Once you’ve determined a good budget for you, by which you are able to pay yourself, pay God, and cover all of your necessary expenses, most people go astray for lack of discipline. It’s easy to put a budget on paper, but to work the plan requires much discipline. Especially when you’re associating with those who are in different financial brackets or lack financial discipline themselves.

Getting right to the point, here are a few basic ways to exercise discipline in your finances.

Use the envelope method. This requires getting physical cash from the bank every month and dividing budgeted amounts into envelopes based on need. You replace the money spent with the receipt of the purchase made. Once the money in the envelop is gone, you have to wait until the following month for whatever that budget item is. So for example, if I treat myself to a hibachi steakhouse meal the first week of my budget, and I can only eat out for $50/ mo. With sushi and drinks, my $50 is gone in one sitting. So I won’t be able to go out to eat until the next month.
Cut up your credit cards. Don’t depend on credit cards for your emergency expenditures. This will require some fore planning and some skill, but this will get you out of the habit of spending your next month’s money before it hits your account.
If you have discipline with your credit card spending, ensure that you pay off ALL of your balance when you use it by the 21st day of the following month (this ensures you don’t pay interest).
When shopping, wait for purchases, write a list, and stick to it. If you are instinctively a saver, you may need discipline in spending. I am like a dam, once I’m open for spending, it’s hard for me to not overspend because I don’t shop often. In this way, always go into shopping with two skills: the waiting period, by which you deliberate ifs it is necessary for you to buy whatever item you’re willing to buy; and a strict itemized budget, by which you detail and wait on the shopping agenda. Don’t pick up any more or any less of what’s not on the list.
Look at sales as the money you spend. Most people look at sales as the money they are saving. This impulses them to buy more or feel accomplished. Rather, when paying in cash, and ultimately training your thought process, you look at money as cash leaving your account/pocket. This will impulse you to get only what you need.
Scrub your finances. Take a monthly itemized look at your bank account. Account for where the most of your money is spent, things you didn’t plan for, and where you can improve on wasteful spending. Even once you have a budget and have been working it for a while, a day to day view of your spending habits helps to refine the budget. If you keep receipts, you can go through this them. If you are on your banking website, a lot of banks will do the break out for you.
Lastly, be realistic. Discipline is about changing your lifestyle habits not meeting a goal. Be honest with yourself and your expectations. Don’t expect to not eat out once and save $1000. It’s a consistent culmination of daily choices that leads to financial freedom.