You can focus on making more money or you can focus on spending less. Beyond that, there really aren’t many more options to put more cash in your bank account. The latter (playing financial defense), is the process of finding inefficiencies in your spending, reducing the amount of unnecessary spending, and keeping your cost of living to a reasonable level.

Spending less money is often the first piece of advice financial planners offer to those who are looking for ways to have more money. That’s probably because it’s the easiest and the quickest to achieve. You can instantly cancel subscriptions, stop eating out, and turn up/down your thermostat. Finding ways to increase your income, however, takes a little planning, creativity and action.

It’s a fantastic place to start because it makes you take a good hard look at your current situation and get a grasp of how money runs your life. In order to effectively plan to save money, you have to look at how you are currently spending it. When you analyze your personal income statement and realize how much money is actually coming in versus what is going out, it can be a real eye opener.

When you become consciously aware how quickly little expenses quickly add up exponentially by the end of the month, it becomes a motivating to be more cautious with the way you spend your hard earned money.

As you learn to keep more of your money, you can take the steps necessary to get out of debt faster or boost your investment portfolio. Suddenly you’re turning your savings into asset ownership, which allows you to make more money and increase your net worth.

Take one step at a time, but start with taking a good look at where your money is currently going. You might be surprised at what you uncover.

Millionaire Money Habit: You work hard for your money, so be sure you’re spending it on the things you really enjoy rather than throwing it away on things you don’t even realize.