Cutting My Spending Is Hard. Here’s What I Try to Do Instead

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It’s an option I find easier. 

Whether you’re trying to cut back on spending because it’s one of your New Year’s resolutions or because your savings account simply needs a boost, it’s certainly a good goal to strive for. But if you’re struggling to slash your spending, you’re certainly not alone.

Take it from me. I write about personal finance matters all the time, and I’m constantly offering up tips on how to spend less. Some of them might work for some people some of the time. But some of them maybe won’t. And I know from firsthand experience that as much as you can try to slash your personal spending, often, life just gets in the way.

Last year, for example, my goal was to cut back on spending in the months leading up to the holidays, knowing full well that I’d be swiping my credit card many times over in November and December to tackle my list of gifts. But things came up in September and October. My kids got invited to multiple birthday parties, and you can’t just show up without a gift. My kids also needed new uniforms for one of their activities — something I couldn’t say no to.

In fact, rather than cut back on spending in September and October, I actually wound up spending a little more than I’d budgeted for. And this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me.

That’s why I’ve sort of given up on cutting my spending. But I’ve also come up with a way to compensate for that.

When you can’t spend less, try to earn more

I’m self-employed, so the more work I do, the more I get paid for. Because of this arrangement, it’s generally easier for me to pick up additional assignments when I want to pad my savings rather than cut my spending.

The way I see it, an uptick in spending is something I often can’t control. But I can control the amount of work I’m willing to do. And doing more work and boosting my income basically has the same effect as spending less.

Of course, taking on extra work has its own consequences. In addition to my job, I have a household to run and kids who need help with everything from homework to getting to and from activities. So when I talk about taking on extra work, I’m talking about sitting down at my laptop at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. to get those assignments done, or spending time in my office over the weekend rather than relaxing or hanging out with my family.

In other words, working more isn’t necessarily the easy way out. It’s just easier for me in the sense that it’s more effective than trying to cut my spending.

You may want to boost your income sources, too

Maybe you’re not self-employed like me. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pick up extra work in the form of a side hustle, and then use those earnings to pad your savings. In fact, as of last year, 40% of Americans had a side hustle, as per a Zapier report, so this is clearly a popular route to take.

This doesn’t mean you should give up on trying to cut back on expenses. And if there are certain items you can cancel, from a rarely used gym membership or a streaming service you haven’t watched in months, then by all means, get rid of those bills. But if, despite your best efforts, spending cutbacks just haven’t been working out, then you may want to consider taking on extra work to boost your income instead.

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