Learn to budget

“This helped IMMENSELY. At first, when I was creating the habit, I went on a cash diet. Every month I took out that ‘lifestyle’ amount I’d given myself to spend, split it up into 4 weeks, and put one weeks worth in my wallet. This really helped me visually track what I was spending. If, on the third day of a seven day stretch, I had only 1 $20 dollar bill left, I knew I’d be in a tough spot at the end of the week. I had to learn to curb my spending pretty quick.”

“This system changed my life. Every month, my essential bills were paid and taken care of without me having to think about them. I made sure everything was taken automatically out of my account and allocated to whoever it needed to go to. It gave me such peace of mind knowing that I could just live, with whatever cash was in my wallet and I’d be completely ok.”