Are you feeling the pinch of financial strain? It's time to identify the red flags of overspending and learn effective strategies to regain control. Discover the six telltale signs of financial excess and four practical tips to steer your budget back on track.
Your spending will equal what you have available to spend
Look out for the signs of overspending
- Save less than 5% of your income
- Your credit card balances are not going down
- You have a low credit score
- No emergency fund
- Have never made a budget
- Paid an overdraft fee
- Separate your spending
- Set up two separate checking accounts
- Fund each account with how much you need
- Only pay for bills and life expenses in one account
- Use the other for non-essential expenses
Be conscious of the natural human drive for more
If we think that our wellbeing and happiness can only come from external pleasure, we will be trapped on the hedonic treadmill and no matter how much money we make or how much power and status we have, we’ll never feel like we have enough.
- Eudaemonic approach to happiness
- An approach to well-being through six dimensions
- Self-discovery
- Perceived development of one’s best potentials
- A sense of purpose and meaning in life
- Investment of significant effort in pursuit of excellence
- Intense involvement in activities
- Enjoyment of activities as personally expressive
About the author:
Paco de Leon is an author, illustrator, musician, and the founder of The Hell Yeah Group, a financial firm dedicated to inspiring creatives to engage with their personal and business finances.
Build a buffer
An ideal buffer is an entire month’s worth of expenses, but less can work too.
- If you don’t have enough of a buffer, call and have those due dates changed to account for the extra time needed to pay your bills.
Don’t bring your bills and life debit card to a fun situation
The quality of your financial decisions can be drastically improved by avoiding an environment where you will be tempted to make bad decisions
- Make yourself wait any length of time to buy a nonessential item you want is a good way to train your brain to get used to delayed gratification
