I’ve had a lot of discussions with people who are trying to get a handle on their finances. Most are willing to make significant efforts to change the way they think about spending money, but there are two blind spots that people can have trouble getting around.

The first blind spot is a belief that none of the savings opportunities will work for them.

“Well I’m sure this would save lots of people money, but in my case…”

I can run though a huge list of things and they can respond that it’s just not possible for them because they’ve already looked at this and in their specific situation it’s just not going to help. They apply this to every suggestion and end up trying to convince me that there’s really nothing to be done.

The second blind spot is the set of purchases that your subconscious really wants, that it considers justified and deserved reward. Your mind guides you away from these areas and so you avoid thinking about them too much. Things like cigarettes and alcohol, but also chocolate bars and lattes on the way to work.

Here’s how to think about these savings opportunities…