It often seems that money slips through our fingers. One day it's there, and the next day its gone and all you have to show for it is a Bob Ross bobblehead. The solution: learn the ways of stinginess. Here are three tips from professional money-savers.
Tip 1: Go shopping with a specific list in mind
Going to Target to “get ready for school” and buying the whole store is not a very sound money-saving plan, which is why it is extremely important to know what you want to buy. If you have a list, you can shop with a goal, run with minimum losses and save time while you’re at it. If you don’t, it's almost inevitable that a cute Pikachu action figure will catch your wandering eyes and end up in your shopping cart. By the way, you’ll probably find that same action figure hanging out with the dust under your bed in a few days.
Tip 2: Don’t carry too much money
If you walk around a mall with $5, you’ll probably end up eating a couple of $1 McChickens and a fries at McDonald’s. If you walk around a mall with $30, you’re likely to eat $20 worth of sashimi and another $10 of rolls at a fancy sushi restaurant.
In both cases, all of your money will be spent to produce the same result: making you feel less hungry. It goes to show carrying around money is just asking for it to be spent. If you have money to spend, you are more likely to look at what you could buy with it. The more you look, the more likely you are to actually buy things. Simple fix, don’t stash up on your parents’ $20 bills!
Tip 3: Fashion an undying love for money
Would you part with your loved one over an A-gel? No, you wouldn’t (unless you are a despicable person). Similarly, if you loved money, you would not part it unless you absolutely had to. The solution to your spending problem, therefore, is to fall in love with money. If you limit yourself to a certain amount of money, you learn to value it. If you love the things you buy, then you learn to love the money that you used to buy them. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a stingy parent that acts like spending a single quarter on a souvenir is the end of the universe
