Spending less than you make seems simple enough, yet most Americans don't. How do you avoid spending less than you earn?

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I avoid temptation. I used to be a helpless shopaholic, I've got many worthless things to show for it. It's been four years already that I've gained a conscience and there's no way I'd go back. People that can't avoid to shop simply shouldn't. Shop w/ a chaperone and keep track of your spending. Give yourself a small allowence so all hope won't seem lost, but spend it wisely. I just stuck to my savings plan, after a while it starts to register and you're well on your way.

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You must be the change you want to see in the world ~ Gandhi

With me, I guess it's about the harsh reality of it all. If you spend more than you earn, quite simply, you will be in debt. The more you do it, the more debt you accumulate, until you are so far gone, that it seems helpless. It's the people who "pretend" that get themselves in trouble. You just have to have some sense of conscience, some sense telling you "come on, you can't afford that, and you don't wanna go into debt (or MORE debt, depending on who you are) because of that, you don't need it". With me, it's a question of "do you want to have to work til you're 80 to pay for all those THINGS you want?" My answer is "NO WAY, NO MORE." It's about being realistic. Most americans aren't.

It's pretty easy to not spend more than you earn if you don't have any credit cards! We have vowed to be a "cash" only family... so if we don't have it in our checking or savings account we can not spend it. The hard part is not using my friends as a credit card.. even when they are practally begging me to do it.

At this point the only debt we have are medical/dental bills, dh's car, our home & my student loans. Granted if we had to make payments we should be on everything, our debt to income ratio would be ~70%.. leaving 30% of our income for everything else (insurance, food, gas, etc)... but luckily we have some financial hardship deferments & lower payment options on a couple of the bills for right now until we can figure out a way to get a reliable source of extra income to help pay them off.

Dh pays himself first through payroll deduction into a 401k.

During the good weeks, I stick to our budget....on the off weeks, it's so hard!!! I never actually spend more than we earn, but I sure come close! My next step is to ditch the credit cards. My sil only uses cash and checks and does an awesome job of sticking to her budget.

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Blessings, Susan

We recently became a cash only family.

I stay out of the stores (on line and in store). I resist the temptation to buy it because it is on sale.

well we used to spend spend spend then things got tight so drastic changes were made. we canceled all our credit cards but one(i know some of you are saying not a good idea but it was neccesary) we got our interest rates lowered and fixed payments so we can stick on budget. we can only spend whats in our acct because thats all the money we have access to its been hard but its also been well worth it. i also don't go to stores for fun anymore only if i need something.

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN BUT DUCK TAPE IS SILVER.

That's such a strange question if you really think about it, with an obvious answer.

You just don't.

I believe when credit became so readily available to anyone with a pulse and there was no longer a stigma attached to having to "borrow" then it really started to become the problem it is today. Wants suddenly became needs and now look where the average person stands in regards to their net worth, consumer debt., savings rate, etc.

I have to keep an eye on the checkbook and my computer every day (though I try to take Sundays off). And I have to update my husband as well. Otherwise, I "forget" and can very easily start spending.