Clean spending: How you can put your finances on a 5:2 diet

Last weekend, I set out on a mission to buy nursery essentials for my firstborn, who arrives in December.

I came home not with baby grows and a breast pump, but with six champagne flutes and an expensive but on trend salad bowl. Given the drinking limitations surrounding pregnancy, the former was perhaps an ill-advised purchase. As for the salad bowl, I'd argue an injection of Scandi-chic is essential in any home.

But then my spending habits have never been particularly shrewd. I'll opt for artisan bread over sliced, hop into an Uber instead of taking the bus, and every time I embrace a new interest, I'll convince myself I must have the accompanying paraphernalia before I can possibly commit.

I start each month vowing to live within my means, but before payday comes around I'll have dipped into my savings to fund my bon viveur lifestyle. The shameful truth is, I'm 33 and have never managed to stick to a budget.

from
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/94876647/Clean-spending-How-you-can-put-your-finances-on-a-5-2-diet