We all want to save more, right? But then why aren’t we?

I have found that one of the biggest secrets to saving is to be creative in the way that you spend, or don’t spend as the case may be. Saving is often hard to do because it’s not an immediate gratification. We are conditioned from a young age that saving involves putting your money in a ceramic piggy bank that only gets smashed when full. You knew the money was in there, you could rattle it around alright, but you couldn’t see it and you couldn’t spend it.

Getting creative with the way in which you save money, by not spending it, is an activity that you will enjoy immediately! Then, if you get it right, when the end of the month comes you will see several hundred (hopefully more!) extra bucks sitting in your account that you’re not used seeing. Then, you can decide how you save, or spend, that money on something that you couldn’t have bought last month. This is a creative way to freshen up the way that you manage you money and make it go further.

So, in tradition, here are five fabulous saving tips!

Jazz up your leftovers. Many people dread eating leftovers – they’re just inferior rehashes of regular meals, not exactly enjoyable to the discerning palate. However, there’s nothing cheaper than eating leftovers and with a few great techniques for making leftovers tasty, you can often end up with something surprising and quite delicious on the other end. Also, if you’re planning to have leftovers, you’ll cook a little extra of those dishes that reheat well… pastas are superb for this!

Here are some ideas from Pinterest.

If you have a regular urge to buy clothes, go through everything that you have and see what you might find that has been forgotten and relegated to the back of the cupboard. Take the clothes at the back of the closet and bring them to the front and suddenly your wardrobe will feel completely different. Take the clothes buried in your dresser and pull them to the top. You’ll feel like a brand new person who doesn’t need to spend money on clothes right now!

Instead of going out to eat at work, take your own lunch. Lots of people think that this means “nasty lunch,” but it doesn’t. With some thoughtful preparation and just a few minutes of time, you can create something quite enjoyable for your brown bag lunch – and save a fistful of cash each day, too.

Check this page out for 27 tasty take-to-work lunch ideas.

Buy clothes that mix and match well and you’ll not need nearly as many clothes. If you have five pants, seven shirts, and seven ties that all go together, you have a seemingly endless wardrobe right there just by mixing and matching. For our ladies, you will have noticed how the shops are now dressing their mannequins in similar fashion. Blouses that work with two different jerseys, a skirt and slacks. Look professional without the heavy price tag!

Sit down and talk to the people you love and care about the most and ask them for help. Tell them that you’re trying to trim your spending and you’d love it if they offered any suggestions and support they might have – and pay attention to what they tell you. They might have some personal insights for your situation that will really help.

What do you think? Could you apply these to your spending habits to curb excessive spending?