8 ways to spend less every day, according to financial planners by Holly Johnson on Jan 16, 2018, 12:23 PM Advertisement
 - A recent CareerBuilder survey showed 78% of U.S. households are living paycheck-to-paycheck.
- Overspending is a common reason for this problem.
- To prevent yourself from spending too much, nip problem areas in the bud.
- Switch to a cash-only diet, create separate bank accounts for categories where you overspend, and track every dollar you spend.
While the reasons might vary, the truth is Americans seem to have a penchant for debt and overspending. By and large, we're spending all we earn and then some, charging what we can't afford on our credit cards, and borrowing more than we need for homes, cars, and even furniture.
A recent CareerBuilder survey of thousands of U.S. workers and employers across industries revealed that 78% of households are living paycheck-to-paycheck. But is it all our fault? Heck, no. Obviously, some of our issues aren't personal but economic in nature; stagnant wages and a rising cost of living have made it harder to save, for example. And while the official unemployment rate was a slim 4.1% in December, not everyone is in a job that pays enough to cover their bills. Regardless, part of the American struggle — at least for some of us — can be traced to our own poor financial habits. For every person drowning in medical debt or laid off from their job, there are several more who overspend just to keep up with the Joneses' or because they don't have a good grasp on what they can really afford. Eight tips to stop overspending If you're someone who lives paycheck to paycheck despite earning a decent income — or you keep finding yourself in the overspending-by-choice category — you're probably wondering what to do next. How do you start living on less when you're already struggling to make it to payday? And how do you change bad habits you've had for decades? The reality is, putting a halt to overspending isn't easy — and you may even need professional help. In the meantime, it never hurts to try to replace bad spending habits with good ones — or at least try to prevent overspending before it happens. But, what is the best way to get started when you don't know any other way? We reached out to financial planners and money bloggers to see how they curtailed their behavior over time. Here's what they said: SEE ALSO: I'm a financial adviser managing $2.5 billion — here are the 7 most important things I can tell you about how tax reform will affect you 1. Nip problem areas in the bud.  One common culprit of overspending is plain ol' convenience. The fact that credit cards are so easy to use is one of the reasons people get into credit card debt, after all. You just swipe your card and worry about it later, and you may not even get a bill in the mail for weeks. If you want to avoid overspending, one of the best things you can do is nip problem areas like this in the bud. If you find yourself racking up credit card debt because it's overly convenient, for example, putting your cards away in a drawer is a smart way to limit their use. Money blogger Jessi Fearon says one of her biggest issues used to be shopping on Amazon.com. As a stay-at-home parent to three children, Fearon says she got accustomed to shopping on Amazon because she gets two-day delivery and it helps her avoid lugging her kids to the store. Unfortunately, Fearon quickly found out that Amazon made shopping a little too easy. And before she knew it, she was spending way more than her budget on anything she wanted. To fix this situation, Fearon says she and her husband agreed on a "No Amazon Month" where neither one of them could purchase anything online. She stuck post-it notes on their computers and even took her debit card off her Amazon profile. It was tougher than she thought it would be, but the blogger says she eventually overcame her Amazon addiction. The bottom line: Figure out what your problem areas are and find ways to limit your exposure. That could mean hiding your credit cards, staying out of tempting stores, or simply removing saved cards from your online shopping profiles.
2. Set up rules to prevent impulse purchases. Tom Drake, Canadian blogger and the founder of MapleMoney, says he used to have a weakness for impulse purchases. There's always a new gadget to buy or a great sale going on, he says. If you're not actively limiting yourself, it's far too easy to shop until you drop — or until you've spent all your money and then some. To limit his impulse shopping, Drake says he set up a new rule where he had to wait 24 hours before he purchased anything over $100. "Basically, if I saw something in a flyer or while browsing online, I would wait until the next day to decide if I still wanted to buy it," he says. Drake says this strategy works well for him because, once you get past the initial rush of getting excited about a possible purchase, your enthusiasm usually wanes. Waiting 24 hours also gives you time to research the item, compare prices, and review your budget and savings goals to see if you can truly afford it.
3. Switch to a cash-only diet.  While some people can use credit cards without racking up debt or spending too much, not everyone has the discipline, the desire, or the time to keep track of their purchases and their credit card balances. One way to avoid racking up debt is to switch to paying cash for everything — or at least all your purchases that fall within specific categories. Budgeting blogger Mitchell Walker of The Pouch Plan Budget says he and his partner started controlling their spending by pre-funding categories they previously overspent in with cash. For his family, these categories included groceries, dining out, entertainment, and gifts. From there, they had to learn to stretch the cash they had for each category until the end of the month. "If we were tempted to spend more than we had budgeted, we had to decide which category was going to take the hit for the overspending," he says. This strategy not only made them think about all their purchases, but it also made them stick with their monthly budget for the most part. The bottom line: It's much harder to overspend cash than it is to lose track with credit or even debit. For that reason, switching to cash-only or even the envelope budgeting method is a smart way to get yourself back on track.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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