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How to start saving money as a shopping addict?

I am 17 years old and have trouble saving, I tend to use After pay a lot and find myself needing a second job to pay back After pay. I have trouble saving money when I know I have money.

Thank you comment icon A tip I have is to never spend money unless you have double the amount that you’re going to spend in your bank account. If you have a job, another thing I do is save a couple hundred dollars you could save you could save about about $200 for that paycheck in my savings each month , or less / more. And then take the remainder and sort out your bills or things that you want to do that month and for things like gas. Never touch that money in your savings. Meghan Meyer

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Tammy’s Answer

Hi Taylor,

Keeping track of both the money coming in and the money going out is the best way to get control over your spending. Most people call this budgeting but I call this making a Spending Plan. After a few months of keeping track you will be able to determine what you spend your money on and can ask yourself if this spending is what your want after all. For example, if you notice that the amount spent on coffee is more than you thought and you would rather save for a bigger item, e.g. buying a car or going to university, than you have found a place where you can make changes. Then you can Plan how much you are willing to spend in each category. You are in the driver's seat. You make the decisions. And if you go over in a category you can figure out why this happened and decide if the plan for spending in that category should be increased or if you will make different decisions about spending in the future.

Another good trick to help you to save for bigger items or longer term items is to keep a picture of the item in your wallet. That way, when you go to pay for a short term item, e.g. a chocolate bar, you are faced with the thought that if you save that small amount it will contribute to being able to pay for the bigger item.

Spending and saving are topics that are discussed in a lot of detail in blogs these days because we have become a very consumer oriented society. Taking to other people will help you to clarify what you want your spending to be and how to achieve your spending goals.

Best of luck,
Tammy
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Keira’s Answer

Try budgeting! Allow yourself to spend a certain amount of money per week, and try not to deviate from that system. Then give yourself a reward for sticking to the budget after a certain amount of time. For example, only allow yourself to spend $20 a week on unnecessary, extra expenses (clothes, eating out, etc.) and put the rest of your money in a savings account. If you follow this for a full month without going over budget, allow yourself an extra $20 at the end of the month to reward yourself for sticking to the budget. This will help form the habit of being disciplined to gain a reward at the end.

I also recommend keeping track of what you buy and how much it costs. If you make a list and see the totals of your purchases all written down, it might help you actually visualize the money going into and out of your account.
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