You will definitely be in more trouble ahead if you do not start spending and saving wisely. People these days especially the younger generation do not know the means of saving and all they do is just throw money down the drain. There are times when a lot of teenagers would ask on ways they would be able to spend wisely and not wasting their money all the time, this is becoming a common issue with teenagers these days.

There are a lot of ways to achieve it. Most people would probably go through the process of having their hand “itchy”. This means that they would spend a lot whenever they have money around them. What you can do to avoid this is to only have a certain amount of cash with you. A good start to this is to monitor your average spending per day. Let’s say if you were to spend an average of RM50 per day on your food and petrol expenses, you can then estimate to bring about RM70 with you as the little extra money could be handy in times of an emergency.

A very common yet difficult skill is for people to only spend on items that are necessary. You can create either a weekly or monthly list of items that are needed and spend on that. If you were to buy something else which is really costly, do your calculations first before even making the move to purchase it. Besides, you should only buy things you really like. A common mistake that most people make is that they buy things at the point they see it and when they bring it back home, they think it isn’t suitable or dislike it and thus the money is wasted there. The moment you purchase it, there is no turning back as there is no way you are able to return it if you regret it later.

Based on my observation, a majority of us Malaysians really love to eat. We can’t be blamed for this as we are living in a country rich will different cultures and a variety of food. Well, eating isn’t a sin but it does make you spend even more. With so many choices of food, who could resist all the temptations? Even when you’re feeling hungry in the middle of the night, there’s always 24 hours fast food or ‘mamaks’ to serve food to you. An average eater would usually have 3 meals a day but with the change in culture especially when the ‘mamak’ culture is coming about, people have about 4 to 5 meals a day now. People usually give the reason that they are hungry, that’s why they eat a lot. A good tip to prevent this is to eat something more solid as well as affordable. Don’t go and eat food like cupcakes which cost about RM5 each or buying chocolates and desserts that would probably cost you about RM3 to RM5 in which you are already able to have a decent and fulfilling meal like economy mixed rice. Another method that you can prevent yourself from getting hungry really fast is to avoid drinking cold drinks after your meal. Consuming cold drinks will only make your body burn more calories because the body needs to keep warm whenever the temperature drops.

With entertainment in the city, it is also one of the causes of money wasting especially with the teenagers. Entertainments outlets like arcade centers, cyber cafés and clubbing are all considered a waste of money, at least to me. Why visit arcade centers and cyber cafés when you can already entertain yourself with games at home? People who are so addicted to the games usually visit places like this and will end up spending about RM30 a day. Imagine how much you would be able to save if you were to cut down on this kind of activity a month? That’s like RM900 already! Clubbing is also another form of entertainment and the money wasted on alcohol are ridiculously too much to an extent that you would probably end up using a week’s salary. This kind of spending habit can be thrown away with proper discipline and a rational thinking.

Besides, when you are spending wisely it also means that you’ll have extra cash at the end of the day. Saving RM10 a day doesn’t seem much to most people but think further, if you were to save this way for 365 days, you already saved RM3650 a year and within the next ten years, you’ll have RM36500 which would probably be able to fund your child’s education or any other needs as well. Most people do not see or realize the importance of saving even a little. If you aren’t saving any money every single day, I suggest you should start saving today.

In a nutshell, spending habits is something really important in life. Spending wisely should be taught at home from young so that when they grow up, they would know what is meant by spending wisely. A lot of them who just spends their money like nobody’s business are usually those who were pampered when they were young and they would get things they want no matter what and this actually creates a bad habit when they grow up because they would assume that they would want that something and they will get it no matter what. An advice, manage your financial status properly and you will live much more comfortable than most people out there.