BEST WAY TO SAVE MONEY and not be tempted?

Question

This may seem a bit elemtary for a woman my age I think I may have an addiction to spending money. I don't make a whole lot of money but once I get extra money I feel an urge to shop. I don't just shop for myself I feel releived if I can buy somelse something. I really want to save my money and be able to take vacations when I want and have money on reserve for bills but it is so difficult. How can I help myself to releive that urge and save some money? I'm serious its horrible that I can't save money.

Answer 1

save money to a separate bank account to which you don't have a card.  The more of a hassle it is to access the funds, the easier it is to save.

Read/ watch Susie Orman.  The spending is usually a search for something else.  Just like those of us who self-medicate with food.  Her show might illuminate possible hidden motives for spending.  Sometimes just that understanding is enough to maeke a change

Answer 2

Wow, um, you probably need to spend some money on a counselor. I fully understand what you are saying but you do need to get someone to talk to and coach you through the compulsion. Me, I got a wife and when excesses shame me enough I try a little harder for a little longer next time. Maybe you just need to get married and have kids, lol.

Answer 3

open a roth ira with Vanguard

set it up for them to take money each month directly out of your checking account to be deposited into your investment account

roth ira's are a totally tax free account, you never will have to pay taxes, and someday you will have a large pile of money

look up vanguard on the internet and call their 800 number and they will help you get started

Answer 4

You don't have enough fear, imo.

You expect the money to keep coming in. So often it doesn't. Living for the moment usually fails because the moment changes.

I always felt insecure financially. So I am the opposite. I actually have trouble spending. I anguish over most purchases. Mainly because growing up, if something broke,  you had to fix it or do without. You never got another one.

And it was not that my family was short on money. Depression era parents didn't trust that things would stay secure either.

I have found that those that grew up more secure with too much faith in the future make poor choices and often hurt themselves in long term.

It is an odd fact of life I think. Your attitudes might change if you see more people that have lost it all and are struggling. But maybe not, or you aren't willing to face that.

To feel secure I felt I needed to save as much as I can and to make my money provide income separate to what may befall me.

I cut all my expenses to the bone in an effort to save $500 a month. I wasn't earning much starting out. I found a mutual fund that returned over an average 8%. I had the dividends sent to my bank account. I told myself THAT money I could spend.

But each $500 I saved paid me a mere $3 a month. It was obvious how hard it was to make money to live on by investing.

To make a longer story shorter, I ended up retiring very early, living well and that first $500? It is STILL kicking out that $3 a month, which has paid me back the $500 several times over and it has many many "friends" doing the same.  

Get out your calculator. Figure what it would take to replace your income, to get by if you were injured or sick. Then see how hard it is to accumulate that much, then get scared and do it.

But one thing I promote, is that there needs to be a reward. The money my savings and investments generated I could spend without guilt.

Good Luck

PS, there many people that have not seen very difficult times in the economy. Like people thinking home prices would go up forever and used their homes as piggy banks.

Sorry but the world doesn't operate that way. Bad things happen.

Answer 5

Adopt the "Pay yourself first" strategy.  See if your employer will automatically deduct and deposit a portion of your pay to a savings account.  If so, open a seperate savings account at a new bank, unrelated to any other account, and let the money accumulate there.  

If you get an ATM card, cut it up and throw it away.  Make it so if you really need the money, you have to go into the bank and withdraw it.

Answer 6

Put money in an account you don't have easy access to and forget about it.

Answer 7

Put it in your 401k. It's VERY hard to get the money out. If there are any loans available, it has to be a minimum of 500-1000 dollars so that may stop you from doing it. They let you take the money out for emergencies ONLY. Plus, you put it in before tax so you won't have to report it at tax time.

AND you will be saving and investing for retirement. You will need to buy greceries when you retire, you know.