Spending Habits | Things to Cut

Did you know if you cut your spending by $13 a day, you’ll save $400 a month and $4800 a year? Pay attention to the little expenses because they really do add up. This is currently the most popular article on The Budget Diet, and I’ve updated it for 2016 thanks to all the helpful comments. If you’ve read it before, read it again…a little frugal living refresher won’t hurt.

Hot water heaters account for about 14% of the average home's energy costs, and many people have theirs set higher than necessary, using extra energy.

Next to our physical health most of us are primarily concerned with our financial health, and with good reason. Although our intentions are usually good, our follow-through and discipline generally isn’t. Mere mention of the word budget or cutback sends us into fits.

Spending money is a big part (and often a fun part!) of life. What everyone doesn’t know is that good spending habits are just as important to your financial success as saving money or getting rid of your debt.

Have you created some bad spending habits over the years? Learn how to control spending so you can focus on more positive financial habits.

In “The 21-Day Financial Fast: Your Path to Financial Peace and Freedom,” financial advisor and Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary outlines the “financial fast,” a sort of money diet that promises to break bad spending habits, create a plan to become debt free, and set yourself on a better financial course for the future. While on a financial fast, you can’t spend any unnecessary money – at all. Unless it’s food, shelter, or something else essential to survival, you’re committing to making do with what you already have.