How to not spend your entire salary in a month

Three simple steps will not only stop you from overspending, they will help you save.

If you are in a situation where your overspending is making you anxious, let me remind you that you are still in the driver’s seat. What you need is a slight shift in behaviour.

Three simple shifts, done every month can help you transform this lack of control over your spending.

First, as soon as your salary hits your savings accounts, 20-30% intended as saving or investment, needs to move out. Set up an auto debit into another savings account from where you can manage your investments. You are saving before you spend and also investing for the future. The auto debit needs to happen on the day your salary arrives, leaving no temptation to chance.

Second, for everything non-essential that you are buying online, leave the items in the cart for a day. Don’t press place order or pay. Go back the next day and have a look, don’t buy yet. Go back on Day 3 and do the same. On Day 4, you won’t need at least one of the items in that cart and by the time it is Day 5, you may have forgotten about the cart or changed your mind about all of the stuff in it.

Not all purchases are frivolous, but you will be surprised with how many of them actually are.

Technology may be working against you. So as a last step, put a limit on your daily online spend on non-essentials. If your monthly salary is ₹100,000, that limit could be say ₹500 and that gives you ₹15,000 total in a month. Bundle the spends you are not using. If you don’t spend for three days, you have ₹1,500. Don’t spend for ten days you have ₹5,000 bonus and so on. Anything unspent by month-end can simply get shifted to your investment account

These three simple steps will not only stop you from overspending, they will help you save. Managing your spending is less about the money and a lot more about your behaviour and self-control, keep that monkey in check.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and must not be considered investment advice. Investors should consult with experts before making any investment decisions.

About The Author

Shivam Verma is a financial coach and personal finance expert, with 5+ Years of experience in financial services, spanning wealth and asset management and personal finance writing,