Have you ever received a large amount of money, let’s say from a paycheck, and then realized it was all gone within the blink of an eye?

If so, you’re not alone.

The world we live in has been designed to get money from your bank account into someone else’s bank account with as little friction as possible.

Each year, businesses spend billions on clever marketing to get you to easily depart with your money.

As a result, you’ll need to build your self-control when it comes to spending money if you ever want to be financially secure.

If you don’t, there are greater forces out there that will easily convince you to give them your money.

In this post, you’ll learn how to better control your spending and ensure you get the most value from your purchases.

Take control of your spending and get more value from your money

Trying to “control” or “change” anything is not easy. It takes effort.

When you’re trying to practice self-control, you have to know what your end goal is and understand your current actions.

Likewise, if you want to obtain the most value from your money, then you need to understand what you value first.

So, let’s dive into each of these below!

How to better control your spending

Earlier, I mentioned that controlling your spending is not easy. That’s because it’s a behavioral change.

And, changing behaviors are not easy. Especially, when external forces are against you (i.e. businesses).

Your spending behaviors are habits that you’ve developed over the years. You likely won’t change them overnight.

But, with a sound plan, you’ll be able to quickly control your spending and see the rewards in your next bank statement!

Now, there are two methods to take control of your spending.

First, you need to understand where all of your money is and has been going.

The first step requires you to know yourself. Don’t judge yourself when reviewing your finances. Just obtain the data and review the facts.

Second, you need to make a plan for where you want your money to go (i.e. create a budget).

The second step is critical. That’s where you design the future you want. This is basically your spending preparation. This is key to controlling impulse purchases.

It’s similar to meal preparation when trying to lose weight.

Third, you need to execute your plan.

The third step is the most important. If you don’t perform, then you’ll never win.

Winning requires you to “put your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where your money went”.

It really is that simple!

To learn more specifically how to accomplish the three steps above to control your spending, then you have to read my in-depth post on how to create a personal budget like a millionaire.

Moving on, let’s talk about getting you more value from every dollar you spend.

How to get more value from your spending

Controlling your spending is crucial. But, how you do that and still feel like you’re getting the most value from your spending is a common and legitimate question.

They key to getting the most value from every dollar you spend is to prioritize your spending to the things that bring you the most JOY.

I’ll give you a personal example to make this clear.

My wife, Ashley, and I were travelling in Portugal and made plans to eat lunch at a popular, and fancy, vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant had rave reviews and the photos looked wonderful.

We arrived and sat in a gorgeous dining room reminiscent of Victorian royalty. The waiter was very attentive and knowledgeable.

The menu was top notch and the food arrived fast.

Everything seems wonderful, right?

Yes, but we found that (1) we didn’t really “like” the taste of the food that much, and (2) the portion sizes were not filling enough for us.

Also, we were the only ones in the beautiful dining room so it was quiet and felt a little uncomfortable.

All in, we only spent about $40 USD for that experience. So, not a massive loss…

To make up for going way over budget on lunch, and learning from our experience of what we did not value, we opted to cook dinner at our Airbnb that evening.

We went to the grocery store to buy sweet potatoes, quinoa, avocados and black beans so we could make a healthy skillet hash.

After cooking, we ate a great meal that we both love in the comfort of our own Airbnb. Ashley and I felt happy eating healthy food and with flavors that we love.

Plus, we got to chill in our pajamas in complete comfort!

And, that dinner cost us less than $5 USD total to make!

So, we spent $35 less than what we did on a “fancy” lunch out and got much more JOY, or VALUE, by cooking at home together!

Now, this was a simple example. But, you can apply the “Joy Principle” to everything you spend money on!

Okay, now that you know how to control your spending and how to get more value from your spending, let’s wrap up!

Create good spending habits today, NOT tomorrow

I applaud you for reading this far, but learning is only half of the equation to success. Now, you have to put your learning into action!

Please, do not wait until tomorrow or later to understand your spending, create a budget and put your plan into action.

Start today!

Create good spending habits today. Why wait to obtain more joy?

Click here to learn to create your personal budget today!

Click here to download our free, automated personal budget in excel!

Save the image below to Pinterest for future reference!