MyWeightLossForLife.com

Change a Habit

It’s tough to change habits — you already know that. Here’s a tip that’s working well for me. I’m trying to pack my lunch more often. For one thing, it’s cheaper. More importantly, it’s healthier. Still, I have a tough time giving up eating lunch out. I’m not sure why it is, but I somehow feel deprived if I pack my lunch, so it’s been a really tough thing for me to change.

Here’s what I’ve decided to do, and so far it’s working fine. For each day that I pack lunch, I put what I would have spent eating out into my “mad money” stash. You can use a jar, piggy bank, bank account, envelope, whatever. It’s important that you actually pay yourself the money, first off. If you don’t the reward won’t seem real. Go to the ATM if you have to, but make sure that you give yourself the reward.

Also, don’t put it in your regular checking account; it will just get spent. Put it in a separate account, or put the cash somewhere. This should be special money, or “mad money” as I call it. This is guilt-free spending money! You’ve earned it.

Finally, choose something you want to buy with the money, and focus on that when you’re tempted to cheat. For me, it’s buying new carpet for one of our bedrooms. Maybe you want a new laptop, an outfit, or a mini-vacation.

This really brings home how much I spend eating out. I’m putting away almost $10 a day! Whatever habit you’d like to change, this is a technique you might want to try, especially if you’ve had your eye on something for yourself and just don’t have the cash to get it right now.

Just to repeat…I know you’ll be tempted to dip in to your money for something else. Maybe it’ll be an unexpected bill, a gift for someone else, or something equally practical. Try, try, try not to do this! Remember, this money would have been gone had you not been saving it. If you use it for something that you don’t enjoy, you take away the motivation to keep up the saving and risk stopping the habit entirely. Treat yourself! You deserve it.