Socrates certainly got right to the point when he opined that “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Philosophically makes a lot of sense actually, especially when it comes to finances. Do you pay attention to what you spend? Really pay attention?
Here at rapid! PayCard® we are advocates of knowing your limits and not spending beyond your means. You can more easily rein yourself in when you are working from an infrastructure that operates on the premise that understands: the funds you have are the funds you have.
Consider for a moment there exists a comfortable cushion of cash in your prepaid account. Perhaps you are not scrambling to make ends meet before the next installment of moolah is uploaded to your account. In other words, can you be living within your means and still be spending too much? Yes.
At the end of the day, if you don’t spend it, you still have it. A Weight Watchers credo from years back: “If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it”. So can you effectively track your spending? Of course.
Accountability
It depends on your personality, but oftentimes, seeing an actual measurement, or physically having to record data can make most think twice. Tons of people are losing weight using My Fitness Pal. By setting goals and having a daily calorie ceiling, they are making themselves culpable for their food intake. Once you start seeing the calorie counts of the most innocuous-seeming foods, you learn how to either adjust your servings or stay away.
It is the same concept with spending your money. Take a hard look at your spending habits.
It may not be easy to figure where exactly it is going. You know what your utilities cost, and how much to set aside for rent/mortgage payments. But do you find every month that there is some cash for which you just can’t account? Probably. We tend to spend unconsciously. Online shopping and all the associated conveniences is just one stumbling block. (You may forget that $75 order until the UPS driver rings the bell. By then, just seeing the box from Amazon makes you forget you spent money you didn’t need to, or shouldn’t have!)
Look To the App
We are living in an app-tastic age when we can monitor everything. Fitbits kicked us off as we counted our steps, and your smart phone offers the means to hanging on to those Benjamins! Business Insider recently noted examples of two apps which may help with accountability: You Need a Budget and Learn Vest. Whatever your method, it is food for thought.
By taking steps to analyze your spending habits, you may initially be a bit startled, but will find that an examined financial life is worth fighting for and saving for – every penny adds up to a more robust future and a less monetarily stressful present.
The rapid! PayCard® MasterCard Card is issued by MetaBank®, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated. Prepaid card can be used wherever Debit MasterCard is accepted. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated.
The information contained in this article and any other article do not reflect the views of rapid! PayCard®.