Adopting better money habits

When I first decided to quit a full time job and be a work-at-home-mom, I admit that the biggest challenge was finance.

Yes, it is NEVER an easy decision.

To part with a stable and consistent income, especially when you already work for a cushy corporate job for almost 9 years - saying farewell can sometimes be deemed crazy.

But I did anyway.

Although I must admit that the biggest factor that helped me make my mind was that I was very close to finishing my hire-purchase (car) loan and a personal loan that I started during my early days in the workforce.

What happens next is also not an easy feat.

A change of lifestyle, spending habits are TOTALLY REQUIRED if you decide to leave a stable income and build a new one (this is my case as I actually started a new career in freelance writing).

And it is also NEVER EASY.

Ever since I started freelancing and working on a pay-per-gig basis, I still need to adjust my spending habits and reconsider my lifestyle. Especially when it comes to purchasing things on a whim, you know that kind of "pejam mata je dan bayar" kind of attitude, or those episodes of impulsive shopping (that was really fun tho LOL).

I must say that now, at least, I have learned to think many times before purchasing something. Or to plan ahead on how to save and finally obtain something that I really want.

Another part of finance is also the management of grocery spending and eating out. This part, I am really bad at. With growing kids, we really can feel the impact of eating out these days. We can't simply share meals anymore, now that Bella is all grown up and Khaleeli too.

So this year, I plan to manage these expenses better. Hopefully by doing some simple tracking in my journal and identifying the best places to shop for certain items for the kitchen and home supplies. And saving wherever we can.

Duh. I know people have been doing this all along LOL.But I am glad that I have finally come to my senses (hubby must be very proud of me, although he still complains when I accidentally choose an expensive place to eat. Eheh).

Besides managing these expenses, I think that it is still not too late to adopt some wiser money habits for the new year too, y'know, things like "spend after you save", and focusing on clearing up that darn credit card balance.

I hope that I can see results too this year.

So how about you guys? How do you manage your household expenses? Any suggestions to share?