How do you reduce spending?

Good for you! I consider my credit cards there for an emergency...but frankly, I find I seem to be able to live and budget without using them.

If you can control your spending on the credit cards and pay off the balance each month, you can get points from the company that are very valuable. I’ve saved thousands on hotel rooms, gotten cash back at the end of the year, etc...

Hmm. You must use more credit than I did. The only bonus I got in 2018 was a check for $16.00 --- which, hey, is free money...but the most in a cash end-of-year bonus I ever got was $25.00. I consider credit card companies evil...but then, no one is forcing a person to have and use credit. I love seeing my zero balances.

I have this issue myself, only it's more with tech and games.

For example, not too long ago, I built myself a new high end gaming PC. Gaming PCs aren't cheap but knowing how to build them helps cut costs down. I bought several parts used off eBay and sold some of my old hardware to compensate. Ended up spending about $600. A PC with similar hardware bought brand new at Best Buy would run $1000+.

Bought it to sate an emotional need as well. Even though my old PC was good enough to run all of my games (all be it at reduced settings) and software that I need for school, I wanted better because I have always wanted a top end gaming PC but could never afford one.

I felt like this PC was the most awesome thing ever for about a month or two but now I feel as empty as I did before I bought it.

So IDK what to suggest at this point just letting you know I have the same issues lol

I was hanging around the perfume counter of a department store in my town just for the heck of it and started to talk to the saleslady. She ended up giving me a really expensive sample. You know, they are just people working and making crap pay, too, I am sure.


I buy all my make-up at Target...but I think I might visit the make-up and perfume counters in the one large department store near me...more often...because on a Friday night it is just dead in there and I think the salespeople are bored to tears. I just go in there when it's cold and walk around the floors for exercise.


I do all my "serious" shopping at Target!

The best way I have found is to say NO to yourself. Establish what is a want or a need. Wants come last.

Spending is not always something bad. On the contrary, if you calculate your expenses and create a good buying strategy you can avoid extra expenses. For instance, me and my partner go to vacations a lot, we need to get out of the stressful life and go somewhere near the sea at least 3 times in a year. We realized that our hotel expenses are putting us into a hard situation every year. One day I've ran into this article on the internet and after that we decided to make a good buying strategy for a nice and cheap holiday home. Even though it looks like an extra expense, when you consider all the money we spend for hotels it's a better option to have a house near the sea.