March Money Challenge: Limit Impulsive Spending
February’s task was not easy, but many who joined have saved hundreds , and some even thousands! That’s why we started it in the first place: act and really save (and make) some money. We’ve shared a lot of tips on how to contain impulsive spending. Now let’s get down to action.
The monetary challenge of March is a deliberate waste . In short, mindful spending means spending money on purpose, staying on budget, and letting go of the impulsive urge to spend money, whether it’s clothes, gadgets, or restaurants. So, the challenge is to limit your impulsive spending. Here’s how.
- Determine what you spend the most on: what do you spend the most money on each month?
- Plan your attack: How will you resist the impulse to spend money?
- In fact, keep that money in a savings account . We’ll compare our savings with our average spending.
If you need help with an attack plan, here are some tips we have suggested for eliminating impulse spending:
- Method “3D”: identify, distract, delay
- Save as much as you spend money
- Delete the saved online payment information
And here’s an old big post on programming your mind to stop buying stuff you don’t need. We recommend using a savings account to prohibit purchases and actually save money that you don’t spend. Anytime you want to spend money on something but resist the urge, transfer that money to your savings account instead.
At the same time, don’t forget: you need a little breathing room in your budget. You don’t want to give up shopping next month. It’s okay if you spend a little fun time in your budget. The goal here is to cut back on impulsive, reckless spending.
So, if you’re attending, tell us: what is your biggest weakness in terms of spending and how do you plan to tackle it this month?