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When you live in the "me" generation and it is all about instant gratification, is there a point when you will achieve "enough is enough?" It brings back childhood images of sitting and listening to the book, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." Even from a young age, the encouragement is there to look beyond what you have for "wants" and live beyond your means. This is how a large chunk of the American population gets in over their heads financially.

So now that you have adopted this philosophy, how do you learn to swim when thrown into the deep end of the pool? First, you need to tap into the rational side of the brain and identify where the actual deficit in spending exists so that you can establish more income than expenses. Then, the next step is in practicing self control.

Although these sound like rather simple concepts, they are much more difficult to practice in reality. When identifying spending trends, write out all of the things that you spend money on in a single month and try not to hyperventilate when you realize that there are so many. Then identify how much money you have coming in each month. If you are spending more than you make, there is no way to get out of debt. The only way to pay off debt or avoid it is to find ways to cut back until you are spending less than you are making. Also, if you pay yourself by putting a small portion of your paycheck into savings each month then you can tap into that instead of going into debt when you want to splurge or buy something that you want.

Try practicing these steps to avoid impulsive shopping to decide if buying something is absolutely necessary:
1. Identify what you want to buy and how much it costs.
2. Walk away without buying it.
3. Go home and think about whether it would have been the best use of the amount of money it costs and how much you would use it.

If you find yourself dwelling on the item and still want to buy it after a period of a week or two, it is probably worthy of owning and not as much of a compulsive spend. However, if it doesn't really come to mind until you are out and see it again, then it is probably not something you need or are actually going to use if you bought it. To help decide what to spend your money on, choose a dollar amount and a time frame to keep it under consideration while you are at the store, about one week for every $100 would be an example.

This strategy works well on purchases because if something better comes along within a week you can consider it instead of having an obsolete item or two similar items that you have now spent twice as much on. Every now and then, about once every other month, reward your self-control by allowing yourself one freebie so that you don't deprive yourself completely and then end up going on a shopping binge. Try to limit it to the same range that you use to judge your other purchases.

If you happen to shop on impulse, decide before you leave the house how much you would be willing to spend without breaking you bank and ruining your budget. Then, don't exceed that amount. Be aware of things that will tempt you and try to convince you to spend money you don't have like "Sale" or "Limited time only" signs. A good rule to go by is that if you can't afford to pay for it right away, it is not a good idea to put it on a credit card unless it is a necessity because you will pay the price plus interest. If you can manage to thin out some of the spending in your budget, it will allow for a quicker recovery from debt and give you a chance to get back on your feet without having to give up all the luxuries to which you have become so accustomed.

Learn more about this author, Codak Simpson.
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