WaterFilter.com

5 Steps to Healthy Spending Habits

Next to our physical health most of us are primarily concerned with our financial health, and with good reason. Although our intentions are usually great our follow-through and discipline generally isn't. Mere mention of the word budget or cutback sends us into fits.

Healthy spending habits need not be synonymous with deprivation – a bad word in our "you deserve it/you've earned it culture." Those interested in cultivating more healthy spending habits will be happy to know that rehabilitation is painless.

Step 1.

Start with a spending log. Yes, you have heard this advice before. This exercise is eye-opening if you do it diligently. If you have been unable to keep such a log because it is tedious or difficult to remember, consider using your debit card for every purchase. You can find the Visa/Mastercard logo nearly everywhere you shop or buy, including many fast food spots. With online banking you will have access to a visual record of all your spending. This is a great way to begin to spot patterns and decide where you can cut back.

Step 2.

Analyze your online account statement (four weeks is ideal) to help you determine where your money is going. Most credit unions offer to the minute transaction information. Review your log without judgment. What you have done, in terms of your spending, does not matter – at least not yet. What does matter is that you get a firm hold on your expenses. For example, how much money do you spend on coffee each week? Dry cleaning? Take out? Movies? You get the idea.

Step 3.

Next, write down all sources of income. With a list of your income and expenses in hand determine your priorities. Begin your budgeting process here. Obviously housing and other fixed costs will figure prominently on your priority list. Now, take a look at the conveniences that represent variable expenses. This is likely where you will find room to make changes. For example, if you subscribe to a video service can you get the two DVD plan instead of the three or eight DVD plan. If you buy coffee each day, can you bring it from home a time or two each week? Or would you be willing to purchase a smaller or otherwise less expensive cup? Can you clip coupons or eat out a little less?

Step 4.

Write a budget in pencil. Writing in pencil will help you remember that your budget is a fluid document. As you live with it you will probably need to make changes. That's okay. You may even want to include a little mad money each month. It is far better to blow a budgeted $20.00 than it is to impulsively fritter away $200.00.

Step 5

Set a savings goal and make it something specific and important. A meaningful savings goal keeps feelings of deprivation away while providing the motivation you will need to stay on track. Be patient with yourself if you do get off track. If it helps, try writing your goals down and posting them or maybe even carrying a picture that represents your goal. Refer to these as often as you need. It may also be useful to try to determine what emotional need your spending fills for you and look for another way to get your needs met. Remember, developing a new habit takes practice. In time you may even learn to love your new healthy spending habits. It is liberating to be in control of your finances. So, go ahead, clip those coupons. Write your budget and honor your savings goal. That (insert your goal here) can be in your future if you decide to make it happen.

Nicole Soltau is the President and Founder of http://CreditUnionRate.com.
The Leading Credit Union Directory
Search, Find, Join.

MORE ARTICLES:

Ganocafe Is America's Healthy Coffee Choice
Coffee is consumed by more than half of the American population. The United States is also one of the many countries where health problems are rising and obesity is almost inevitable. We do love our coffee, but does traditional coffee love us?

Solving the Healthy Living Complacency in Unhealthy Majority
White Paper (Healthy Living Challenge: Addressing the Cause of Complacency) identifies the root cause and solutions for the complacency that keeps most people from choosing healthy lifestyle habits. Despite access to exercise, nutrition, wellness and healthy programs, the majority of Americans struggle to adopt healthy lifestyles and end up in a cycle of complacency. By addressing the cause of complacency through behavioral change lifestyle coaching techniques, existing programs can provide greater long term results.

Which Is The Better Choice, Tea Or Just Plain Water?
There are some individuals who drink a large amount of water per day, there are also a large amount of people who drink more than several cups of tea a day and recently there has been some research done into which is better for the body.

