Have you ever done a spending freeze? If you’re not familiar with the term, it means that you go an entire week or month without spending any money on anything that isn’t an absolute necessity. Of course, you pay your bills as needed, but you don’t spend any extra money outside of those items. There are some really solid reasons to do a spending freeze, but I think the biggest are the ones that should be obvious, but sometimes aren’t.
These 3 Reasons to Put a Spending Freeze in Place Right Now are usually obvious, but they’re also very easy to miss if you’re already stressed about your budget. Hopefully, they’ll convince you to at least try it though. I’m positive you would see great things happen!
3 Reasons to Put a Spending Freeze in Place Right Now
1. You’ll build your savings. – You might be surprised at just how much extra you are actually spending when you could be saving that money. Putting a spending freeze in place is a fantastic way to learn just how much your budget truly can handle saving each month. A lot of the time we look at our budgets and think that we don’t have much wiggle room. A spending freeze will show you that there most likely is a lot more than you expect.
2. You’ll separate out wants versus needs. – Even though we know that we shouldn’t give into our wants it happens far too often than most of us are willing to admit. Putting a spending freeze into place will show you exactly where you’re wasting money on too many wants at and help you redefine your needs. Knowing exactly which is which will help you stay on a budget in the long run and give your finances a better health check up overall.
3. It will reset your finances. – Do you ever wish that life had a big old Easy Button like on the Staples commercials so that you could reset things and redo them? Whether we want to admit it or not, sometimes our budgets need that reset button. Putting a spending freeze in place does just that. It helps you to push the reset button on your finances and gives you the chance to get back on firm ground if you need to or to push off for higher financial peaks if your bank accounts allow it.
A spending freeze might not be the easiest thing you’ve ever done, but it will be one of the better things you’ve done; especially for your finances and your family. Make sure you plan for it before you attempt it. You’ll need to be sure you have enough groceries to last through your spending freeze, that the cars are filled up with gas and that you buy anything else you might need because once you start, you shouldn’t stop. If you take the plunge and go for a month long freeze, you will have some work ahead of you. It is hard work, but it is work well worth it.
More Frugal Living Tips
15 Unexpected Ways to Save Money in Your Daily Life
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Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Stacy, Step 2 would really be a wakeup call for many. When you’re used to mindless spending, you’re totally unaware. I think if people realized how good it feels to have a little “cushion,” a little emergency fund, they wouldn’t mind a spending freeze at all!