Spending tips to help you stay out of debt

Whatever shape our finances are in, we all have a budget every month we should stick to. Stretching your budget beyond your means could easily lead to your finances spinning out of control – which could create debt problems for the future.

Remember: staying out of debt is about spending wisely and avoiding over-spending. Here are some practical tips that could help you to spend shrewdly and avoid the downsides of debt.

1.    Consider leaving your cards at home

When you’re out shopping, it’s often quick and convenient to use credit and store cards to buy things without thinking twice. This can quickly lead to losing track of how much money you’ve spent – and how much you have left.

Switching your cards for cash could help you to keep on top of your budget that bit better – and if you only take out the exact amount of cash you have budgeted to spend, you won’t be able to splash out beyond your means.

Give it a go and see if it helps you to rein in any unnecessary spending.

2.    Try sticking to a shopping list

It sounds like an obvious point, but how often do we go out to the supermarket or local shopping centre and ending up buying things that we hadn’t planned to buy – and don’t really need? In many cases, it’s the small but frequent expenses that can quickly mount up and eat into your budget.

Write a list of all the items you really need (food, cleaning products, clothes for the kids, etc.) before you go out shopping – and stick to it. More often than not, the items we buy and don’t really need are the things that are still stuck in their boxes and not used months down the line – adding an unnecessary drain on your monthly budget.

Learning to ‘say’ no could make a big difference to your spending habits.

3.    Think about shopping around

It’s easy to get into the habit of shopping at certain stores, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they offer the best deals or the most competitive prices. For example, it may be worth travelling that bit further if you can find another local supermarket that offers the same items at a lower price, or has a customer loyalty scheme that could knock money off your shopping bills.

Furthermore, shopping online means you could be just a click away from buying items at a fraction of the high street cost – and you could take advantage of free delivery/postage in some cases too.