Permanently Reduce Clutter Part 2- Spend Less, Have More

Does your family come from a poverty mentality or a prosperity mentality?

This is something to look at as it will give you some answers on your spending habits and your ability to clear out the clutter.

Did you grow up with lack?

Check out this short video on Permanently Reduce Clutter Part 2

….Read on for Getting It Togethers Top 5 Tips

Tip 1.  Stop keeping up with the Jones. Why is it that humans have the need to keep up with the Jones? Who started this anyway? The Jones do not care what you have or how you spend your money so why should we care with keeping up with them? I know it is a saying however imagine if we all “lived simple so others may simple live”? The only person you need to impress is yourself. Think of how great you will feel if you only bought what you really needed, used and loved. You bank account will love you too.

Tip 2.  Analyze your spending for a week.  Keep track of each item you buy. At the end of the week ask yourself  “if it was something you really needed, will be using and love”. If not then ask yourself this question “what was the purpose of buying this item”? If you cannot come up with a strong answer it might be time to return it. I’ll bet you will not have many if any of these purchases if you follow the above tips especially the 24 hour rule from part 1.

Tip 3.  The This/That Question.  Unless you have an endless supply of money and even if you do I’ll bet you don’t want clutter. Ask yourself this question. “If I buy this I can’t have that” “If I go on a fancy vacation I can’t have a new living room set.” Keeping in mind that this style of living will eliminate debt. Once again your bank account will love you for this. Credit card debt or overdraft debt can cause so much stress. You might not think that it is but it is!

Tip 4.  Have gratitude.  My life always runs smoother when I  keep a gratitude journal. I would highly recommend keeping one. Each day write down 5 things you are grateful for. It might be that you can see or that you can buy a new purse for Fall or that your family’s health is good. You’ll be hard pressed to stop at 5 things each day.

One of the best books I read was called “Simple Abundance” by Sarah Ban Breathnach. I first read this book back in 1998 and re read it every year for three years.  Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t do all the activities Sarah suggested. I feel you would need to be superwoman to do that and none of us are. However the best part was all about gratitude. It is a one page read each day and well worth it.

Let me know if you have read it. Leave your comments in the box below.

Tip 5. Be kind to yourself.  My Birthday gift this year was that I would be kind to myself. That means being kind to my body, mind and spirit. It means watching my self talk. It means giving myself permission to be human. Hey we all make purchasing mistakes however if we’re aware of these top 5 tips we will make fewer of them.

What is your limit? Do share in the comment box below. We are not judging 🙂

PS: Feeling like a 15 minute FREE phone discovery session? Contact me to arrange for your time. We can chat about your most burning clutter questions including how to have more money in your pocket.