20 Ways to Stop Spending Money You Don’t Have

Have you ever bought something you didn’t need with money you didn’t have? You’re not alone! The struggle to stop spending money you don’t have is something that many of us experience.

In fact, this struggle has followed me around for most of my life! Whether I’m in the electronics section or the candy section, I have an eagle eye for spotting things I have to buy.

Luckily, there are a few strategies I’ve picked up that helped me learn how to stop spending money. You can check them out below (as well as some quotes about spending money you don’t have), but first here are 4 reasons why it’s difficult to stop spending money.

Reasons You’re Spending Money You Don’t Have

1. Not Being Aware of Your Financial Situation

It doesn’t really matter how much money you make – what matters is where your money goes. And if you’re not controlling your money, then your money is controlling you.

If you regularly,

• Have to check your bank balance before you make a purchase
• Swipe your debit card and pray that it’ll be approved
• Reach a zero balance or are charged overdraft fees

then you’re spending money you don’t have. Keep reading, and we’ll give you several ways to stop spending money and this under control.

Related Post: Tips for Developing a Wealthy Mindset.

2. Overly Active Social Life

When you consider that many of our meeting places are stores and malls, it’s easy to see how an active social life can cause you to keep spending money you don’t have

We all need a social life, but if you are trying not to spend money, you may want to consider trying out some alternative activities, which we’ll discuss below.

3. Paying With Debit and Credit Cards

Have you ever gone shopping and later on thought “how much am I spending?” If so, you probably made most of your purchases using a credit card.

There are studies that show that we’re willing to do some pretty extreme spending when we pay with plastic rather than cash.

4. Emotional Shopping

Many of us go shopping to relieve stress, or just to have something to do. This can happen after a hard day at work, a fight with a loved one, or for any other reason we can come up with.

This is so common that it has a name – retail therapy. The thing is,  being an emotional spender is a sure-fire way to spend money you don’t have.

Strategies to Stop Spending Money You Don’t Have

1. Set Goals

Setting Goals is a must if you’re trying to reduce spending! Goals basically act as roadmaps to help guide your actions and give you something to measure your progress by.

Long-term goals are the big goals that you want to accomplish years in the future. These are super important because goals give a purpose to your financial behavior. They’ll also help you learn how to stop spending money you don’t have.

Some long-term goals you might have:

• Pay off your student loans
• Have a large amount of money in the bank
• Buying your own home

Next, come up with some medium-term goals that can be accomplished in a few months or a year.

Some example of medium-term goals are:

• Increase your credit score
• Pay off your credit card
• Save a $1,000 emergency fund

Next comes the short-term goals. These are goals that you can do on a daily or weekly basis.

For example:

• Save $20 every week
• Pay an extra $50 to credit card debt
• Make this weekend a no-spend weekend

After you’ve decided on your long, medium, and short-term goals, you’ll have plenty of reasons not to keep overspending.

“You can have a Master’s degree in making money, but you will still wind up broke if you have a PhD in spending it.” ― Orrin Woodward

2. Set Your Budget

A budget is another must-have if you need to stop spending money. Because if you don’t tell your money where to go, you’ll be left wondering where it went when it’s gone.

If you’re not sure where to start, you can check out our budget category to learn how to create a budget in no time. 

Related Post: How to Become a Smart Spender.

3. Track Your Spending

Very few people know how to manage spending habits perfectly. Impulse spending is a part of human nature!

But by tracking your expenses you can learn from the past and see where you’re spending money on things you don’t need. If you’re spending too much money on clothes or spending too much money on restaurants, it’ll be revealed by your spending history.

Start tracking your free with Personal Capital and from there, you’ll know which areas you need to work and how to reduce spending and save money.

4. Become More Frugal in Your Daily Life to Stop Overspending

Instead of spending money on your favorite brands and life’s little luxuries, try to find frugal alternatives.

For example,

• Make your own coffee at home instead of buying expensive ones.
• Bring lunch from home instead of eating out
• Buy generic instead of your favorite food brands

When you start taking small steps towards a more frugal life, you’ll be surprised by how many ways to reduce spending you can come up with.

“Don’t wish it was easier wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom” – Jim Rohn

5. Create a List to Avoid Unnecessary Shopping

Know exactly what you’re going to buy before you step foot inside the store, and don’t go down your temptation aisles to avoid impulse purchases.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to the store without a list only to end up buying everything that caught my eye. Even when I had a list, if I decided to wander down my favorite aisles (the ice cream or cookie aisle), I could easily spend all the money I had on me.

You May Also Like: Inspirational Money Quotes.

6. Give Yourself an Allowance

To watch your spending, don’t take your debit card to the store. Instead, give yourself a cash allowance. By doing that, you’re not stopping yourself from going out to have fun, but you are preventing yourself from spending out of control.

7. Create a Meal Plan

If you’re wondering how to stop overspending on food, a meal plan is the answer!

Without a meal plan, you have to figure out what’s for dinner every night…which can be a pain!

Instead of going through the trouble of planning a meal, it can be easier to just order a pizza or get fast food. Do that a few times a week and you can easily add another $50 onto your weekly food budget.

