So this was one of my last year's goal. Here is how I achieved that $XXX/week extra in saving.
1. Switch to debit card and pre-assign how much you want to spend/month: A translation I made on Credit card was paid automatically in full by the end of the next month (due date), that made me not think about what I am spending on at all. Using debit card (simple.com) made me think after every transaction.
2. Set goals if you want to buy something non essential: I use simple.com for this. If I wanted to buy something, I would first set a goal that I want to save up $300 in N days. This reduced by impulsive buying habit. I still buy few books randomly but you can cheat at times (try BookBub.com, really saves money on ebooks).
3. Map out your cashflow: Just create a note of your incoming cash (after tax). Now send x% of high yield saving account (I use barclays bank), x% of monthly expenses (rent/mortgage/food etc), keep a little in your checking account. This helps you understand where your money is going. Its ok if you are not able to save much, the key is first tracking it manually (mint.com etc is great but start with a simple note).
4. Invest a part of your cashflow: I am not a huge fan of investing all my savings (after 401k): So I invest about 10% of my cash after tax to an index fund on Vanguard (you can use betterment/wealthfront too).
These 4 things gave a much better overview of my finances and where my money is going. This doesn't mean stop spending less (difference b/w being frugal vs being cheap) but at-least start understanding how to deal with money.
1. Switch to debit card and pre-assign how much you want to spend/month: A translation I made on Credit card was paid automatically in full by the end of the next month (due date), that made me not think about what I am spending on at all. Using debit card (simple.com) made me think after every transaction.
2. Set goals if you want to buy something non essential: I use simple.com for this. If I wanted to buy something, I would first set a goal that I want to save up $300 in N days. This reduced by impulsive buying habit. I still buy few books randomly but you can cheat at times (try BookBub.com, really saves money on ebooks).
3. Map out your cashflow: Just create a note of your incoming cash (after tax). Now send x% of high yield saving account (I use barclays bank), x% of monthly expenses (rent/mortgage/food etc), keep a little in your checking account. This helps you understand where your money is going. Its ok if you are not able to save much, the key is first tracking it manually (mint.com etc is great but start with a simple note).
4. Invest a part of your cashflow: I am not a huge fan of investing all my savings (after 401k): So I invest about 10% of my cash after tax to an index fund on Vanguard (you can use betterment/wealthfront too).
These 4 things gave a much better overview of my finances and where my money is going. This doesn't mean stop spending less (difference b/w being frugal vs being cheap) but at-least start understanding how to deal with money.
Hope it helps.