LittleĀ Ways to Save Money that Add Up
Below is the story of how and why I created my first budget, but if youāre just reading for the tips, feel free to skip ahead :)
Almost a year and a half ago, I moved home to stop paying rent, pay down my student loans, and build a savings for a house.
At first, I was so excited to not be paying rent - granted I did still pay my dad a few hundred dollars a month - that I learned to LOVE spending money. I bought anything I wanted, like the new ultraboosts every time they came out, Tupperware on Tupperware bc idk why that's my thing, more going out clothes than the frequency in which I go out, tons of techy items, lunch at Panera or really wherever whenever my heart desired, whatever drinks weren't on special because I just really love champagne... And really, itās not a big deal to treat yourself once in a while, or to move home and have a big spending month where you catch up for all the things you wanted to buy when you were paying rent.. But I couldnāt let it become the habit that it was becoming. So, after a few months of big spending, I made myself my first ever budget.
I thought about my financial goals and the reasons I moved home, and more importantly, I thought about how I can get there. I work in consulting in business finance as a project manager where when I get a new project, I first look for theĀ āquick hitsā the easiest ways to make the biggest impact toward meeting goals fast. Then, after thatās addressed, I try to turn it into the most efficient, leanest version possible over time. So, I applied the same mindset with my own finances.
Like I would do with my clients, I trended out my historical spending, and grouped my spending into categories. Of course there are unavoidable, fixed expenses, like my car insurance, my car payment, prescriptions, student loans, etc. There are some variable but unavoidable expenses: gas, groceries, dog food, necessary shopping. Then there are your avoidable, variable expenses, like shopping, entertainment, eating out, etc. This, to me, is my low hanging fruit, my quick hits. And there are your outliers, your unexpected doctors visits, your speeding ticket, etc. Thatās what your emergency fund/savings are for!
The first glaring trend I saw when assembling my data over the past few months was Starbucks. It was one of those things I always tried to limit, and knew I was spending too much money there, but also really didnāt want to know how bad it was because I didnāt want to stop LOL. Starbucks for me, for a long time, was a reward for waking up in the morning. A long engrained habit of mine (I've been a gold card member since 2013....). But, I wanted to reach my goals of putting X amount of money into my loans each month so I could pay them off by X. I wanted to put X amount into my savings each month so I could have a down payment for a house. I wanted to put away X amount for an emergency fund. So, I knew I needed keep getting more information so that I could stop my bad spending habits, and move toward lean financials and reach my goals. I ended up buying a really nice coffee maker, a coffee bean grinder and some coffee beans, and Iāve been making amazing, better quality, and super fresh coffee ever since! Iāve saved a TON of money, made a long-term investment, LOVE my new coffee routine and have saved time on my commute to work so I can sleep more :) I never think about Starbucks anymore, and never go there, because now I have my fresh coffee in my Yeti thermos that literally stays hot for days, and I like my routine now better than ever, and itās paid for itself over and over and over.
It was this lesson that showed me the impact of small changes. I quickly grouped each of my major spending categories, and took a deeper dive once I had a better picture of my spending. Recently, Iāve been saving so much money, and it is so rewarding. Iāve actually become addicted to ways I can save money and have fun with it - challenging myself, comparing month to month and trying new strategies. There are some things that I know I could in theory, but don't want to, live without (for example, my Fitbit Versa just broke and I am obsessed with it and it tracks my whole life, resting heart rate, cals in and out, sleep stages, active minutes, steps, water intake, texts, etc and tells me so much about my health. So as soon as it broke I bought a new one, because honestly, now I can without feeling guilty or frivolous because I have my spending in check!)
Tips and Tricks Iāve Learned Along the Way
1. Create a budget: I was reluctant to do this, and it kind of sucked to see how much money I wasted on things I didnāt use anymore or stupid purchases or bad habits, but you are only helping yourself. The first steps is becoming informed. ThisĀ āwasteā is really opportunity. Look at your credit card statements. Look at your bank accounts. Look at your debts. Identify those goals and create a budget that allows you to save accordingly. Give yourself money to spend on shopping, dining out, etc. but in moderation. Itās really so similar to calories in vs calories out. You can create a formula to reach your goals. Donāt deprive yourself, but make a game plan that you can stick with for your long term goals. Download the app Truebill. Itās free and it does most of the leg work for you! Itāll identify your recurring charges, bills, income, etc and you canĀ ātrain itā to put different charges into different categories. You can make your own categories too. Then, based on your spending, itāll recommend a budget for you, and after a couple months, you can reassess and cut down again where you can. A budget is how you identify the quick hits and make the biggest impact fast.
