America is one of the nation where people depend too much borrowing and thus accumulation of lot a of debt. In fact recent studies have shown average saving rate of America as a whole has even gone negative a few times because we spend more than we earn by borrowing money. There is no magic way to eliminate the debt. People go through hard time paying interest on credit cards and those big financial corporation post record profits every year. Best way to prevent debt in most cases is smart spending.

The purpose of this article is to highlight few habits which help you spend money in a smart way.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 1#: Avoid impulse buying - This is the biggest culprit of debt. Often you will land up buying stuff which you really do not want but just feel like having it. The moment one finds that object it often results in a purchase. Think about those clothes sitting in your closet which were were hardly ever used. Other examples are jewellery, watches, footwear and the list goes on.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 2#: Plan on buying a budget car - If you are single or have a family of up to four then why not just buy a sedan which gives 30+ miles a gallon. Sport Utility Vehicles not only cost more, consume more fuel but also have higher insurance and registration fees. Do not compromise on safety and your basic requirements, check sites like edmunds.com and kbb.com and do a study of models before buying the car. Again do not get the car dealer sell you a higher model and do bargain the price of your car or truck. Similarly extend this idea to many other things like avoid buying excessively large home or renting a bigger apartment than you really need.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 3#: Save money on fuel - Check the pressure of tires regularly and fill up your gas tank at a gas station with better price but still good quality. Prices are usually a bit lower on weekdays over weekends.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 4#: Plan a monthly budget and follow it - Try to be more strict just after you get the paycheck so there is no crunch towards the end. If you exceed your budget try to compromise for it next month.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 5#: Teach your children to be financially smart - Its good to pamper your kids but do not go out of the way by spending too, instead teach them gradually about finance and smart spending.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 6#: Use Coupons - Save those grocery and store coupons and use whenever you can. Do most of your shopping in holiday season when stores offer wide discounts.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 7#: Use electricity and heating wisely - Reduce your house heating bill by keeping you home at temperatures recommended by department of energy. Turn off the unnecessary lights to save money on your electricity and gas. Many clothes no not require hot water washing, if you have two loads of laundry then separate the hot and cold ones and wash them separately in hot and cold water appropriately.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 8#: Check out your phone plan - Often people buy a costlier and bigger cell phone minute monthly packages which they never use. If you talk a lot, then if possible use land line more than cell phone and consider internet/VOIP phones which have unlimited calling like Vonage, Packet 8 which are just like regular phones. Again check your internet plan, you may be just better off with DSL paying $15-$20 a month instead of about $50 for broadband cable.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 9#: Avoid paying by plastic - If you cannot keep track of your spending then cash and not credit card/plastic to pay so you can pay from pocket instead of borrowing.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 10#: Smart Gifts - Why not give a $20 store gift card instead of flowers.

Smart Spending/Saving Tip 11#: Save Money - Save extra money in a savings account or a high yield CD (certificate of deposit). If you are saving for retirement then Roth IRA and 401K plans are great tax deferred saving options. 

If you have some more good saving tips that we should include, send them by using the 'Submit an Article' link on the top.