TULSA, Okla. — Learning to better manage spending while paying down debt is a challenge many people face.
Robin Cornett knows the feeling.
“I was young when I got my credit card and I just kind of used it willy-nilly. I thought it was free money, not free money. You got to pay it back,” Cornett said.
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One method that can help is a technique called “split brain spending.”
“So basically split brain spending or split brain budgeting is when you are selectively frugal. You save money on things that just aren’t as important to you, so you can set more money aside for the things that are more important to you,” Sara Rathner said.
Rathner is a credit card expert with NerdWallet.
Cornett said the approach plays out in small, practical decisions.
“When I’m at the store if I want something that’s more expensive that I like the dishwashing soap or something, I may get the cheaper brand so I can get the better brand of maybe chips or something like that,” Cornett said.
The concept, Rathner said, is straightforward.
“At its core, a really simple concept. Why spend money on things that don’t matter?” Rathner said.
By skimping on some everyday purchases, you build room in your budget for the occasional splurge that doesn’t blow your budget — or lead to regrets about how you are going to pay it off.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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