An Order Of Healthy Food Please
When you have no time to cook your own food, what do you do? The answer is obvious, of course. You go out to your local fast food outlet (in deference to your kids? preferences), you go out to the food strip at the mall, or you order take out. It is convenient and you can eat your fill at these joints. What?s not so obvious, however, is what such a practice is doing to you and your children?s health.

Water Coolers Direct Launch a Bottled V's Plumbed in Water Cooler Calculator
Water Coolers Direct (WCD) have launched a Bottled V's Plumbed in Water Cooler Calculator. The calculator is to be made available on the WCD website and allows the companies customers and other members of the web going public to find out the potential savings when they switch over to Plumbed in Water Coolers.

Cooking Utensils, What You Need In Every Kitchen
Cooking utensils belong to the basics of your kitchen, last month my niece moved out and started to live on here own for the first time of here life, she wanted to know what kind of cooking utensils she needed to buy and asked me, her uncle, to go shopping with her I made a list of utensils and a lot of other kitchen supplies she would need and I thought I would share this list in this article because there will always will be Young people who are starting out and have no idea what they should buy

Keurig: More Than Coffee
All of us who own a Keurig coffee maker can attest that this single cup coffee brewer is the epitome of kitchen excellence. These coffee makers are able to brew a cup of hot, delicious coffee in less than a minute, all with no clean-up. The keurig is noted for using its patented K-Cups, with over 190 varieties of pre-measured gourmet coffee from a variety of premium brands. Its one-touch technology provides precise control over brewing, leaving no messy grinding or clean up. Simply lift the lid, insert a single K-Cup, close the lid, and select a cup size. The Keurig Special Edition B60 machine also includes a generous 48 oz. removable water reservoir which supplies an endless reserve of hot water. Instant hot water for warming up a cold ...

Water aquariums and fish care
How to

iWater4u.com Web Site Offers Water Activation System
New Web site launched has valuable information on water and human health

Designing Your Healthy Administration - A Management Overview
Management or Leadership?Simply stated, management ensures that things get done, in accordance with accepted policies, based on the reality of a situation. It involves deciding the how, and the when and often the who.

Cooking and Recipes
The 21st Century has seen an explosion in the popularity of cooking and creative catering on both sides of the Atlantic. Although cooking and preparing food is an age old skill that has been passed down through generations of people, the recent fashion for celebrity chefs has led to an increase in the amount of people who cook and prepare food. Traditionally, cooking and preparing recipes has been the domain of the housewife or matriarch in a household but due to the emergence of celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Aldo Zilli more and more people have developed a flair and passion for creating culinary masterpieces.

Clean Your Home With Just One Multi-Purpose Cleaner
It can be difficult maintaining cleanliness especially with the many types of dirt or stains that come along with every room since each space in the house has a unique function The bathrooms and the kitchen are thought to be the most frequented parts of the house but even the living room can be a major activity venue for the family

Did A Family Member Die Or Suffer Kidney Failure During heart/Hip Replacement Surgery & Was Trasylol Involved?
Americas Watchdog & its US Drug Watchdog are the premier consumer advocacy groups in the United States focused on pharmaceutical issues. Because of numerous horror story's in the national press, about the drug called Trasylol, Americas Watchdog & its US Drug Watchdog have initiated a national investigation focused on this drug. The primary goal of this investigation is to obtain information from the potential victims, or their families. Families may not even know that the drug called Trasylol may have been a contributing factor to a death, during heart surgery or a hip replacement surgery. Kidney failure could have occurred as well. The second aspect of this investigation is to encourage members in the health care community to tell Americas...

Ten Healthy Eating Tips For Today's Busy People
Eating healthy can be difficult, especially if you are a person who is constantly on the run. Today, more than ever, people are finding it necessary to try to maneuver around busy schedules, while still maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The busier you are, the more difficult this is, but it is not an impossible fete. Because you are on the go, it is extremely important to give proper attention to eating as healthy as possible. Below are ten tips that will help get you pointed in the right direction.