A Spend Thrift Couple What can you do?

Create a new budget and identify expenses you can eliminate. You can reduce your transportation costs by considering selling your “fun car” or trading in for a less expensive car. Downsizing a car will reduce insurance, gas, repairs and save more than your car payments. Reduce monthly payments by cancelling or switching from services like digital cable TV, prepaid cell phone services, and magazine or newspaper subscriptions. Cut up or cancel credit cards. Sometimes we enable each other’s bad habits by allowing the other person to alter the budget. Talk about your finances and spending with your husband honestly and respectfully. You can hold each other accountable if one of two spends more than Rs. 2000 without a purchase plan. Research shows that changing habits almost always involves engaging the help of at least two trusted friends. So, you can encourage your friends, siblings and colleagues for their financial fitness. This will help you to change your behavior and stick to your financial plans. To change your behavior, reverse your thinking by focusing on the long-term rewards instead of short-term gratification. Give importance to your retirement plans over grand fun parties. You can also increase your income by considering a job or renting out a room in your house and fix that money for future needs. In order to take control of your spending, control your environment. Here are three questions to help you: Do you longingly browse shopping pages on the internet? Is shopping a social event? Do you buy with Cash? Checks? Credit cards? Identify one dozen different influences that both motivate and enable you to spend more than you should. Soon, you’ll realize the problem is not that the two of you are weak but blind and outnumbered. You’re blind to the many sources that are shaping your choices. Create positive influences that will keep saving top of mind, make it easier, and help you feel rewarded for following through. Change your home page, toss out magazines and catalogs or other “triggers” of spending impulses. Make tempting locations “out of bounds” means, stop going to particular stores or malls, stop visiting online retailers. Find other inexpensive activities to enjoy the company of friends other than shopping. Never shop without an actual shopping list and never buy items that aren’t on the list. You might try carrying cash with you for six months. You’ll find this one physical change will profoundly affect your choices. You can maintain control by tracking your purchases in a spreadsheet and review it regularly. It helps you identify exactly where your money is going and where you can cut back. Make no mistake, shopping generates dopamine in the same pleasure centers of the brain that cocaine does. You’re fighting a pleasure-driven habit and your best defense will be to minimize the temptations.