Every morning I start with the intention to spend less, but then the day happens. I grab a coffee because I’m tired, stop by the store for a few things, or take a ride because it’s more convenient. Each time it feels like a small, harmless expense.
But by the end of the month, I realize those small decisions added up way more than I expected, and I’ve gone over budget again. I’m not making big purchases, just repeating daily habits. How did you actually get control over this without feeling too restricted?
How do you stick to a budget when small daily expenses keep adding up?
byu/Tanuja_Aggarwal ininvesting
Posted by Tanuja_Aggarwal
20 Comments
You don’t?
Just don’t buy an expensive Coffee to go or make coffee at home and carry it with you.
Grow up.
Basically it comes down to self control. If you can’t use that — avoid the places that you find yourself spending money.
Every time you were going to buy the coffee, wanting to buy XYZ, etc – pocket that money. Keep track of what you would have spent & physically put it in a jar at home (try it for a few weeks). You’ll be shocked at how quick it grows & also how rewarding it is to see it. I have friends who employ similar strategies
I guess instead of stopping by on a store, try to buy ingredients and prepare your meals instead. Maybe, make a 1 week food plan and prepare them on your day offs. For coffee, if you can just buy a cheaper alternative but gives you the same effect, that’d be great also.
Or a better option is if you can, just don’t rely on caffeine just because you feel tired or smt. Take it bit by bit. Start from getting only today, the next day don’t, then the next day you do. After that just try to get coffee once every three days—form a habit, it’ll take time.
In this economy, every penny counts.
It’s like when you are tracking your food, having to write down everything makes eating it much less appealing. Same thing with budgets, write everything down no matter how small
Track the budget every day, not every month.
Don’t think of it as being restricted, but liberated from work more quickly. Also you can buy better coffee at home than is served there.
I usually set aside a fixed amount and put it into Pyypl (or any other online wallet that suits you), and spend only what is in it. And I also only keep the online wallet’s card in my Apple Pay, so the only way I can use my bank cards is if I have them on me. The idea is to make it as difficult as possible to access the funds in the checking account.
You need to learn basic self control, this is a you problem.
Comes down to being disciplined… Something you’ll have to ingrain in your mindset…
The day happens ? Knock it off , I’m tired . I’m hungry , I’m lazy .Translation = I don’t want a big huge pile of assets .
/r/personalfinance
Your daily habits are the problem. Nobody needs to spend money every day in order to survive.
You need to change your daily habits, but more importantly, you may need to change your relationship with money/shopping.
I write down in a notebook everything I spend. I also have adopted for many years now a less is more attitude. I consider being cheap/thrifty a very positive quality. These habits develop character. I am and have always been a saver. I do these things for myself. I could go on but hope you get the idea. Money saved is insurance for my future. Hope this helps. I think you could learn to do this too. Peace.
I walk to work, if limit myself to spending about $2 for lunch, walk back home.
If I want to spend money I remind myself that I have everything I need at home.
The hardest part of saving is limiting my wife’s expenses
Stop making small daily expenses? There’s no magic trick here mate.
This is an investing sub. You would be better off posting this in a personal finance sub if you were real.
Have you tried not doing those things?
Get a better paying job.
Planning and organization.
Make coffee at home. Buy a good travel mug.
Grocery shop once a week. Meal plan to cook cost effective meals. Buy cheaper produce that has longer shelf life.
Meal prep on the weekends. to avoid eating out during the week.
Take transit when possible.
Cost saving can be easy, it just takes prior planning.
Make a list of the most common small expenses and come up with alternatives.
E.g.: buy a thermo mug and make your own coffee to go; and if you drink more than one per day, get a mug with a french press and keep ground coffee at your work place.
Or, if you see that you always end up buying stuff you don’t need when grocery shopping, don’t go shopping hungry (because that’s when your brain starts craving everything you see).
However, saving from FIRE shouldn’t mean that you take all the enjoyment out of life today. Every now and then it’s ok to treat yourself.