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The 5 Money Rules I Follow to Stay Effortlessly on Budget
Rule #1, No unplanned upgrades.
My life has changed pretty drastically over the past few years, yet my money philosophy has largely remained the same.
As my income has grown, I’ve saved the difference and lived as I did when I was fresh out of college — with a few exceptions.
That’s only been possible by sticking to a few simple rules that govern every financial decision I make.
At this point, they’ve become second nature, and they keep me effortlessly on budget. So here they are.
Rule #1. No Unplanned Upgrades
For keeping lifestyle inflation at bay, this one’s a no-brainer.
In practice, this rule means that I avoid buying anything new for which I already own a working substitute.
It means no buying new jeans until the pair I already own is completely worn out, regardless of how dated they look. It also means keeping just one of everything in my makeup bag with little care for what’s going viral at the moment.
Rule #2. Emotionally Neutral Shopping
I only allow myself to spend money when I’m neither happy nor sad. The reason for this is that I neither want to be tempted to…
