These are some tips to make you re-think how you spend money during this time of increasing high costs that is currently happening and will continue to happen during this unsettling economic time frame.

Live within your means

This sounds rather simple, but it’s not. When I mean ‘live within your means’, it means not going overdrawn at the bank or close to that at the end of each month. It means looking at all the things that you buy on a daily basis to fill your life. It is very easy to use your credit card to fulfill your immediate desires and decide to pay later, however it is rarely the case that you catch up with yourself. Work out what your weekly budget is and stick to it. Eat out less, cook at home, bring packed lunches into work, recycle and use what you already have. Create the mentally to save, instead of spend, spend, spend…

Reduce Debt

If you have any outstanding debts, pay them off as quickly as you can. Paying high interest rates is like giving your money away to the wind. Try and transfer your credit card balances to 0% interest or low interest cards to reduce the amount of interest you have to pay. Instead of paying high interest rates you can use the extra money you save to pay off your debt sooner than later. Choose to pay the highest interest rate card first and pay this off as quickly as you can, no matter what size it is. Just pay minimum payments for the lower ones until the highest ones are paid off completely. If you pay off one or two cards quickly, you will soon start to see offers of other cards come through the mail that offer lower rates and transfer the other outstanding balances. Also after you have paid off your balances, you can ask for a lower interest rate. Be careful if you close too many accounts at the same time, as this will have an effect on your credit score, so pick and choose your options and optimized your potential. Also choose cards that don’t have annual charges… learn to stop giving your hard earned money away for nothing.

Stop buying stuff

I know, we all like our creature comforts, but really do we really need all this stuff to fill our shelves and drawers, no, we don’t! So make a decision to stop buying things for the sake of buying. Stop the shopping therapy, try the saving therapy instead. Look at what you can do for free or a low cost to give you more lasting happiness instead of immediate gratification. Maybe go for a walk in nature instead of going to the shops. How about cooking a meal for friends and create an intimate environment instead of shopping for an outfit to wear for an expensive restaurant. I bet if you really looked at your wardrobe, you will find that you only ever wear 20% of it. Also look at all the gadgets that you have brought for your home that you thought that you could not do without. Do you ever use them, or are they stored away at the back of the cupboard gathering dust? I bet if you had to pack your belongings in one bag to take away with you, what would you leave behind? What would you miss, what can you do without? This will really help ease the attachment you have towards objects, as it is not the objects themselves, but how attached your mind is to them.

Hold off on big changes

Now is the not the time to make big changes, like buying a house or a new car, unless you are financially secure and can afford to pay your monthly bills, not in debt and have savings of up to six months incase of a rainy day. If not, you have to bite your lip at your current job, keep driving your old car or hold off on that vacation that you were dreaming about, then do so. Tighten the purse strings, learn to be comfortable with what you already have, think of what you could save instead of how much more interest you would have to pay each month.

Spend less on what you already buy

Lets look at groceries, I am sure that if you do a little research, you will find that you could buy what you need for less, while still maintaining quality. For grains, pulses, pasta, especially all dried goods, go for bulk. Also for household goods, buy bulk; this will be cheaper in the long run. Farmer’s markets are a great way to find good quality organic produce. This cuts out the middleman and so is cheaper than buying them in a store. Also it gives more satisfaction and builds a connection to the energetic value of the food and the sources from where it comes from. If you have buy consumer goods, shop around; don’t be in a rush to buy something quickly for the sake of it. Spending a little more time doing research can really help pay off and save you a whole lot of money in the process.

Live Simply

Living simply, not very easy to do with our busy lives, but think back to when you were a child. You were so happy with just having a creative mind and using the resources that were around you. If we could re-create our childlike qualities we could re-learn what real time is and learn to appreciate what we already have and spend more quality time with the friends and family that we love. This means re-prioritizing what our values are, spending less time on doing stuff for the sake of being busy. Instead of being busy, why not work smarter, why not enjoy the natural life that we already have. Be here now; enjoy the natural beauty of life, nature, family and friends because it is right in front of our noses and it is free!