Visa recently conducted a survey and found the average American cannot account for $21 a week in spending. This figure becomes a budget loss higher than $1,000 a year.

Money holes are usually caused from a lack of budget which easily leads to overspending. Even during a recession, consumers tend to live outside of their means as article about overspending habits explains. Here are five ways to plug up leaking cash.

Forget the lattes and focus bigger. When first assessing your leaking situation, Dave Ramsey’s rule is to get rid of anything you cannot pay off in 18-20 months, omitting an affordable mortgage. This means downsizing the car, cable and private school tuition. Skimping on tiny treats doesn’t make as much headway as reducing the big-ticket items.

Target your talking. Mobile phones fly under the radar because they are much-needed necessities for many. But all the plans and features aren’t. Go over your bill focusing on what you aren’t using, like minutes and extra mobile purchases. Drop what you don’t need and think about changing your plan.

Lists are little portable goals. Lists serve as reminders you should be focusing on the purchase at hand and not elsewhere. Create them for everything, from grocery to gift shopping. If you fall off a spending list once, it gets easier to keep justifying the additional items throughout the shopping session.

Sign up for a better savings rate. One way to counter any unaccounted cash losses is to put your savings in a bank that offers a decent interest rate. Also, Bank of America features a free Keep the Change program for customers with a regular checking account. ATM purchases are rounded up and the extra amount is dropped straight into your savings. The bank also matches 100% of your transfers for the first three months.

Exercise a little fiscal responsibility on a daily basis. The problem might not be setting the financial goal but actually living up to it, which requires daily maintenance. Start small when working a budget and shape the approach to what most fitness experts recommend toward physical exercise: Spend just twenty minutes a day, three days a week tracking your grocery spending. Your effort results in lowered spending.