Sometimes deciding how much to spend on what isn’t easy.  You have to see the big picture to allocate the fine details.  You also have to be aware of, and understand, what influences your spending behaviors to take control of what and how you spend to reach your goals.

Let’s start by asking ourselves the question, how much money are we wasting every day?  Let’s look at a few common non-essential things many people spend roughly $10 dollars a day on: unnecessary shopping, Starbucks, eating out, premium cable channels, movies and/or extra cell phone minutes.  Now, if we are all honest with ourselves, we know that we do not need these items on a daily basis.  These are niceties!  However, if we continued to spend $10 a day on these types of things, that would cost us $300 a month.  And, if we spent $10 a day on two of these items it would be $600 a month.  I think we could all see that this behavior can add up very quickly and cost us big money over time.