Intro
To me, thinking about or planning things around money are about as enjoyable as the anticipation of going to the dentist. I just don't want to do it, but it's probably a good idea to do at some point. If you enjoy going to the dentist, then this write-up is not for you. Okay, kidding.
If you absolutely dread the thought of creating a budget, but still think it doesn't hurt to cut out some unneeded expenses, maybe this quick write-up can help you think of some ideas to save a few bucks. You may or may not be surprised that I really don't have a budget. I just work, pay for everything essential to survive, and then waste money on tons of other things.
I know, this doesn't sound very responsible - and it isn't. But I should do something, right? That something is to just start doing anything. To me, that first step is finding any expenses that are not 100% necessary and deciding if you should cut them. It's going to help, either way, and is better than doing nothing.
I think it's good to just sit and brainstorm and type out (or write down on paper if you haven't paid the electric bill) anything you can think of that is:
- Something you spend money on
- Not 100% necessary
What I've done in this post is share my thoughts on what I spend money on that's essential, vs non-essential. There is nothing special about this post, other than I hope that gives you some ideas to add to this for yourself and maybe save some money.
If there are any money-saving tips that you'd like to share, feel free to post in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by.
What do you spend money on?
The Non-Essential
- Convenience store items, such as soda, chips.
- Subscriptions you never use (just about every company is trying to milk people through subscription services).
- Annual Credit Card fees
- Big name brands, vs the alternative "store brands"
- Coffee Shops
- In-app Purchases for hindered smartphone apps
- "Fees" - In many cases, they're generally made-up bullshit, such as "Restocking Fees" (Push back on them!)
- Eating out vs eating at home
- Cigarettes and/or alcohol
- Penalties on late bills/payment
- Unused gift cards - Spend before you forget about them!
- Forgetting about free trial expiration
- Add-ons for your cellular bill, such as Mobile Hotspot
The Essential
- Mortgage/rent
- Auto loan
- Meals
- Utility Bills
- Taxes
- Vehicle maintenance and fuel
- Insurance - Health / Vehicle / Home
Okay, I've identified some unessential items I can cut. What next?
Start by cancelling a couple things and see how that month passes. Perhaps you could start by cancelling something like Netflix, cutting your "eating out" down to maybe once a month, making coffee at home more often. I know this is cliche', but every little bit helps
At one point, I was spending over $2,000 a month eating out. I like to take my significant other to nice places, because I can eat garbage food any/everywhere else. Imagine what I could do not spending that money - buying other stuff. Okay, more-important stuff! I also cut out the extras on my Verizon plan. Verizon is a greedy company and, if you're a customer, I recommend you look through your bill for anything you can chop out. I was able to cut my bill down another $10 a month, due to some add-ons I used when I traveled more (Mobile Hotspot), and I don't need them.
A lot of these mobile carriers nowadays tend to bundle in other garbage like Disney streaming, etc., to get you to buy upgrades on your account. This could be a post in itself, but I'm going to stop here and leave it to anyone that may want to share some ideas in the comments. I hope this helps and thanks for reading!