2. Track days where you donāt spend money. I have a passion planner, where in the back I create a bullet journal for my habits (you can check outĀ https://www.reddit.com/r/bujo/Ā for ideas). I track things likeĀ ādays where I drank 100 ounces of waterā, āslept 7+ hoursā, ādid my full skincare routine before bedā, etc. Well one of them isĀ āspent $0 todayā. I find that tracking my no-spend days gives me an incentive to avoid the little, what feel like meaningless, purchases. The vending machine sparking water. The Amazon order for something dumb. The chapstick at CVS when I pick up my prescription. Itās a little incentive and I feel so good filling in the dayās box. *It should be noted I donāt consider unavoidable purchases like gas, prescriptions, etc asĀ āspendingā for this purpose. I am tracking the avoidable purchases here.
3. When you want to spend money, go shopping with only your gift cards! I love a good gift card spree when I really just want to splurge. One day I was cleaning a. bunch of odds and ends and realized I have gift cards from forever ago, scattered throughout. So I decided to make a home for my gift cards and now whenever I find one laying around, I put it with the others. Then, when I really want to spend money or go to the mall on the weekend or something, but I donāt want to fall off-budget, I go to my gift card drawer and find somewhere to shop! Pro tip look up the balance of them all and track them in your phoneās notes :)
4. Identify things you frequently purchase, and make your own version from scratch. Buying ingredients is so. much. cheaper. than buying the food itself. Identify the things you buy frequently, and google aĀ ācopycatā recipe. Buy those ingredients in bulk, and make your own snack bars, butternut squash soup, chocolate muffins, whatever it is! If it can be frozen, make it in bulk, and freeze the leftovers for when you need breakfast, a snack, lunch, etc. I made a post about this a while back on some form of social media with the recipe that I cannot quickly locate, but I used this recipeĀ and it was absolutely spot on. Now I make these frequently and stash them in my freezer for a packable breakfast, lunch or pre-workout snack and they are incredible, and incredibly cheap! Making things from scratch is also a fun activity and really therapeutic. So, I suggest finding recipes and buying the ingredients for things you frequently buy! Pro tip buy good drink recipe ingredients instead of $12 drinks at a restaurant and have a fun night in instead of out! Long term investments :)
5. Utilize Facebook Marketplace. Marketplace has everything, and my dadās actually the one that told me about it. He got a ton of great deals there when he moved. I would only go to safe areas, and maybe let your family/friends/partner track your location or go with you to pick things up, but, it really is great! Need a dog crate? Literally a million people are getting rid of them for $15. Need bar stools for your new apartment? $20 a pair. Dressers, tv stands, all types of furniture. Obviously, there are lines that every one has when it comes to pre-used items. I donāt really want to buy anyone elseās couch because I want to cozy up on a new one, but a coffee table? Sure! Outdoor seats for my balcony, why not!
6. Honey desktop extension: I added this to my laptop and this magical, little extension applies all the coupon codes in cyberspace and constantly saves me money here and there. No idea how or why. Itās free so I donāt really understand the incentive but thanks?
7. Utilize credit card benefits: I have a credit card with a percentage cash back, along with rotating monthly deals with a greater percentage cash back for different categories. Each month, I check them out. If I haveĀ ārestaurants and barsā as an extra cash back category, Iāll foot the bill with my friends at happy hour and have them venmo me! Win-win.
