Wallet hacks to keep you on budget
OK, you鈥檝e 鈥攂ut now you鈥檙e having trouble sticking to it.
Keeping to a budget, especially if it鈥檚 a new habit, requires daily reminders before it becomes second nature. Here are some tips to help fight the battle at ground zero: your pocketbook or wallet.
Wrap your credit card with a note
To get spending under control and help jump-start your savings, try this simple trick: Wrap your primary credit or debit card with a note saying, 鈥淒o I need this?鈥�
Others suggest of the financial goal of your savings: a new car, an ocean vacation spot, that guitar you always wanted. The point is to think twice before you spend each dollar, especially if it鈥檚 on credit.
Stack your wallet with crisp Benjamins
Wait a minute鈥攖o save money, we should carry a lot of cash? Yes, and the bigger the denomination, the better. And the newer the cash, the better.
According to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, the higher the denomination of bills, . Keeping your weekly spending budget all in your wallet, in the form of $20, $50 and $100 bills, will make you less likely to splurge.
And dirty money spends faster than newer bills. Another study in that journal found that the older the bills, .
Keep the change
As we , one easy way to save is to pick a denomination鈥攁ny denomination鈥攁nd every time you receive that bill, put it aside to deposit in your savings account. If you really want to test the denomination effect, save all your $1 bills. With our natural reluctance to spend more valuable paper, this should put a stopper on spending (and it鈥檒l certainly make you think twice about spending cash on gum, candy and coffee).
Reduce the credit cards in your wallet
This is not to encourage you to carry zero cards; used wisely, targeted purchases with if you鈥檙e diligent about not carrying over a large balance. But if you keep most of your cards out of your wallet, it will reinforce the habit of planning ahead when shopping and sticking to your budget.
Use apps to track receipts
Good budgeting requires diligent tracking of outflow, but a pocketbook filled with crumpled receipts not only bulks up, it becomes more daunting to uncurl and sift through at the end of each day or week. Carrie Smith of Careful Cents recommends apps like or 聽that will capture photos of your receipts using your mobile phone.
鈥淭his makes it easy to save and process the transactions into expense reports,鈥� . 鈥淚t will also save hours of time (and money if you hire help) during tax season, as well as get the maximum deductions you qualify for.鈥�
