- Budget
Break up your spending into categories and set a budget for each — discipline is key here. It might help to have separate savings/checking accounts for different categories of spending.
Don’t buy things just because you can afford to. Think about why you want to buy it and if you think you will still use this item in a year from now. Remind yourself what you are saving for! Think about specific goals that you are saving for and if forgoing this one small purchase to help you reach that bigger goal sooner is worth it.
I wish I had paid more attention to my spendings in the following categories:
- Rent — Unlike some of the other categories, this is something that you have to pay consistently each month and it really adds up! Definitely consider how much you spend on rent every year and what % of your post tax income it is! When searching for an apartment, I think about the top 5 things I need to have and focus on finding those traits — the rest are nice-to-haves that you don’t need. You will soon find that the pricey luxury high-rise apartment has a lot of the nice-to-have traits that you don’t need but you are paying for it so save that $$ instead. By doing this, I found myself saving over $7200 each year in rent alone!
- Clothing — My rule of thumb here is if…
