Spending money is arguably the most fun thing about having it. After setting a budget, that I urge you to stick to, spending wisely is the next step.

It is not saving if you would not have bought it in the first place: This is the number one rule when spending money, don’t spend it on things you don’t want! A shirt on sale for $3 is great, but only if you will wear it. If you wouldn’t normally buy the shirt, it doesn’t matter if it was $15 originally, what matters is that now you are out $3 you could have put towards something else.

Buy in bulk: Often, things like toilet paper, paper towels and other non-perishable items are cheaper when you buy them in bulk. This isn’t always the case, so you may need to do some mental math, but if you have the storage space it can be worth it to buy more than you need at the moment. If you don’t have storage, try going halfsies with a friend so you can still get the discount.

Shop sales: Obviously, buying things on sale or clearance is better than paying full price. If you don’t have a preference and one brand or store is on sale and another isn’t, go for the cheaper one. Shopping sales also means keeping an eye on the local ads and noticing how often the sale happens. In the springtime, you can expect there to be storage and cleaning supplies on sale. Toilet paper is one of those things that goes on sale pretty regularly throughout the year.

It can be fun to go spend all the holiday money you just got, but saving is also important. Locking your money away in a bank account to sit there until you have enough for your bigger goals is hard, so try and spread out the spending you are able to do so you don’t get the itch to get a little retail therapy in at the wrong time.