How To Live Below Your Means So You Can Have Savings

There are lots of benefits if we have savings - the ability to live stress free due to debts is one. The problems that arise from living above your means is the accumulation of credit or debts. Once your credit accumulated and your means of living is not changing or is stagnant, oftentimes the result is the accumulation of more credit.

It is not easy to pay a credit and maintaining a lifestyle you are used to. Some things gotta give.

When one is living below their means and their money is used to paying large amount of credit, It is either you find another job which eats some of your time and you have to sacrifice family time (if you have a family) or just simply live below your means so that you are not faced with difficulties which has negative consequences in your life. The latter is easier said than done but it can be done.

Living " frugally" is the way to save money.

1. If you live below your means then, you can still have some savings to spare and plan your future without any problem, besides you need it for untoward expenses. It saves you the stress of worrying for a debt payment.
2. You don't need another job just so you can pay your debts or maintain your lifestyle. saves your energy for other useful things to be done for personal improvement
   
3. You can reward yourself with a grand vacation or you can buy a new pair of shoes which you really like without worrying about the credit you might accumulate if you don’t have savings at all. It pays to reward yourself after holding the money and not advancing your reward in the form of credit.

• Living below your means simply put is the ability to spend or live a way of life which is way below your means. It is simply spending lesser against the amount you earn. If you receive 1000 USD per month, then don't go on spending 1,200 per month. The amounts receivables should be greater with the amount of money you are spending.

Example of living below your means :

• If you are used to living above your means, you might want to lower your spending with regards to the amount of money you are receiving. Some people received money either form employment or pension once a month, bi weekly, or weekly. The thing to consider is that if you received 250 USD this week, you should only spend 220 of that, so that you can still save some 30 for untoward expenses.

• Changing your lifestyle so that you can achieve it. For example if you are used to dining at a pricey restaurant, then you might want to choose a restaurant where the prices are not that high. I have a friend who have two cellphones while I have one and I don’t use it often. She has the feature of unlimited local calls when in fact she can call from her landline telephone which she separately pays.

• Being wise and lifestyle change goes hand in hand. I used to buy only designer jeans - clothing or trendy fashionable wear but since I realized I need to save some money for my retirement I suddenly choose my wardrobe carefully.

• Discipline yourself by not succumbing to what they call impulse buying. Impulse buying is a form of “disaster” in spending. Planning major buys and even small items is a must if you really want to save some money.
• Controlling the urge to spend even if you so really like an item takes a lot of effort, but once you are used to it, then it is easier.
  
• Spending is really a lifestyle, we can change it so that we can have more savings and this is easier said than done specially if you are used to a more lavish lifestyle.
  

• After some lifestyle change, choices and preferences we can save some money, it is  imperative to monitor our expenses carefully.
• After closely checking how much you already spend, keep track - monitor it against your receivables so that you know if you are spending above your means. Remember you need to have savings.