I plan to save over 22% of my income this year by slashing my spending in 4 ways

• I review all my credit card statements annually and often find myself frustrated about my spending.
• This year, I've resolved to slash my spending enough to save 22% of my total income.
• I overspend a lot on clothes and online purchases, but I'm keeping an eye on everything else too.
• Read more from Personal Finance Insider.

At the end of every year, I sit down with a pile of all my credit card statements from the previous 12 months and feel frustrated as I go through each and every line item. I question why I spent so much money on purchases I didn't need, or ones that weren't worth their monetary value in the end.

I start to think about how much cash I'd still have in the bank if I didn't spend it on takeout, new clothes that are still hanging in my closet with the price tag, and impulse purchases. That's when I decided that I'm going to take even more control of my finance in 2022 and work to save 22% of my total income. 

In order to do that, here are the next steps I am taking to gradually cut back my spending over the next few months.

1. Taking my credit card offline 

One of the biggest things I need to stop doing is making so many online impulse purchases. I often find myself scrolling my favorite online store websites, and clicking on ads I see when I'm on social media. Before I know it, I add a bunch of items to my cart and press the buy button. Because my credit card is saved in my online wallet, it makes buying things this way too easy and thoughtless.

To curb this spending, I'm going to remove my credit card wherever it's auto-saved. My goal is to take it off at least two websites every month. That way, If there's something I really need, I can let it sit in my cart and think about it before just clicking the buy now button.

2. Putting a stop to buying new clothes 

Every time I clean out my closet, I always tell myself that I don't need any new clothing. Yet, I find that I spend a couple hundred dollars a month on new tops, jeans, or shoes. 

I'm taking on a challenge to help me put an end to buying excess clothes that I want but shouldn't be spending cash on. Before I'm allowed to buy something new, I have to wear every item I already have in that category.

For example, if I find a new pair of sneakers I want, I have to spend the month wearing the six other pairs of sneakers I have. If I still want the shoes at the end of the month, I have to either donate a pair of my old ones or sell a pair of new ones I never wore to get some cash back.

3. Utilizing free groups 

Since the pandemic, I've done a lot of home organizing and decorating. This has caused me to spend a lot of money on furniture and accessories. Since I'm still not finished with fixing up my place, I've decided to put an end to buying anything new for home during the next six months so that I can save that cash. 

Instead, I'm going to find items I need for free in local community online groups like the ones on Facebook or Nextdoor, or by using Freecycle. This is going to help me put a few hundred dollars a month toward my 2022 savings goals.

4. Tracking daily purchases 

Last year, for the first time ever, I set a monthly budget and tried my hardest to stick with it. There were some months I had to adjust my budget or I had to dip into my savings account more than I would have liked to cover unplanned purchases.

One way I plan to get better about sticking to my budget so that I can save enough every month to hit my 2022 goal is by tracking my daily purchases.

Every night, after dinner, I'm going to spend just five minutes reviewing all my spending for the day and making a conscious effort to recognize any habits or purchases that were more of an impulse than a must-have.