How Your Debit Card is Affecting your Waistline & Your Bank Account!

A Debit Card Diet could be the next diet Fad!

One of the biggest budget busters that I've come across when coaching clients is "Eating Out"! All of us live busy, sometimes chaotic lives, where the last thing we are thinking about is packing a lunch or cooking a big enough meal that will last a couple of days! Why do that when there's a fast food restaurant virtually every where you turn in most cities and towns? And who needs cash when you can carry your convenient Debit Card!

As the popularity of Debit Cards grew, fast food restaurants scrambled to meet the demands of it's customers to be able to use their credit & debit cards when ordering food. Industry experts say that by accepting debit cards increase sales by 20%! But that also means your spending more and eating more.

Let's look at some of the health & financial Ripple Effects (thanks Eric Rice www.dyerbeech.com) of constantly going out to eat and using your debit card:

1. Overspending on food and meals for the week (less money to save & payoff debt with)
2. Overdraft and NSF fee's due to lack of tracking your debit card usage
3. Eating unhealthy food that saps your energy and makes you gain weight
4. Potential Higher health care cost for you because of a bad diet

The Ripple Effect on your wallet and your waistline goes on and on! And we haven't even talked about how restaurants have had to jack up their prices because they are paying transaction fees each time you use your card. So of course they have to pass this cost on to us as consumers!

7 Tips to Help You Slim Down your Waistline & Fatten up your Bank Account!

1. Consider going on a 7 Day Debit Card Diet. This will help you to plan out your meals and be more aware of your spending habits
   
2. Review your Bank & Credit Card Statement for the last 60 days and highlight and add up all the times ate out. This will open your eyes and show you were your money is going.
   
3. Include eating out in your spending plan - Set this amount aside in cash. Once the cash is gone that's it until next week or your next paycheck!
   
4. Plan out your meals for the week & use that to create your grocery list and stick to it
   
5. Cook large healthy dinners at night so you can take left overs for lunch the next day
6. If you do go out to eat resist the urge to biggie size! This will save you money and inches in your waistline!
   
7. Ask a trusted friend or family member to be your accountability partner. When you feel the urge to spend and get something unhealthy call them so they can remind you of your commitment

To Your Health and Your Bank Account!

Carlos Frank
Your Personal Financial Coach
www.nextmoneystep.com
blog: Next Money Step Blog
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