8. Get in the habit of making your own meals: This is a biggie. My mindset changed a lot when I decided to make me own meals, and have eating out be the outlier/exception, not vice versa. Itās not difficult to slip into the habit of not cooking for yourself regularly, but itās not physically or financially healthy at all, and makes a big difference. I learned a lot of tips on this through the years of cooking for myself, and have it pretty much down to a science these days. I grocery shop pretty well, without wasting food very easily anymore, because I know how to shop with ingredients that overlap multiple meals. Itās not easy, but you can find help online. Redditās a great place for this. r/EatCheapandHealthy, r/budgetfood, r/frugal. You can search grocery lists where people share what they buy, and what meals they make with the ingredients, with no food waste. I always find really good ideas there, if nothing else. I also cook in bulk. If I can make a lot of something and freeze it for later (chili, soups, leftover chopped peppers and onions, casseroles, shredded chicken) I do. I make extra and use it when Iām running low on groceries, or need a last minute lunch. I also boil eggs at the beginning of the week for breakfasts, snacks, egg salad, whatever I feel that week. I make nut and/or fruit bars for breakfast or bring some fruit and almond butter or I fast. I make a few lunches at a time for the week, or a dinner with leftovers for lunch. I always have a box of banza chickpea Mac and cheese that I can make in 10 minutes with a lot of protein and fiber alone, or with shredded bbq or buffalo chicken. I try new recipes for dinners, which is fun for me, and I utilize my air fryer, instant pot, food processor, etc to make cooking fast and easy. That way, I can avoid eating out, during the week at minimum, and a lot of times on the weekends I get excited to have more time to make big, fancier meals for myself anyway so I end up cooking for myself. I join reddit groups for the appliances I have (instant pot for example, or air fryer) and get tons of ideas from those groups. You can do the same on most forms of social media if you don't use reddit!
9. Order the drink specials. I know it sucks. Just try to do it. Or order one fancy $15 mango margarita, then switch over to the $4 coors lights. Itās so easy to go so overboard with spending money on drinks out. Even better, buy tequila and make your own margs!
10. Do a no-spend month. Pick a shitty month, of course, and challenge yourself not to buy anything that month (obviously buy gas, pay bills, etc). Donāt go to bars, donāt go to the movies, just do free activities or hobbies all month. If you have alcohol on hand, drink that at home, or maybe do a dry month if you're feeling ambitious. At the end of the month, you can always make those purchases, but you may have realized you can live without them (or you may realize you saved a ton of money and donāt want it anymore :))
11. Use what you have before buying more. This is something Iāve started to do in anticipation for my move, but I'm going to continue with after moving! I have so many skincare, haircare, makeup products. So many. But I always find myself buying more for some deranged reason. I will not be buying any more conditioner until I use what I have. I will not be buying any more eye liner until mine run dry lmao. I have a million face masks and will not purchase a single one until they're all used. I refuse! This is also a great way to combat clutter - just stop buying stuff for a while. Stop filling your pantry with rice when you have quinoa you haven't touched in months. Donāt buy another deodorant in another scent, or another toner which probably does the same thing as your 50 half empty ones. Use what you have. I have started to get really into decluttering, and parting with things IĀ havenāt used has actually been so freeing and exciting. But, I also want to use what I have, not just throw it away, in order to declutter AND save money. If its clothes Iāll never wear again, peace, but if its shampoo waiting its turn, Iāll keep it but Iām done buying new stuff. There is something SO refreshing about having space. A place for everything, no clutter. These days, I care more about not having clutter than I care about buying a new face mask. I donāt need another pair of slippers, I need to part with my converse from college!
12. Coupons if you go to stores like that. I pretty much get everything online or at the grocery store.
13. Be a store rewards member and maximizing discounts, sales, rewards points, etc. Not necessarily a credit card holder, unless youād like to be!Ā I think itās recommended to have one or two store credit cards, no more, so choose wisely, Try to avoid yearly fee cards, and donāt get one for the discount then cancel it too soon or your credit score will go down because your average length of credit will be impacted! You don't want to have too many accounts open at once, but you do want to have a variety, so you want a least one credit card, likely loans are opened for something - car house schooling, a store card, a debit card. I guess I can combine in here to learn how to manage your credit score via accounts, inquiries, debt, average account length, total length of credit, utilization percentages, credit line, etc. These will really impact your finances for your whole life really. Interest rates (!!), accepted down payment amounts, loan approvals, mortgages, and sooo much more are determined by your credit score. Your credit score literally tells someone how risky you are to their investment and they balance that level of risk with how much money (in interest, usually) you'll be required to pay for what you want. Sometimes, you may be turned down all together, or have to accept a really shitty value for what you want/need. Stay in control by building a strong credit score. Youāll pay much, much less later.
14. Utilize warranties! If something breaks, reach out to customer service before buying a new one to see if itās covered. I was never really brave enough to do this until about a year ago, and since then, I've had so many items replaced for me for free! Especially if you shop at Amazon or Etsy, a lot of the small businesses rely on positive reviews to get ahead of competition. They are frequently more than happy to replace an item to maintain their reputation!
Thatās all for now from me! Hopefully you learned a thing or two from what Iāve come across in the pursuit to save money. Now the internal debate begins, do I put my tax return straight into my loans or some into my bank account.....
