- Is it something you need?
- Is it at the cheapest price? (check prices online)
- Is it within your budget? (can you buy it without using your credit card?)
It's okay to splurge once in a while, but if you consistently buy things that keep you from paying off your credit card each month, then look at your spending habits. That bargain may end up being expensive with added interest.
Keeping to a budget doesn't mean you have to give up things you enjoy. Plan for it and add it into your budget. It's a matter of making choices. I opted to get cable and give up a monthly fee on a cell phone. After the contract expired, I purchased a Go Phone at WalMart. After a while cable didn't seem worth the cost either, so I purchased a new television (mine was 24 years old) and an inside antenna. I also cancelled Netflix and now get DVDs from the library.
If you eat out four times a week, you could eat at home or take lunch to work and save enough money for a cruise or in five years you could have $12,480 in savings or pay that off your mortgage.
The savings at $12 per day would be $48 per week or $2,496 per year.
Watch what you spend on the small things, they add up.
A saying I often heard when I lived in England was "Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves"
