How to Stop Spending Money (8 Research-Backed Tips) (2026)
Trying to make the most of stop spending money research? You are in the right place. Below we break it down in plain English, with practical tips you can actually use.
Key Takeaways
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- What’s the difference between those who learn how to stop spending money and those who can’t seem to get their impulse spending under contro...
What’s the difference between those who learn how to stop spending money and those who can’t seem to get their impulse spending under control?
In this article, we’ll talk about eight research-backed tips to spend less, stop impulse spending and make better overall financial decisions.
Table of Contents
ToggleTip #1: Never Say “Never,” Just Say “Not Right Now”
Mark Twain once wrote:
“To promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing.”
, Mark Twain in The Adventures of Tom SawyerThat’s certainly true when it comes to money.
If you tell yourself never to spend money on a certain thing, chances are you’ll go and do exactly that. It doesn’t matter whether it’s clothes, expensive lattes or whatever; the fact is that permanent self-denial of the things we like feels bad and doesn’t work in the long run.
The book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength lays out an alternative approach that you can use if you find yourself consistently spending too much money in certain categories:
“[…] Telling yourself ‘I can have this later’ operates in the mind a bit like having it now. It satisfies the craving to some degree , and can be even more effective.”
In other words, don’t tell yourself “never” , just tell yourself not right now.
This works because you’re giving yourself the permission to purchase the item, but also the space to think about whether you actually want it. Frequently, the desire to make a purchase fades strongly over a relatively short period of time. That’s why marketers spend so much money trying to get you to purchase immediately , they know the longer you wait, the less likely you are to pull the trigger.
So I recommend creating a “To Purchase” list on your phone. Whenever you feel the urge to purchase something, add it to your list. If you still want it at some point in the future , say, two weeks or a month out , go ahead and get it.
My experience with this technique suggests that it will significantly reduce your impulse spending.
Tip #2: Set Up a Discretionary Spending Account
Numerous people know they need to start living on a budget, whether that’s something like the 50/30/20 budget, Dave Ramsey’s recommended budgeting percentages or budgeting categories you create yourself.
But choosing from the numerous budgeting methods can be difficult, and we sometimes avoid getting started because we feel like having a budget means we have to give up certain things we love. And like we discussed in the last section, self-denial is a recipe for failure.
That’s why Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, recommends setting up a discretionary spending account:
“When people tell us they have a hard time controlling their spending, we acknowledge that they could budget for everything, but we also tell them it’s likely to be so annoying that they’ll just give up.Instead, we suggest they decide how much they want to spend on a broad category of ‘discretionary items’; the things that they can live without, like special brew coffee, fancy shoes, or a night of drinking. Take that amount, on a weekly basis, and put it on a prepaid debit card. Now they have this category of discretionary spending with a new budget each Monday. The balance on the card will show how it’s being used and the opportunity costs within this general category will be more apparent and more immediate.”
, Dan Ariely, author of Dollars and SenseInstead of budgeting every dollar that comes in and out of your life, a much simpler approach is to budget for discretionary expenses only. This allows you to spend guilt-free on discretionary items and also drastically cuts down on the time needed to manage your money.
This approach can also help prevent emotional spending, because it gives you hard and fast rule about how much you can actually spend.
Tip #3: Monitor Your Expenses Daily
Research shows that people who weigh themselves daily are more likely to accomplish their weight goal. Giving yourself constant feedback has also been shown to improve your finances.
The excellent book Willpower, which we referenced in Tip #1, looked at how people’s habits changed after tracking their finances using the popular budgeting app Mint.
“[…] The data , culled from two billion transactions of three billion anonymous users , showed some clear benefits of monitoring. For the excellent majority (80%) of people, the upward trajectory of their spending was tempered after they joined Mint and began monitoring their transactions.“
When you’re consistently spending too much money, tracking your expenses on a daily basis is helpful because it forces you to stay focused on how your spending affects your financial bottom line.
In other words, seeing your account balance decline as the result of impulse spending is a powerful motivator for cutting back.
With that in mind, a good way to stop spending and start saving is to:
- Set up a discretionary spending account (see Tip #2), where you’ve allocated a certain percentage of your budget to “wants.”
- For all your other expenses, track them daily through a free budgeting app.
Tip #4: Hide Money From Yourself
Jane Bryant Quinn, who has written classic personal finance books including How to Make Your Money Last and Making the Most of Your Money, wasn’t able to save money until sh
Final Thoughts
Before you check out, double-check stop spending money research against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.
Originally published at thewaystowealth.com.
R.J. Weiss
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