Are you having a difficult time sticking to your budget?  If so, it may be helpful for you to try out a cash diet for a month.  It’s a great way to discipline yourself to only spend the month that you have.

So, what is a cash diet?  Essentially, it involves using only cash to make purchases.  For example, if you are going to the grocery store, and your grocery budget is $75, you should only take $75, in cash, with you (it’s preferable to leave the credit cards at home too - if that’s safe for you).

Imagine how this trip will go.  Because you only have exactly $75, you will be much more mindful of the prices of everything you purchase, and you won’t be tempted at all by “budget busters”, items that you don’t need but seem to be a great deal.

A cash diet can also work with other shopping trips.  For example, if your holiday shopping budget is $100 per child, you can bring only that amount, in cash, on your trip.  Again, with a finite amount of money in your wallet, you will be much more careful with every single dollar that you spend.

If you are someone who spends quite a bit of money on coffee, snacks, and food outside the home, a weekly allocation of cash can definitely help.  To try this out, determine a weekly budget of what you’d like to spend per week on these items, and only carry that amount of cash.  You can choose to spend the cash whichever way you’d choose, but the money is gone by Wednesday, you’ll have to brown bag it the rest of the week!

Everyone managing a budget should try a cash diet at least once a year - it’s a great way to understand where your money goes and to discipline yourself to spend only what you have!