Live below your means

Everyone everywhere simply states that to gain wealth all you need to do is live below your means. That is a very difficult discipline to force yourself to learn. Through my budget I was able to begin to see and understand where my money was and is going. Cutting my extra living expenditures to a limited budgeted amount was the best thing for me. I love to drink a beer every now and then in the local pub, but seeing how much I was actually spending versus how much I should have been spending was a great source for the depletion of my funds. Things like smoking, excessive dining out, and any other vices can really put a dent on your wallet or a high balance on your credit cards. I used my budget to reduce my spending and reduce my cell phone plan a large culprit to where my money was disappearing to. I canceled subscriptions I didn't need. And somehow after just spending a few months strictly following a budget I began to realize the difference between a want and a need. I had a lot of wants and not many needs. I need a cell phone, but I wanted unlimited internet and texting and other features I could easily live without and save as much as $50 per month because of it. This was definitely the start of my financial education.