Keeping Financially Fit

If you've ever read any of my (many) hauls and wish lists, you'll probably realise that I am very good at spending money. However, as a college student my money is pretty limited and when I head off to uni in September, it will be even more limited. That is why I decided to set myself goals and methods for monitoring and hopefully, reducing my expenses. Whilst it's definitely not an easy task, it's helping me to slowly improve my spending habits so that come September, I'll have an effective budgeting system. Here are the ways I have tried or am trying to improve my Financial Fitness this year:

• I note the amount of money I have at the start of the month, a list of things I need to buy that month and the amount I have for extra things- I have a separate 'budgeting' notebook but I am also working on a Bullet Journal at the moment and have a section within that dedicated to budgeting too.
• Believe it or not, over the past couple of months, I have tried to cut down on the amount of makeup I purchase by waiting until things run out and then deciding whether or not it is worth replacing. However, I failed this goal recently as I decided to treat myself to some Benefit products in duty free on the way back from Mallorca and actually end up overpaying for the makeup and regretting it quickly after. I tried to return the products to get a refund but had a few complications so ended up keeping them- oh well, I just need to make the most of them now and do my very best not to repeat this mistake in the future! You live and you learn.
• Before purchasing something online, I add it to my basket and then give it a day or two, unless I need the product quickly or I know I want it and it's low on stock, to see if I still want to buy it. It helps me weed out a few unnecessary or unwanted purchases and save a few pounds. I have yet to apply this to products in store as I tend to either plan what I want before I go or get tempted by what I see... or a combination of the two.
• Linking to the previous method; I make a list of the products I would like to buy and then I know what I'm looking for when I go shopping and I'm (slightly) less likely to impulse buy.
• I try to limit my literary purchases by borrowing and swapping books with friends and reading the books I already own before purchasing new ones- but once again, it doesn't always work out!
• Every so often I go through my purse, get rid of receipts and collect any 1ps, 2ps and 5ps to put in a money box. They are of a small enough value for me not to miss them but when saved, can add up to a fairly significant amount. 
• I also like to keep some money with me, separate from the rest of my money so I know I always have some cash in an emergency or minor emergency.

I hope this has given you a few ideas for smaller things you can do to improve your budgeting. Please let me know if you have any tips regarding 'Financial Fitness' as I can always use the help as I'm sure others can. If you want any information on finance management or about different credit cards, you can have a look at this website or watch some videos here.

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Love, Steph x