My 10 Step System To Stop Spending And Start Saving
A quick guide to never worry about money again.
I didn’t always save 75% of my after-tax income. In fact, up until about two years ago, I was pretty darn clueless when it came to my finances. But landing in a toxic job right out of school and having to adjust overnight to a much lower paycheck at the next gig was the wakeup call I needed to stop spending and start saving. And in the process, I developed a 10-step system to break bad spending habits and save a progressively higher percentage of my income with each passing month. And here it is. Step by step.
Step 1: Pull Your Last 3 Credit Card Statements
Start by circling any purchases that you don’t remember making. Then total up everything you’ve circled. Doing so not only allows you to visualize the extent to which mindless or impulse purchases affect your finances, but you’ll also be able to fully appreciate the cost of that habit. And once you know which items are driving this unnecessary expense, explicitly cut them from your budget. When I first sat down with my statements several years ago, I found over $200 per month of purchases that fell into this category. And not once did I miss them after banning them from my budget.
Then, with a different color, highlight any purchases that were socially motivated. Whether it be a…
