A quick note: For some reason, all the comments I’m receiving are going straight to my spam folder. I’m able to retrieve and approve them, so if you leave a comment and it doesn’t look like it went through, it most likely did – it’s just in my spam! You can leave me a message on Twitter or through my email to alert me if you’d like, but I’ll be checking my spam folder frequently to retrieve comments. (I’m in the process of getting this figured out and fixed!)
A while back I wrote a post about things I splurge and save on. The majority of what I wrote then is still true, even with my new focus on paying off debts and saving money. Today, I thought it would be interesting to showcase little ways I’ve started to curb my spending this year, since I am really trying to put more effort into being a better money manager, while I also increase my income, by doing online trading with services like VT markets France. Sometimes, it can be easy to get down on myself because I’m not putting thousands of dollars toward my debt each month. (I’m so inspired by debt bloggers who can do this! It’s just impossible for me right now, unless I were to get a second job.)
Anyway, let’s dive into the post, shall we? Here are five ways I’ve been curbing my spending this year:
1) I’m packing my lunch. As is well documented on this blog, one of the main ways I struggle when it comes to curbing my spending habits is with eating out. It’s probably my favorite way to spend my discretionary income! This year, I have been really diligent about packing my lunch for work and not going out. In fact, I haven’t eaten lunch out once this year! (Well, on a work day, which, for me, is Monday – Thursday. Still! It’s progress.)
2) I’m only buying toiletries once a month. This cuts down on the number of times I go to Target, which is the biggest benefit. I still end up at Target more than I really should (it’s my happy place!), but cutting down to one big toiletries visit a month seems to be helping my budget. It’s just like how grocery shopping once a week is better than shopping multiple times a week: that big shopping trip seems expensive at first, but in the long run, it’s less expensive than all those little trips combined.
3) I’m meal planning every week. Oh, meal planning is not fun and I rather despise grocery shopping and cooking, but it’s an absolute must to adhere to my budget. Every Sunday, I spend a little time (honestly, it’s never more than 20 minutes!) making a weekly meal plan. I still wind up eating out a lot on weekends, but it does help me to eat at home on weekdays. I usually only plan for 2-3 actual meals (between lunch and dinner) since they make a ton of portions so I can have leftovers for days. Leftovers = budget saver.
4) I’m turning down social plans. It really pains me to turn down social plans, because I’m not someone who gets asked to do a great many things. Mostly, I say yes because I need social interaction and I need to build stronger friendships. But sometimes, I have to say no, because it just isn’t in the budget. Like a pedicure or a night out on the town with girlfriends. It hurts, it doesn’t feel good, but I know I would feel worse to say yes and have to use the credit card that I just paid off to fund whatever outing it is. There’s a balance to be found between still enjoying life and being social and sustaining relationships, but also sticking to a frugal budget and making smart money decisions.
5) I’m paying attention to my budget and spending habits. This one is a biggie! I log onto my bank account online almost every other day so I can keep an eye on my budget and see where I’m at, money-wise. I use the handy-dandy budgeting spreadsheet that I adapted from Blonde on a Budget, which I constantly update. It helps me to see what areas I’m going overbudget (eating out and shopping, usually!) and readjust throughout the month. Gone are the days when I don’t look at my bank account for weeks and spent money carelessly! Keeping my budget updated is important to me, as is sticking to it and making sure I am achieving the money goals I set for myself each month.
What’s one way you’ve cut down on your spending lately?
I was one of the guiltiest people for wondering where all my money went when I was working and constantly going out and buying lunch instead of packing one. My husband (though we were still just dating at the time) had a look at my bank statements and pointed out that I was spending a ridiculous amount of money on food and coffee while at the office. (And – as an unfortunate side effect, all that delicious, buttery, oily food I was eating contributed to a weight gain as well.)
To get back on track, I started taking a lunch to work, made an effort to make sure I brought my own coffee, and had my husband take my debt card away from me. I gave myself a $20 “allowance” to last two weeks for random spending, and it seriously worked.
That process was just the start of my budgeting. Nowadays, we track everything in a spreadsheet and discuss any non-essential purchases over $5. It helps!
Definitely with you on the meal planning, bringing my lunch to work as often as possible (mostly every day) and then also, even if I don’t feel like cooking, I make myself do it. Saves us $ on eating out!
oh, and sticking to the list when I go to Target (or another grocery store). I used to cruise through the clothes/shoes/kid aisles and sections when I went there, but no more! Saves me a TON of money. I just go to the section where I need to get stuff, and then get out.
I have a budget spreadsheet but I don’t track my spending obsessively every month. Once Eric starts working we’re going to completely rejig our budget and probably start using YNAB, but for right now what we’re doing is working pretty well. I check my bank account every single day and I give myself $50 allowance every two weeks (so $100 a month) for random things like eating out, coffee’s, small shopping trips etc.
I couldn’t imagine discussing every non-essential purchase over $5 with Eric like Kara does! But we do discuss every purchase over about $100 – $150.
I’m a bad impulse buyer, so it’s more for myself than Kyle 😉 There was a lot of, “But I NEEDED a new thingamajig!” Tales of a bored housewife, I suppose!
I used to buy a latte from Starbucks everyday, until I realized it was costing me about $100 a month, which equaled to $1200 a year! $1200 A YEAR ON COFFEE. Once I had that little revelation, I switched to Trader Joe’s green tea for my daily caffiene fix (so much healthier, too). Now I only buy Starbucks once a week as a treat.
I’ve also gotten quite obsessive about my spending. I track everything I spend and input that data into my budget spreadsheet. I also check my bank account every day to monitor where I’m at with money. I’ve learned that it’s really easy to overspend when you don’t keep track of your spending!
Good for you, Stephany! These are great ideas. I also need to get better at managing my money and eating at home. It’s tough, but we’ll get it done. 😉
This is great. I’ve cut back on spending by bringing lunch every day as well. I’ve also done a better job of dinner planning and keeping Matt to it as well. I’ve also stayed away from Target as much as I can since most of my money goes there anyways, ha.
I understand having to say no to social plans as I had to do that back when I took a pay cut. Maybe you could explain to the friend that you are really trying to reign in your spending and see if she would be interested in doing a no-cost activity like going for a walk or hanging out at your pool? Or a coffee date which is fairly low cost? I did that when I was in that lower income phase and people were very understanding.
My top way I have cut back on spending is not eating out often. I maybe eat out once a week, if that. Those 1-3 meals I eat out a week end up being more special and I end up ordering what I really want versus ordering what is cheapest! I also save money by making coffee at home 6 out of 7 days a week. Now I am trying to figure out other ways to cut back because I found out my rent is going up $500/month next month when I go month to month (excuse me while I cry and puke over that) so I really need to find other areas to cut back. 🙁
YES to doing one big grocery shop! I’ve found that saves me money, too. I was super good about not going to Target, CVS etc unless I NEEDED something but lately I’ve been slipping up and unfortunately, my credit card statement shows that. I resolve to do better in March!!
I was watching a podcast about spending habits/saving last week and one of the big tips was staying away from target! haha. I never go there (even though I LOVE IT) so this made me happy. Lately, I’ve been really trying to focus on my online shopping, eating out and grocery habits since these are the big places I spend money. Meal planning really helps that so I don’t waste food that I buy at the grocery store and to limit the amount of times I eat out. I never eat out for lunch, it’s usually just a few dinners on the weekends.