The more stuff that becomes critical to your way of life, the more money you need to keep all of it going. Sometimes, for one reason or another, the financial gears just don’t line up and you can’t keep money for the things you want and are barely holding the money for the things you need. In times like this, it’s time for an intervention: a money diet. Trim the fat and make some better choices for a while, and then when you have money to spare again, you can go back to having fun.
A certain man once said that anything fun costs at least $8, but that’s not necessarily true. There are cheap things you can do to enrich yourself, as well as costly things that can be safely trimmed from your budget. For example, when you go to a supermarket, stick to the list. No impulse purchases, no bags of candy. Get in, get what you need, and get out. Buy your supermarket’s personal brand of certain products, since they’re usually cheaper and almost always on sale. In the fun department, if you need to shave money off a subscription to a service like Netflix, try splitting the cost with a friend or family member. Or you could find your local library (those are still a thing, right?) and check out books for free.
Remember, no matter what you decide on for your plan of action, you gotta stick to it. If you don’t trust yourself to stick to it, have someone else manage it for you. It’ll stink in the short term, but you’ll be glad you did later.
