Everyone spends without restraint from time to time. But when it’s daily it can end up costing you more than you realize. Those bills that you’re late on could be paid with the money saved from eliminating small purchases from your life.
How Spending Habits Can Add Up
For example, that small latte from the local coffee shop may only be 4.50, but when paired with a bagel and muffin it can total $10 or more. Now that may not seem like much, but consider the price of spending $10 a day, even three days a week. That’s $120 a month, or $1,440 a year. And if you’re spending that five days a week that’s a big $2,400 a year. Combine that with the diet coke at the store for a $1.50 every day, eating out at lunch or dinner a few times a week at $20-$40 each time (moderately speaking) and you are talking thousands of dollars a year in avoidable spending.
At times, you may wonder what life would be like with an extra $1,000 or more a month. The reality is, for most Americans it’s as easy as managing your money and spending habits better. The pair of shoes, weekly movie or bottle of expensive wine all deplete your financial resources. Alone they are enough to drain a bank account over time, but together they can drain it fast and leave you high and dry when bills need to be paid.
It’s unfortunate because we’ve become such a consumer based society. And I know what many of you are thinking, cut these things out, and what’s the point of living. It sounds boring and mundane, but the reality is you don’t have to cut out everything, you just have to learn to create better budgeting and spending habits if you want to alleviate the stress and worry that comes with financial struggle.
Every day people go to work and spend more money they can afford. Learning to eat cheaper may not taste as good, but it will save you money and can be considerably healthier. Now, spending habits are something that have to be cultivated. In order to understand how to spend money wisely, you will need to study people that are good at spending and saving.
Landwehr Financial Solutions Can Help
Another option is to get a financial advisor. Financial advisors are great for helping an individual or family budget their money. They can help you assess the situation, find out where a majority of your money is being diverted and spent, and then help you to better control and manage the spending. You’ll find that a person does not have to make a massive amount of money to be financially sound and stable. The important thing to do is learn how to spend it more wisely. Because there is an old saying that comes to mind, “It’s not what you make, but how much you spend.”
Frugality could be the one trait that changes your life and allows you to sleep at night. For more information on how Landwehr Financial can help you, please contact us and visit our accounting page.
