How do you control the urge to buy?

I am considering locking up our cards in the safe so we aren't tempted to use them, and maybe going back to cash. It is just too easy to swipe it.. and we never spend a lot at once, but we spend 20-50 way to many times in one week, and well it really adds up - quick.

Safe is too easy!

I had a friend who froze her's in a milk carton. Then between the time you want to spend and the time your frozen card defrosts you have LOTS of time to think about "Do I really need this?" ;)
 
Jodim
Your family sounds alot like mine. I have 4 kids at home, ages 14, 16, 20 and 23. We also have a pool,etc. It gets real old coming home from work in the summer and feeling like you are working to provide a "resort" fo the kids and their friends :) I buy what's on sale that week. While I am shopping, i write down meals for that week. For example, if hamburger is on sale, I write down Sunday night-meatloaf, Wednesday night-burgers. Writing it down while I am in the store is imperative. That way I can be sure to buy everything I need to actually prepare that meal at home. That list gets posted on the fridge at home and I make sure meat is defrosted for the next night's dinner while I'm cooking that night's dinner. As for help...I do not like to cook. There, I said it! I found it more difficult to get my teens to throw together a meal properly. Now, each night, one of my kids has "help with dinner" as their chore. I have them get me things from the fridge, clean up, etc. They are learning to cook and it really makes my job much easier.
 
1). Use cash- take out enough cash that you need to live and put them in envelopes. Label the envelopes according to dates. I do it for two weeks. then after dh gets paid, I take cash out again and label the envelopes for the next two weeks.

2). when you do go shopping, only buy what you need then put stuff back. I will go to Target, put things in that I think I need, then before checking out, I pull over to a quiet spot and take things out that I really don't need. It helps too that I am paying cash and I don't want to go over so I have to whip out the debit card.

3). Use coupons. I just started doing this. Today, I paid $39 and saved $23 using coupons and combining it with the buy one get one free sales!!

4). Eat at home. You won't miss it after awhile. We never go out to eat but took the kids out last weekend to celebrate the end of school. We spent $50 and the food wasn't that great. We both left feeling guilty.

Good luck! It is hard at first but YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

Don't try to do it all at once, you will overwhelm yourself and get nowhere. Take it one step at a time!
:)
 
Glad I found this thread!! I use to be much better about saving money and I need to get back on track. My husband and I wrote down every penny we spent for 1 month to find out where our money went. It was amazing to see just how we were spending it, that was 25 years ago. For many many years I wouldn't even buy a coke if I was at the mall, because it was in the back of my mind how much all those cokes cost added together. I need to start thinking that way again. It is harder when you have kids. They are expensive little boogers.
These are somethings we do:
1. We $100 out on Friday for entertainment, eating out whatever... When it gone, then to bad so sad. We don't get more until the next Friday. It limits eating out.
2. I take out $100 for food each week. I play a game with myself. I buy everything we need, then if there is anything left it goes into my mad money drawer. I use that for things I want to buy that my husband might disagree with, for example expensive shoes or clothing for my daughter.
3 I try to never take DD with me to the store. She always has the I need or I wants. That saves me a tone of money.
 

Lots of good suggestions!

OP, rather than downloading your spending into Quicken, try entering each receipt individually, into specific categories, at least weekly. Initially, be very specific. Break clothing into sub-categories by person, listing reason for each person (special occasion, back to school, summer, etc.).

It's work and can be a royal pain in the backside, but you'll learn how you are spending your money after a month or two. After that, you can use broader categories (i.e., "Clothing" with the description "Target-DD15 swimsuit). Break dining into TS and QS categories, just as you would at WDW. Groceries into food, beverages, household (laundry, cleaning products), vehicle care, personal care, etc. Pets? List by dog, cat, gerbil, with food, litter, toys, vet, etc. foreach. One of my colleagues has a lot of pets--she rescues cats and two of her dogs were rescues--and she didn't realize how much she spent on them in a year. That doesn't mean she will change, just that she now understands where a good chunk of her earnings go! *LOL* Just estimate the sales tax on each entry, tacking the balance onto the last item. Depending on where a I shop, sales tax ranges from 9.3% to 9.6%, so I round it to 10% on non-food items, with the last item picking up the slack, unless it exceeds 10% significantly. There are limits what I'll do to track my spending! :rolleyes:

Then you need to have a meeting with your DH (don't include the young ones yet) to determine your monthly income and fixed expenses (housing, utilities, transportation, health insurance) and develop a budget for the remainder. Once the two of you decide that, bring the young ones in on the plan. Everyone has to be on board. In fact, your three older children can be involved in tracking the monthly expenses, and the younger ones can help by putting the receipts in the envelopes.

I've always followed something similar to the Dave Ramsey plan--long before Dave Ramsey! Smaller family and manual system prior to personal computers, so it was a more simplified system. But he has good ideas. If you know in advance where every dollar will be spent/saved/invested, you can deviate from the plan in an emergency and still be in good financial shape. And if your young ones--and you and your DH--actually use cash for a month or two for your purchases, rather than credit or debit cards, you will feel much more attached to the cash than the plastic. It's really strange how that works!

If everyone in your family is committed to changing, you're going to enjoy the ensuing freedom. And don't worry if anyone slips up a little occasionally--it's a learning experience, as well as a lifestyle change.

You're going to do fine! :)
 
I know this is going to sound awful, but lately I am out of control. I spend wayyyy to much money, and I *know* I shouldn't be doing it.

I have most cards at max and our savings is not growing because I spend anything extra that should be going that way.

To be fair it's almost always clothes, etc for the kids... sometimes they are truly things they need, but I don't make them wait until a different week, because quite frankly I don't want to go back to the store/mall.

We eat out at least 5 nights a week and I just can not seem to break that habit.

What do you do when you have the urge to buy something you know you don't "need"???

I just don't go to the stores when I'm curbing my spending. I live 2 blocks from the mall and go there maybe 5x a year. If something catches my eye online, I'll put it in the basket but not complete the transaction and wait a few days. If I still want it or think I'll need it, then I'll get it.

When I wanted to curb our eating out, I pulled out every kitchen gadget I owned. Crock pot, rice cooker, bread machine, egg cooker, I mean whatever would work to have dinner ready, and me not saying I'm too tired to cook, let's go get something.

Good luck! Everything you want to accomplish is doable.
 
OP, if you recently went back to work full-time, maybe this is a time/organization issue more than a money issue. Just an idea. Good luck, I'm sure you will do fine making changes.
 
You are not alone! A couple of years ago my love of shopping caused me to file for bankruptcy! Let's just say the amount I owed was more than twice than my yearly salary! My husband had no idea I was charging so much,because I never brought anything into the house.I shopped on-line mostly,and had items mailed to my mom's,then I would say it was a "gift"from her! My shopping was way out of hand! And I used coupons to food shop,I cooked dinner every night,we went out to eat once a month with friends! I wasn't bored,or nothing was bothering me,I just LOVED shopping! Now,I really just stay out of the stores-FAR AWAY! We have movie night every friday-getting the movie for $1.00 at Redbox,and we make our own pizza.We buy the dough and pizza sauce from Walmart,making it yourself will cost you approx. a total of $3.00.I also love to shop at the Goodwill by my mom's,it's hugh & I always find new clothes.And,for $5.00 I can fill a plastic bag full of clothes! I've never used a credit card anymore,but I do use my debit card.(I work Law Enforcement,so I just have something about carrying cash on me) But,I wish you the best of luck! You'll make it,somehow,we all do!
 












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