How do I spend money and save money at the same time?
Did you ever think about this? The more you buy, buy, buy… the more time, space and money goes by, by, by? By organizing your priorities, needs, purpose for spending and budget, you can organize important guidelines for saving money, while not allowing your spending to cost you… spend money and save money at the same time!
HAVE A SHOPPING PLAN
The answer to spending less money is not coupons or bargain shopping. Although it is important to always look for discounts and save money where you can, only SHOPPING LESS will save you money in the long run. So, when you do go shopping, have a plan!! Know how much money you can spend, how you should spend it, how you [honestly] would like to spend it, account for unexpected expenses when considering a purchase!
Did you know?
A recent survey by OnePoll found that, in general, 2,000 women spend more than 100 hours on 30 trips to shop for clothes, 15 shoe-shopping excursions taking 40 hours, and a full 50 hours per year window shopping. Sure, we all need to do some shopping. But, what are you shopping for and do you shop with a purpose? If you don’t want spending money to cost you, it shouldn’t be a sport. After all, that same survey found that these same women spend 95 hours and 84 trips shopping for food — which one could argue is a daily need actually requiring frequent shopping (although, grocery shopping still occupies half the time of shoe, clothes and window shopping).
SWITCH YOUR FOCUS
Understand how you feel. When you are ready to spend money, or save money, stop and ask yourself a couple of questions. How does spending money [on this] make me feel? Are my closet, drawers and attic full? And, if they are, will I be happy with my purchase or will it make me more anxious in the long run? Lastly, ask yourself what bank account is saying? It can talk, did you know that?? Does your checking account balance make this a comfortable purchase… or will I have to sacrifice a necessity?
Avoid buying duplicates. Not only is buying duplicates a waste of money, but a waste of space. You will more than likely be giving one of them away soon.
Buying a lot for a little. Instead of buying ten barging items, that you may only wear once or twice and then will create closet-clutter, invest in something that will last.
SPEND WISELY
Although paying bills is a necessity, spending additional money because they were not paid on time is wasteful. Spend your money wisely, avoid late fees and you may be left with more to spend on what you want… instead of what you forgot you needed to do!!
Keep an organized bill paying system. Staying organized will help you know your spending budget, consistently pay your bills and remain responsible for your spending habits. Follow these simple steps as recommended by U.S. News & World Report:
- Always open your bills.
- Always open your bills in the same location.
- Have a keep your bills to be paid
- Set up a regular time to pay your bills
It may seem simple, but these are just a few more reasons to stay in check… especially when you find the perfect sale and you want to write one!
Kathy Jenkins is the President of Come To Order, a residential professional organizing company in Richmond, VA. As a Certified Professional Organizer®, Certified Family Manager® Coach, Love & Logic Parenting® Facilitator/Coach and Student Organizer, Kathy especially enjoys working with kids and their families to help them learn good organizational skills that will benefit them for a lifetime. To learn more about Love & Logic Parenting, follow Kathy on Facebook.
