Broke

Oh the weekend…it’s two days we seem to almost live for. We don’t have to work and Saturday and Sunday become a celebration for five days of hard work. They can also become the two days we break our diet, forget our exercise routine and break our budget. While the diet and exercise part can be easily recovered from, breaking the budget can have lasting effects. Here’s how to stop spending too much money on weekends.

#1 Give yourself a weekend allowance. If you find money flows like water on the weekends and you’re going a bit crazy with the spending, take a look at your budget and adjust it so you have a weekend allowance. Take out the amount of cash you’re allowed to spend on the weekend and spend only the money you have in your wallet. This will help you stay on track and will help you control your money on the weekends.

In fact, when you head out, don’t even take your debit and credit cards with you; leave them at home. If you don’t like carrying cash, then get yourself a Visa gift card from the store with $50, $75 or $100 on it. Then you can use this to take care of your weekend spending instead of carrying cash.

#2 Substitute expensive activities for inexpensive or free ones. For example, instead of going to the mall or heading to the movies, go to the park or take advantage of festivals and free days at the local zoo and museums. Get outside whenever possible. Going on a hike, taking a bike ride or even getting in the car and heading to explore a new area are all inexpensive and fun ways to spend a day. Also, Getting a car loan with bad credit is now possible to enjoy your weekends on long drive journeys too.

#3 Plan on going out to eat only once each weekend. Eating out can eat up a budget incredibly fast. Instead of eating out all weekend, use the time to make food in. This can be both an inexpensive activity and a great way to save money. And if you’re particularly busy, you can use the weekend to make meals for the upcoming week.

#4 Shop with a list. The weekend is often when we take care of the grocery, household and clothing shopping that needs to be done, and it’s so very easy to shop impulsively when you’re at the store. Don’t let this happen. Make a list before you head to any store and only purchase what’s on your list. Take even more control of your money and clip coupons and shop sales.

#5 Spend time with the family. Family time at home making crafts, playing games and just getting together and hanging out is free.

Yes, the weekends are a time to take care of errands, to celebrate a productive workweek and to enjoy yourself. However, that doesn’t mean you have to bust your budget. Stay on track and have fun with the five tips offered above.

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Hello! My name is Ashley.
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