Who doesn’t like to spend money? Well, while there may be a few of us out there that don’t like spending money the majority of us love to. But as a general rule, the average person spends more than what they earn. There is more debt than ever in our country. Just by taking note and realizing a few ways that we do this, we can open our own eyes and try to prevent this from happening. Knowledge is key.

The first culprit is certainly credit. We look at credit as more money. We look at a new car and see four hundred a month and forget that what we are actually spending is forty thousand dollars. Credit is thrown at us left and right. We get letter and promotional advertising day in and day out with new lower interest rates, buy now pay next year, and no interest for the first 30 days. But remember, credit isn’t the evil. Thinking that we have “more money” is. Our eyes naturally want to be bigger than our wallets. Advertising and marketing make it even harder to say no. All we need now is a way to pay. That’s where the credit card comes in.

We have cash now. In the past you would withdraw what you needed from the bank. You could enjoy the night on the town, but when your fund run out, so does your night. That has all changed. Now, when your funds run out you run to the ATM. Most restaurants, mall, nightclubs, and arcades make automated teller machines readily available so that people can spend more and more money with them. Don’t fall into this trap. Decide how much you want to spend or a particular even and stick with it. Tell yourself that the ATM machines are there for decoration… just extra furniture.

Our friends and family members can also be our worst financial enemy. Look at the spending habits of one who has few friends and stay in most of the time verses one who is the life of the party. We like to go out ad have a good time and have a hard time saying no to a night out on the town.

Lastly, we over spend because spending feels good. Its great to come home with a new bathrobe, house shoes, and bubble bath. But we must learn to say no when it’s time. Since this feeling of spending is somewhat there to stay, consider setting aside a budget for some play money to calm these cravings. But remember, when the play money is gone, the play money is gone.