How To Change Last Year’s Spending Habits

For some people, changing spending habits can be as difficult as adjusting to the loss of a limb. In 1960, surgeon Dr. Maxwell Maltz believed that it took an amputee 21 days to get used to having a missing limb. So it is with forming habits. More recent studies indicate it could take anywhere from a few minutes to several months, depending on the new habits to be formed and how complex they are.

That’s why creating new spending habits after years of spending and saving the same way would likely fall into the latter category, requiring several months to change. It’s understandable that changing your spending habits will take a lot of discipline and repetition, but the reward you’ll receive at the finish line is well worth the struggle. To see your savings balance and retirement funds📷 steadily rise from year to year is literally worth gold.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2011 was a year of heavy spending. The average spending per consumer rose 3.3% following a decline in 2010. There was an 8% rise in transportation and a 5.4% increase in spending on food and cash contributions, which included support for college📷students, alimony, child support and charity donations. Health care spending rose by 4.9% while clothes and entertainment spending also increased. Changing spending habits won’t be easy, but with a bit of discipline and by changing your outlook about the money you make, you can make the change in 2013.

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