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Most of us don't pay close attention to our spending until we realize that we've overspent or until the bills come in reminding us of our expenditures. We need to cultivate a healthy consciousness about money to allow us to spend our money where we really want to and not on the newest, shiniest thing we see. Here are a few ways to develop a useful consciousness where money is concerned.

Keep track of your spending.
Use a small notebook to track your spending for a week or a month. Record every penny you spend. This keeps you from spending money out of habit without thinking about what you are purchasing. You'll think twice about spending for frivolous items when you know that you will have to write them down and be accountable in your spending.

Use software to track your spending habits
You can use a fancy financial program, a spreadsheet, or just Notepad or your favorite program to record and categorize your spending. Know where your money is going and how much you are spending on lattes or whatever your current weakness is. When you have the numbers in front of you, look at the priorities your spending reveals. Do these priorities align with your values?

Educate yourself
Increase your knowledge about financial issues. Know how much you are spending on interest per month. Find out how much interest your savings are making. Which is larger? Are you giving away more than you are keeping? Study different savings products and their interest rates. Learn about retirement savings accounts and which ones will work best for you. Explore tax rules. Can you increase your cash flow or reduce tax liability? The more you know, the better your financial decisions will be.

Make a 30 day wish list.
Stop impulsive spending. When you find something that you really, really must buy, write down the item, the date, and the amount in your notebook. Wait 30 days. If you still want the item as much as you did when you first found it, then go ahead and buy it. You'll find that a lot of the time, what you just had to have isn't nearly as attractive a month later.

Choose friends with similar values
If your friends spend carelessly with no sense of financial responsibility, you will be hard pressed to adopt a good attitude about money and spending. When you hang out with people who hold good attitudes about money, it will be much easier for you to do the same.

Little by little you can gradually build good financial habits that will cultivate a healthy money consciousness.

Learn more about this author, Lynn Jordan.
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