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Debt is always undesirable and everyone does whatever they can to avoid getting stuck in it. But, thanks to credit cards and offers of delayed payment, controlling spending habits and preventing debt involves a considerable amount of hard work and discipline.

As consumers, we have to learn to live within our means. This is more than having enough money in a paycheck to pay our bills. Financial security is having something in a savings account and money left over from our paychecks to use in an emergency if we need it.

Living paycheck to paycheck can be dangerous, especially if you have a family. Children get sick; cars break down. Taking money from the bills is not a wise decision, but if you are in a bind, you do what you have to do. The way to break this cycle is to spend less money each month.

Spending less money every month can only be done by instituting a financial plan for the family, starting with the budget. Although creating a budget may seem to take a lot of time the first time you sit down to do it, it will become easier each time you revise it.

Budgets are useless if the people who establish them do not stick to their limits. Make sure you are held responsible by another member of the family if you go beyond the confines set by the family budget for some reason.

Try to stay in line with your budget from the very beginning of the month. Remember that habits of any kind, including financial ones, are made or broken in just two short weeks. Making a lunch at home instead of eating out during the workday will help you as well. Shop with a grocery list so youre sure to have everything you need and prepare your food the night before work.

More than simply financial habits need to be changed in order to control spending. To prevent yourself from just going out for dinner, start thawing out frozen meat in the morning so that when you arrive in the evening its already ready. In order to make sure that lunches are packed and not forgotten, make them the night before instead of in the morning. Leaving notes around the house reminding you of your new goals can also be helpful.

Don’t run out armed with your credit card or checkbook each time anyone wants something. Ask if it is necessary to have that particular item. Search around the house first to see if you already have it. I seem to buy a new pack of crayons each time my kids have a project. At the end of the school year, I find at least five boxes of crayons lying around. I would only have invested in one if I had taken the time to look. Okay, crayons aren’t that expensive, but it is the discipline that we are going for here.

Don’t alter your new spending habits when you get a raise at work or a holiday bonus. Treat the extra money as a way to save more. Don’t include it in the monthly budget. Simply take the cash and put it in the savings account.

Spending habits don’t change overnight. It takes time to change a shopaholic into a frugal fan, but it can be done when you try.