DON'T OVERSPEND STUPID!!

As the holidays are approaching and the gift buying madness has begun a relatively few people out there are thinking the exact same thing I'm thinking. How do I NOT overspend my money? You'd think the answer is as easy as - DON'T OVERSPEND STUPID, but realistically it takes a certain mindset, a certain mental preparation, a certain, if you will, winning attitude, to succeed at not splurging the holidays away.

I'm going to outline how I think as I save thousands of dollars month over month and build a cash cushion. Hopefully you can take a bit of this and apply it to your life. As is the case normally, everyone must look at what they are capable of.

Really quick, here are 5 attributes about myself that keep me on track

1. Be Aggressive - This has got to be the most important attribute to start with. That's because when you become aggressive there are a few things that automatically follow. For one you begin to focus on ways to save, two you make it your priority, and three you ignore the immediate gratification that buying gives you, and you concentrate on your long term outlook.
2. Be Alert - You have to be aware that on any day you can crack all of a sudden, and throw all your plans out the window, or delay it significantly just because you walked in on a "sale".
3. Be Smart - Finding ways to cut expenses or ways to increase your income takes smarts. You'll also have to use those smarts to be creative and, as much as I hate to say it, "think outside the box". Face it your existing patterns are not sufficient, and finding great new way can only be done by one person. YOU.
4. Be Eager - Every day when you begin to feel the pain of living without luxuries you will need an internal motivation. This is something that you need to create in yourself. A tip from me to you: Describe to me the events that took place in your life 3 days ago. Starting from the time you woke up to the time that you slept. I bet you have a vague memory of it, so use this lack of memory in your favour. The next time you need to spend your money, just think to yourself "its only for the short term. I can buy this later if I really need it, even if its on sale."
5. Always Have A Purpose - This is probably the hardest one to get right. One of the most agreed upon first steps in doing anything is to create a goal, but I'm not here to repeat the same old advice, I'm here to tell you that you need to put a purpose to the goal. When you're making your goal don't just make up a random number like $10,000, instead tell yourself -

· "I am going to save $10,000 in case I get laid off from my job because I will want to cushion my fall when it occurs" or

· "I am going to reduce my student debt by $10,000 every 6 months, because I plan on getting into more debt with a new house"

Those are 5 quick tips to get mentally ready. HAPPY SAVINGS!