So now you’ve finally paid off those huge debts that were hanging over your head, and you actually have spending money again. Here are some helpful tips to establish new, healthy shopping trends. If you are used to going out and buying new bali bracelets and faith bracelets every week, try to limit yourself to once a month and alternate so that you buy a bali bracelet one month and a faith bracelet the next. IF you are concerned about gifting, rather than spending a lot of money on one specific bauble, buy Grandma something she can use every day, rather than beaded grandmothers bracelets, which are beautiful but not very practical or cost effective. Grandma would rather see you stay debt free than go into debt for her, buying a beautiful beaded grandmother bracelet – trust me on this one.
So now that we have established some basic pointers, let’s talk about the specifics. You need to establish a budget to keep yourself debt free. You must include how much you spend on necessities such as food, cable, electric, rent/house payments, car/transportation, pets, etc. You must them also put money into savings, because in the event of an emergency, you don’t want to have to go back into debt to help yourself – you need to have savings or an emergency fund set aside. Once you have done those two things, you will have a good idea of how much money is left for you to spend every month. It might not be a lot, but you are responsible and know how to shop for sales, so you’ll make it. Good Luck!
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