Need Quick Cash?

Put a number to what you need and then try a spending ban. For example, Marcia wants to go to her friend’s wedding in 6 months. She figured that transportation, a hotel, a dress, a gift, and food should run about $800.

To get to her target number she needed to save $133 a month or $33 a week. She divided $800 by 6 months and then broke it down to each week by dividing $800 by 24 weeks. She opened a separate savings account at her bank and named it “Jenna’s Wedding”.

During her spending ban she continued to stick to her monthly budget, paying her bills on time, saving in her emergency fund and contributing to her company 401(k).

For 6 months Marcia spent money on only what she had to have when it came to groceries, personal items, and entertainment. The idea is to question every single expenditure before you make it and only go through with the ones that are absolutely necessary. For Marcia, this meant no lunch dates or fast food or concerts or manicures or new perfume or dry cleaning.

The best part of trying a spending ban? You’ll learn which strategies work well for you to cut back and you can use them again when something comes up. Or maybe you’ll decide to continue saving that little extra.