In order to save money to invest, one must have a good handle on spending. What are some ways you control your spending?

I'll start. We've got 6 people in our family so the grocery bill can get pretty high. Even though people tell me I should shop in bulk, I don't because I believe we would actually end up spending more money. You see, when I don't bulk food shop, then we run out of this and that close to the end of the week and we just make due with what is left in the cupboards (which saves us money). If I buy bulk food then we never get a chance to go without for a little while.

I invest first and spend what's left. I don't seem to miss the money this way. Plus I love looking at my portfolio!

A lot of financial management involves planning for what you need to spend, and avoid getting carried away.

I know with grocery bills it can be easy to add treats - which soon add up. Try shopping strictly only for essentials compared to a normaly shopping trip, and compare the difference.

We found that groceries were always over budget in our house as well. What we ended up doing was taking out the grocery budget in cash and bringing only the cash to the store. When it was gone, it was gone. Also a lot of misc items can be found at dollar stores and that helps a bit too.