3 Expert-Backed Ways to Immediately Seize Back Control Over Your Spending Habits

This post may contain affiliate links which may compensate us based on your interaction. Please read the disclosures for more information.

Regain control over your spending habits with expert tips. Discover three easy ways to transform your financial behavior. [[{“value”:”

Lights flashed. “No!” my friend cried. He was devastated. Fifteen minutes of betting his money on a single slot machine, and no dice. He’d spent half of his gambling budget in 10 minutes. I still had money left, so we wandered around the casino. He watched me play, fidgeting. His hand drifted toward the wallet he’d tucked into his pocket — the credit cards therein.

The question came a minute later. “Hey, should I withdraw another $100?” “No,” I said, because I knew the second we left the casino, he’d regret it. It was easy for me to say it because I had money left. But when I spent the last of my budget, I, too, was tempted.

How do you resist the powerful temptation of spending just a little more?

Bestselling author James Clear addresses this in his book Atomic Habits, the go-to book on how to build sticky habits. His expertise contains the seeds of wisdom needed to immediately seize back control over one’s spending habits.

1. Make it difficult to overspend

I decided against spending more money at the casino. Not because I have supreme willpower — I don’t. My recent Uber Eats history proves my willpower is average, at best. No, I walked out of there because I’d prepared in advance. I’d made a single move that would make saying “yes” to withdrawing more cash even harder than saying “no.”

The move: Before we left the car, I made sure I didn’t have any credit cards on me. I pocketed the $100 of cash I’d budgeted for gambling, and left the rest behind. When it came time to leave the casino, I realized I’d have to run to my car if I wanted to withdraw more cash.

It was enough. Turns out, adding a bit of friction makes overspending much easier to resist. It’s a trick I plan to recycle at bars, casinos, theme parks, and places where I often spend more than I’d planned.

“Make bad habits difficult” is an important lesson taught by Atomic Habits. That said, it’s far from the only one. Even more effective was how the book helped me spend less on subscriptions.

2. Make bad spending habits obvious

I spend a lot on meal delivery. The root of my problem is, it’s easy to justify the behavior when it’s tied to subscriptions like Uber Eats and DoorDash. Ergo, I need to unsubscribe. But, subscriptions make delivery fees cheaper — so I need to stay subscribed.

A catch-22. But earlier this year, I managed to overcome it. What tipped me over the ledge was a piece of advice from Atomic Habits: Make bad spending habits obvious.

In a single night, I hunted down and canceled about 10 subscriptions. My thinking was, it’s easy to pay for monthly subscriptions when I hardly think about them. If I forced myself to renew subscriptions manually, I figured, it would force me to think about costs.

The results were shockingly effective. Months later, I’ve killed my bad Uber Eats habits. I’ve done the same to my TV habits by turning off auto-renewals for streaming. My free time has expanded, and I’m spending less than ever on meal delivery.

Now that I must suffer from the shock of watching money leave my checking account, it’s a million times easier to say “nope” to bad spending habits.

3. Make good spending habits easy

2024 began by smacking me with the biggest tax bill of my life. I’d miscalculated how much I’d owed the IRS by thousands. Thank God, I’d set aside a big chunk of money for taxes. I’d done so with what felt like zero effort, even though it all came from my paycheck.

Truth is, I’m terrible at saving when I have to do so manually. I’m always tempted to spend my savings on food or clothes (I’m a sucker for jackets). That I managed to save money regardless is not special to me, but rather, another trick I learned from Atomic Habits.

The opposite of making a bad habit (overspending) difficult, is making a good habit (saving money) easy. I made saving easy by setting up auto-contributions to my savings account. I sent 10% of all my paychecks automatically to savings — zero willpower required.

Less willpower, more psychology

My biggest takeaway from Atomic Habits is the less you lean upon willpower, the more control you have over your spending habits. Overcoming financial distress with sheer gumption is a fun idea that has cost me a lot of money. What actually works: counter-intuitive psychology.

Weird, but true. If you’re looking for new ways to think about money, consider checking out Atomic Habits. It’s one of my top three books that have changed how I spend and save.

Less life hacks, and more wisdom by experts who consider how people actually think. A good book has helped me seize back control over my spending habits. If an average Netflix-binger like me can benefit, why not you?

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 2026

This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!

Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Cole Tretheway has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuit, Netflix, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

“}]] Read More