Money Saving Tricks

The reason why saving money is so difficult is because it usually involves convincing yourself you don't want things you actually do want and telling yourself that, no, you didn't "earn" a Starbucks latte by waking up on time for work. Thankfully, Lifehacker’s Top 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money acknowledges the true psychology of being frugal—here are a few money-saving mind games to play with yourself:

• Create a sleeve for your credit card(s) with images of things you really care about—such as something you’re saving for (an iPhone!) or a reminder of the debt you’re paying off (your landlady). Note: the latter could be terrifying.
• Draft a “Crap I Just Don’t Need” list, which will make you realize how fleeting most of the stuff you desire turns out to be. Think about it: do you still want a Furby?
• Everyone knows to keep a lookout for sales and discounts, but what about banking away the money left over? If you were one of these people who thought that eating Snackwells meant you could have twice as many cookies, then you need to make a conscious effort to keep savings from becoming more stuff.

Top 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money [via Lifehacker]