Every single time someone asks me for my top money tip, I always say, “Tell yourself ‘no’ as often as possible.”
It’s such a simple piece of advice, and yet I find it’s the hardest to follow. If you can manage it, though, repeatedly telling yourself “no” and developing a strong sense of self control is the number one way to save money every day, all the time.
Write It Down
When someone is first trying to develop self control with spending, one of the best things they can do is write down everything they’ve said “no” to that day. Most financial experts will tell you to write down what you spend in order to develop a budget. I think that’s important too, but starting out by writing down what you said “no” to can be just as effective. When you write down everything you avoid, you can congratulate yourself but you can also look at the list at the end of the day and realize that you didn’t need most of it anyway. How important will that cup of coffee be or that that new $20 shirt be when you read over your list that night? Chances are, once the urge to buy it has passed, it won’t really matter anyway.
Stay Accountable
When you are trying to control your spending, it’s akin to sticking to a diet or trying to quit smoking. It’s a habit that has to be developed (or broken, if you want to look at it that way.) So, just like anything that’s hard to do, it’s awesome to have accountability. Tell those closest to you what you are trying to do. Create a blog and write down everything you’ve said “no” to that day. Text your best friend your list at the end of the day. Really, it doesn’t matter how you go about doing it so long as you have a few people to ask you about your progress and keep you accountable.
Celebrate the Victories
If you enjoy challenges, you can even make saying “no” into a game. Allow yourself to say “yes” after you’ve said “no” 10 times or something to that effect. You have to celebrate the victories, otherwise you’ll go crazy. It’s impossible to avoid all spending, and if you are not in debt, it’s completely fine to enjoy your hard earned cash. The trick is not falling prey to the materialism of the world and living in excess. It can be hard in the culture we live in, so see how many times you can say “no” in a day, but don’t forget to tell yourself “yes” every now and then too!
I can’t promise that this method will solve all your money problems, but it’s an easy, different, and fun way to try to get a hold of your spending and your finances. There are lots of ways to develop good financial habits, but this is something that has worked for me in the past, and I hope it works for you too.
What methods do you use to control your spending?
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Honestly it’s so hard to follow my budget and to control my spending. I just always think that I need to save and save for the rainy days.
Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way Yeah budgeting is definitely not easy in the beginning. It does become a lifestyle and a habit over time though. :)
Telling yourself no is a huge step to saving money, but not always the easiest as you say. :) What helps us is having goals that we’re working towards. We ask ourselves I that will help or hurt us in whatever goal, and if it hurts then it likely won’t be spent.
FrugalRules Oh yes I love goals too!!! I have sticky notes with goals all over my desk. I packed them in my computer bag from Grenada so I could put them on my new desk haha.
Tracking your money is always good but telling yourself no is even better. The biggest mistake I made was to just live with a blind eye on my finances as if all was well.
BorrowedCents Exactly, gotta keep a close eye on it!
I actually think that constantly telling yourself “no” is really hard and can be deflating. I would much rather automate my savings to the things are important and have the rest of my money available to say “yes” to what I want. You obviously can’t say yes to everything, since your left-over money is limited, but it kind of flips the psychology around a little bit.
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money Totally see your point. I think you have your money management down pat so the saying “no” trick would work best for those right in the beginning starting out, the type of people who can’t automate savings because they don’t have enough money yet and need to change up some habits.
I actually think writing down everything you’ve said no to is a very good idea. I’d never thought of that before but I think if I were to do it that it would inspire me to more tight with my money. I may have to try this.
SingleMomIncome Thanks! Let me know how it goes!
I try to follow the advice given in Your Money or Your Life, where every purchase is using up your ‘life energy.” It makes me pause a bit before I buy anything, like yesterday when I was tempted to buy a magazine while waiting for my laundry because I forgot to bring something to read. I just tried to think of something else I could do instead since I can rent endless magazines out from the library.
Beachbudget That’s so interesting!!!
Saying no was a huge help when getting out of debt. I probably don’t say no as much as I used to, but I do try to avoid places where I might be tempted to spend recklessly.
Eyesonthedollar Ha, like Target for me. I can’t go in there at all!
This is a great, easy tip to follow. I tell myself no a lot, but then I forget to say yes every now and then. I always question my motives for buying something. Most of time when it comes down to it, I don’t *need* what I am thinking of buying. I could easily live without it, so I pass on it. If it persists, then I research it (for bigger purchases), and always try to make an educated decision along with a list of pros and cons. I agonize a bit too much over spending!
JourneytoSaving Oh yes that’s the other extreme, forgetting to tell yourself yes!!!
Since I started biking around town instead of taking the train, I find it’s that much more challenging to say no. I pass so many more stores and shops I’ve never seen before (because they weren’t between my house and the train) and it just tempts me to explore and SPEND. Even today, I had to bike past the farmers market on my way home. I wanted to step even though I bought groceries YESTERDAY! oi
brokeandbeau Oh I know! Now that I’m back in the States I feel so accosted by all the advertising and shiny things everywhere.
Telling myself NO was one of the most important things I had to do when I was digging out from the debt hole about 12 years ago. When the momentum builds and you start to see progress it becomes much easier to say NO and live without.
KyleJames1 Yeah it becomes a good habit over time I’ve found!
I said to my self a big “NO” to eat lunch in the restaurant. I can save money by bring my own lunch pack. I know our own foods are more healthy compared those restaurants near our office.
MyDesire4 Oh yeah packing your lunch is a great thing to do even though it’s hard to say no to coworkers!
I always tell people to stop and ask themselves “why” they are spending money. And if it is not life or death or part of your plan (aka budget) then you shouldn’t spend it.
blonde_finance That’s a good piece of advice right there!
I still haven’t mastered the “No” thing when it comes to spending money. I just move the money so it’s not accessible for me to spend. I leave just enough in my checking to cover my gas/food/entertainment budget and transfer the rest to a separate account to pay bills, pay debt, and save. Works for me, although it hasn’t really solved the problem…
Erin My Alternate Life That’s a great idea though and keeps things very organized.
Staying accountable is the big thing for me. I try to do that by sticking to my cash allocation for fun money. No debit, no credit… I’ve had a few hiccups, but so far, this has worked for me.
I think celebrating victories every once in a while is key. If you don’t allow yourself to have any victory, then you will never feel like you accomplished anything. No one can keep up that kind of pace before they eventually give up. I usually try to ask my self is it more important than paying off my student loans. That really helps put it into a long term perspective and helps me with impulse purchases.
Celebrate the victories was really important to me when I was paying off my student loan debt. One thing I learned was to treat myself with things that weren’t necessarily related to money. For example, instead of treating myself with a new purse or a fancy meal out after I paid of $5k, I treated myself with a marathon of bad TV, or a spa day at home, or an afternoon drinking wine at home with friends. They were small things, but I was so used to doing side hustles all the time to earn extra money, the time and relaxation was really a treat.
So simple and so true. It’s like going on a diet. The biggest trick to it is saying “no” all the time.
I wish I said ‘no’ more to myself this past month. I’m now in the spending detox, lol. Saying no, delayed gratification, hard work and staying focused help me. Keeping things big picture too– like, is that really worth it right now? What do I want and what do I need to get there? Those questions help me stay level headed.