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Paying myself some cash

I’ve always been a firm believer that if you’re going to have to live by a strict budget then be sure to allocate some money to yourself to spend on whatever you like. This goes doubly for me because if I can’t treat myself within budget I do it outside of budget which is just idiotic.

So with my new budget I’ve allocated myself $100 per month to spend on anything I see fit. I’ve done this for a while now, and I discovered that what I was doing was spending most of it in one go at the start of the month and then getting really anxious or going over budget at the end of the month just so I could spend more.

To get around this…and I think I’ve said this before…my brother has taken away my cards and he’s giving me $20 per week of that $100 to spend. And it’s actually working out great!

I’ve been treating myself to the odd chocolate bar or lunch all within my $20 limit, and I’m not at all feeling deprived. It’s also giving me a bargain hunter’s eye - I’ll shop around now to get a really cheap price and I now question the price of some things if they’re too expensive when before I’d just buy it anyway.

And because it’s given to me in cash, and I’m not spending from a card, when it’s gone it’s gone. And any I don’t spend pools up in my wallet to spend later.

If you’re really bad with overspending it’s probably the best tip I can offer. Take out only some of it per week in cash and spend to your hearts content.