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Personal finance

3 ways to stop overspending

Woman With Bills And Calculator. Woman Using Calculator To Calculate Bills At The Table In Office. C

Given the current COVID situation we find ourselves in, most of us are more mindful of our finances these days. Even if you have a budget set up, you may find that money feels a little tight right now. If your budget was working well before COVID, maybe you’ve got a spending problem. Here are 3 ways you can stop overspending…

Stop supporting your favorite restaurant so much: In the last three months, I’ve dined inside a restaurant one time. Once. But when it comes to drive-thru and delivery, I haven’t been so frugal. It’s great to support local businesses right now, but don’t overdo it. You see the words “free delivery” and that sounds great and all, but are you having to spend more to get that free delivery? And has the simplicity of delivery made you order out more than you normally would? If your takeout budget has increased, your grocery budget should probably decrease a bit. That won’t solve your problem completely, but it may be a good first step.

Only spend cash: You have to pay your bills, and with auto bill pay or paying online, you obviously need to use a card or account for that. But for everything else, there’s cash (That’s how it goes, right?). Buying stuff online that you’d normally purchase at the store may be good for staying physically healthy, but how’s your financial health? Using cash may prevent you from adding that one extra item to your Amazon cart.

Stick with what you’ve got: You probably miss going to the movies. I wanted to see Black Widow on May 1st. Thanks to the coronavirus, it’s now been pushed 6 months to November 6. Postponements like that are happening all over the place. Movies, concerts, and more have been pushed back or cancelled. As much as you might want to spend that cash on something else, keep it in your account where it belongs. You’ve already got a subscription to Netflix and there are tons of movies you haven’t watched on there yet. And if you’re dying for a live concert, streaming an old live show on YouTube is pretty fantastic, especially if you have a big TV, plus you don’t have to get stuck in traffic afterwards.

John Pettit

John Pettit

CUInsight.com