I believe it has to be first thing first. Make a lists important things or set priorities in spending as to what is really needed before anything else or before your wants.Needs and wants are different so don't get confused. Needs basically refers to our daily needs for survival like food,clothing,shelter and water while wants are those unnecessary things.Keeping it that way will refrain you from spending on unimportant things.
Yeah, I have seen a lot of people say you should avoid some things that would not really make some value but the real thing is that money is actually one thing that cannot be controlled if you do not have a means to control it. Hold some few bucks in your hand now and if you do not have a specific plan for it, then you will see it all gone.
The thing is have a list, some call is scale of preference and some call it budget and with this you can guide yourself on what you are spending on. By the way, you can always list unimportant things as well, but as long as you are sticking to what you have, you will know what exactly you are spending on and what to eliminate easily.