5 easy ways to survive through the rest of January

December is a fun month filled with loads of buying/getting gifts, parties, cool hangouts with friends and family. As you can imagine, a lot of money is spent during this period.

As such, the next month - January - isn't quite as fun especially for salary earners who struggle to get through it without drowning in loans.

With two weeks gone and three ahead, it's important to adopt the following tips. Here is what you need to do in order to survive the rest of the month.

Figure out exactly how much you have left

The first thing to do is calculate how much you have in your account. Figure that out and write it down.

Make a plan

Once you know how much you have left, you need to make a plan. This budget should cover your daily and weekly expenses. Make sure you abide by it. Apps like Wally and Unsplurge are really helpful.

3 steps to building a budget ece-auto-gen

ALSO READ: 7 practical tips you need to become a pro at budgeting

Cut back on your spending

This is not the time to spend excessively so cut back on certain luxuries. For instance, you can try using public transportation instead of Uber or Taxify. Only buy and spend on what you need not what you want.

Stop eating out

Eating it out is one of the easiest ways to overspend your money and end up broke. This is why you need to stop eating out for the rest of the month and start cooking instead. This will help you save some money.

African American Couple Cooking in the Kitchen [Credit: Shuttrestock] Shutterstock

Use cash not credit card

A great way to control your spending is to replace your credit card with cash. A credit card is extremely easy to use which is why a lot of people tend to overspend without even thinking about it. Cash, on the other hand, isn't that easy. Having to first withdraw it than count it before giving it to the cashier forces you to see and think about what you are doing. Trust me, few things are as painful as having to hand over your hard-earned cash to someone else.