To keep your money from disappearing, start planning your meals in advance! Better yet, prep them in advance too. By doing that, you can save big on food spending.

8. Buy Generic Instead of Brand Name

We all have our go-to brands. Brands that we continue to buy because our parents bought them.

But for certain items, generic may be just as good as brand name. So if you’re looking for ways to reduce expenditure, start buying generic and save yourself some money.

9. Use Cash Only

Because of the psychological impact of paying with cash, we’re far more likely to stick to a budget if we use cash only.

Of course, you may not be able to use cash for everything (i.e. utility bills or car payments). But using cash for as many purchases as you can is probably the best way to stop spending money you don’t have.

“The way Americans tend to buy things: A person who has $20 will buy something for $40 if it’s marked down from $100.”― Clifford Cohen

10. Don’t Use Credit Cards

Do your future self a favor and don’t use credit cards to spend money you don’t have.

11. Take a Money Saving Challenge

A fantastic way to stop spending money you don’t have is to take up a money-saving challenge.

Money-saving challenges are creative ways to save money and they’re only limited by your imagination.

Take up a money challenge today. Stop spending, start saving!

“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” –Dave Ramsey, Total Money Makover

12. Don’t pay for convenience if you don’t want to spend money you don’t have

We’re all willing to pay for a little convenience sometimes.

Whether it’s going to a restaurant instead of preparing a home cooked meal, or having UberEATS deliver your lunch instead of getting it yourself. Some days, it’s just worth it….

I get it!

But if you’re looking for ways to not spend money, a good option is to cut back on these little conveniences and do things for yourself as often as you can.

13. Pay Your Bills On Time

Have you ever paid a bill late and been hit with an outrageous late fee? It seems crazy that sometimes the late fee is as large as the monthly payment!

Avoid these late fees by putting an alarm on your phone or paying in advance…anything that’ll help you avoid paying that extra money.

A bonus to paying on time is that your credit score will improve over time and give you access to better loan terms when and if you need them.

14. Stay Out of Stores Whenever Possible

So, instead of shopping for fun, try searching for different FREE activities that you can do. A walk in the park, game night with friends…anything you can do to avoid shopping for fun will help you stop spending.

Related Post: What Money Means to You- 7 Clues to  Your Money Habits.

15. Shop More Online

If you’re trying to figure out how to curb spending, consider shopping online more.

I know how it sounds, but by shopping online, you’ll be able to avoid temptation (if you really want to!). It can also be a lot quicker than physically going to the store.

Another benefit is that there are plenty of apps to help you save or earn cash back when you do your online shopping. Apps like

• Ebates/Rakuten – to earn cash back on your online purchases,
• Top Cash Back – to earn cash back on your online purchases, and
• Honey – to get discounts on your online purchases

can keep money in your pocket.

“Focus not on what you earn, focus on how you spend what you earn.”
― Stephen Magnus

16. Change Your Irresponsible Spending Habits

Sometimes a little bit of retail therapy is just what the doctor ordered.

But allowing your triggers or emotions to carry you to your favorite store is a recipe for financial disaster!

Instead, pay attention to what you’re feeling when you’re itching to go shopping and find another way to deal with your emotions.

Some alternatives to shopping could be:

• Exercising
• Meditation
• Journaling
• Playing music

If your friends are encouraging you to go to places when you need to stop spending money, recommend some free activities instead. Or still, go, but leave your cards at home and only take your cash allowance.

17. Delay Your Gratification

That’s understandable, but if you can learn to save until you have enough to buy the things you want with cash, you’d be able to curb your spending more.

18. Ignore Sales and Coupons

Sales and coupons may seem like money savers when we get our hands on them. In fact, many people buy items they never would have bought just because they’re on sale.

This “chase the sale” mentality can cost us a lot of money if we’re not careful. If something you don’t need, or want, is on sale…just pass it by and don’t spend money.

“A lot of people spend so much time trying to look rich, that they forget that the plan is to get rich.”
― Edmond Mbiaka

19. Don’t Try to Impress Anyone

Don’t go broke trying to look rich! Keeping up with the Jones’ is a sure way to spend all your money.

But nowadays it’s even worse! Because it isn’t just our next-door neighbors we’re trying to impress. There’s also our social media circle.

The desire to “share” online to impress people with the expensive foods we’re eating and the expensive clothes we are wearing can lead to some extreme spending. If you’re trying to figure out how to stop spending money, the first thing is to forget about impressing anyone.

20. Think in Terms of Time Instead of Dollars

Another way to stop spending money you don’t have is to think about your purchases in terms of time.

If you’re thinking about buying a nice pair of shoes for $70, you might just do it. But if the same pair of shoes costs you…say…5 work hours, you might say no!

Why? Because those work hours represent 5 hours of your life stuck in that office with those people. You may not find that worth an extra pair of shoes.

Final Thoughts

When we spend money we don’t have, it’s usually because we’re

• paying with plastic,
• shopping as a social activity,
• engaging in retail therapy or
• just completely unaware of our financial situation

Luckily, we now have strategies on how to stop spending money. Whether it’s changing what you buy, or how you buy it, you can put an end to overspending.

If you’ve been able to stop overspending, let us know how you were able to do it in the comments below.