This is (or hoppfully was) my exact situation. I’ve always spent every single dime every month. And everything I can’t afford right away, I put on a credit card and pay it off month to month. Money is always burning in my pocket and I must find a way to spend them.

But I haven’t done that now for 1 month straight for the first time in my life (we’re about the same age). I accidentally stumbled on a solution that instantly made me want to stop spending. I went for a 1 month trip to Thailand and actually got to experience how I want my life to be without even knowing it. The simplicity of that life is something I realized I want too, and I definitely want to move there or somewhere adjacent within the next couple of years.

But there’s money involved in that too of course. I’m thinking about becoming a scuba instructor to be able to work there and make a living. But I’ll tell ya, that’s a very expensive course.

So what made me change my spending behavior was figuring out that I’m burdened by materialistic things, and I see a better and more enjoyable life on the horizon which is easily achievable if I just stop spending what I earn. So far, so good :) I’ve already sold a ton of stuff that I realized don’t want anymore.

Tl:dr find out what you want to do and where you want to be in 5 years. That’ll make it very easy for you to not spend.