having problems keeping your spending within your means and you’re not sure where all your money goes each month, switch to cash only. It’s much harder to ignore the eighty bucks you spent on clothes when you have to hand the cashier actual money.
Cash also allows you to avoid paying interest by pushing off your payments month after month on your credit cards. This makes each item you purchase even more expensive, because you need to pay a high interest rate on top of the price of the items. With cash, you can only buy things if you have the money for it right at that moment, and otherwise you’ll just need to wait until you can afford it.
Track every penny
It’s hard to know where each dollar you spend goes, and you’d be surprised how much is wasted each month. If you carefully track your spending, you’ll be able to see exactly how you spend your money each month and be able to tighten your budget to stop needless spending. You don’t realize how much money you spend on lunches until you see it in exact numbers, and maybe that will motivate you and your family to start taking lunches from home.
Knowing how much you spend will also allow you to create a budget. If you see that you spend way too much on shoes or dinners out, you can curb those purchases by only allowing a set amount for those things each month. When you track your spending and make a budget, you’ll have greater power over your money and be able to control your spending.
Use the “one-month rule”
A good way to stop yourself from spending cash on useless stuff or impulse buys is by implementing the one-month rule. Anytime you want to purchase a new item, you put that item onto a list. If,after a month you still want that item, then you can purchase it. Chances are, after a month you will want some other shiny new thing instead and will no longer really care about that object, saving yourself the hassle of purchasing and storing that item indefinitely.
While most people make enough to get along fine, it’s difficult to realize that in our current spendthrift culture. Taking some time to be more aware of your expenditures can help you get out of this stressful cycle and help you build up a good emergency fund or start saving for retirement. Curbing your more wasteful spending habits can help you quickly free up some money, which will help you breathe easier.
Photo credit: Ouch by Jason Rogers/flickr
Author Thomas Hathaway is a financial consultant and content contributor to paydayloans.org.uk, a site providing information and advances when you may need an advance to your regular paycheck during emergencies.