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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Make a budget category of "fun money" so you can feel like you can treat yourself but it's within your budget. [/quote]

+1  This, but also some tricks that worked for me at various points:

* When you're about to buy something online, save it in your cart for a day.  If you still want it, the store has like a 50% chance of sending you a coupon to get you to come back, but mostly you won't want it.  
* When you're out only use cash - it gives you a hard stop when your wallet is empty and psychologically we don't like giving it away so people spend less than when they use cards.  This will keep you to one drink, help you say no to the coloring upcharge, etc.  
* Lastly, give yourself "treat" achievements - when you get to 3 months' savings in your rainy day fund, you can take the savings you would put in the next month and put it toward a trip, or purchase.  Repeat when you hit 6 months, etc.[/quote]

These are good. I would add:
- Set up auto deposit so your paycheck goes into different accounts. Make sure it’s an account you have to go through extra steps to access / see so you’re not tempted to transfer. For example, I have a car account where money is automatically deposited from my paycheck.

- Stop bringing your credit card with you everywhere. Stick some emergency cash somewhere in case you need it. The more steps you build in prior to doing something (like buying things) the less likely you’ll do it. I don’t keep chocolate in the house cause I’ll scarf it down! Lol. I make myself go the grocery store and buy it. I hate going to the grocery store so I don’t eat chocolate often.

-Make rules like the other poster said. For online shopping, I let myself browse and add a million things in the cart just so I can see the ridiculous total and tell myself “I’m saving this much money!” when I don’t buy it.

- I had to recognize that buying things and taking on debt can become addictive. Retraining my brain to “pay myself first” has been interesting. Looking at stocks I want to buy and monitoring my portfolio has really helped redirect the urge to spend to something productive though. [/quote]

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