One Hundred Dollars a Month

Who doesn’t love to save a buck or two? Whether you’re trying to save big or just stash a little something for a rainy day, it’s always helpful to hear some quick way to slash that budget. Cutting these things from your life can help save you a bundle. You might look at this list and think, “No way can I cut that.” That’s fine. If something on this list is a non-negotiable for you, then move down the list and find something else to cut. We all know our priorities and where we’re willing to splurge and where we’re willing to cut. The ideas below are all over the map, so even if you just cut one or two, you’re well on your way to saving!

Bottled water: Americans blow $11 billion on bottled water per year. I wish I was joking, but that’s a fact. If you have access to tap water that is drinkable, buy a reusable bottle and stop paying for all that plastic. Your bank account and your environment will thank you!  Camelbak water bottles are my fav!

Name brand anything: Brand names come at a cost. Someone has to pay the bill for advertising and packaging, and that someone is usually you. 9 times out of 10, the off-brand is identical to the name brand (this is especially true for the Kirkland brand as they actually pay companies to make their products and then market them under the Kirkland brand. Ever wonder why the Kirkland laundry detergent is so similar to Tide? Hmmm!). My exception to this rule is jeans. I’ll pay a bit more for name brand jeans and then wear them for years.

Expensive holiday decor: Dollar store. Seriously. That is the absolute cheapest place to find holiday decor. Depending on the store you go to, they have some of the exact same items that are 10x as expensive in a regular superstore. I can deck my whole house out for Halloween for $10! Sweet!

Presents: What? How can you stop giving gifts? Well, this one might depend on where you are in life. I’m not sure if I could completely cut this out if I still had little ones at home. I could limit it, but it would be hard to deprive them of Santa gifts or a birthday present. But now that my kids are grown, we can have a conversation about gift giving. We’re at a stage in our lives where if we need something, we can save and buy it ourselves. Excessive gift giving for the sake of tradition seems silly. Can you stop birthday presents altogether? Limit Christmas gifts to one? Decide not to exchange anniversary gifts? Just because the rest of the world expects you to give red roses and chocolate on Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you must. Have a hard conversation about presents with those you are closest to and see if they’d be willing to chuck the practice or really pare it down.

Bank fees: If you don’t have a totally free checking out, find a bank that offers it. So many banks won’t charge you for bill pay, online banking, debit cards, counter checks, monthly service fees, statement fees, ATM fees, etc. If you are paying any of those fees, talk to your banker about switching to a free account. Some require a minimum balance and some are free with just a penny in there! Also, if you find yourself unable to get that account balance thing just right and you bounce a few checks a month, look into overdraft protection or a sweep account. Normally they are around $25 a year, but then you won’t be paying crazy high overdraft fees!

Books, movies, music: Do I love ALL those things? Yes. A lot. But with most libraries offering them completely free {plus a TON more!}, that would be a great first place to slash.

Getting your nails done: I know this is a splurge some of my friends would never give up. While they are capable of painting their own nails, they love to go in for a mani/pedi and get a little pampering. Nothing wrong with that, but if you’re looking for a fast way to save cash, skip the salon and buy a $3 bottle of polish. If you miss the pampering dearly, maybe make it a twice a year treat or something. I can’t tell you the last time I painted my nails. It’s not my thing. But if it is yours, find a way to set a little money aside for this or cut it altogether.

Lawn service: This one might be a doozy depending on the size of your lawn, but lawn services are expensive. Power up that mower and push it yourself. It’ll be a great workout and save you hundreds. Or if you just don’t have the time, pay Johnny from down the street to do it. Kid labor is much cheaper and they love the extra cash!

Avoid eating out for lunch: Might be hard not to go out with your co-workers at lunchtime, but the savings are substantial.  I make the HH lunch every day, and if I ever sat down to add up how much that has saved us over the years, I think the number would be jaw-dropping.

Meat at every meal: Meat is expensive. Having a meatless meal even just 2 times per week, assuming $5.00 for the meat can easily shave $40.00 off of your monthly food budget.

Gourmet coffee: Skip Starbucks and make it at home. You’ve heard that one too many times to count, right? And rightfully so, since the average Starbucks order is over $5. Many people do that 5x a week. That’s $100 a month for coffee. So making it from home seems like a better alternative. Except when that coffee is just as spendy. If you can’t stand bad coffee and you drink it black, this is probably one step you’ll skip. But if you dress it up with so much sugar, cream, and caramel that you won’t know the difference between spendy coffee and Folgers, go for the cheap stuff and skip the unnecessary expense.

Cable: There is LAC {Life After Cable}. And it is a life where you have about $100 more in your pocket each month. Satellite TV is expensive, and with so many alternatives, it’s no longer necessary. There are literally hundreds of thousands of shows, movies, news programs that you can stream online. Hundreds of thousands people. With so many alternatives, cable has got to go!

Car washes: This is a DIY money saver that many view as a horrible chore. But if you take your car through a fancy car wash each week, you can add $60 to that monthly budget or more! Wash it yourself or hire a few of the neighborhood kids to do it for you. If you don’t trust them with your baby, even a cheap gas station car wash with fuel purchase will only set you back $5. It’s about a third of the cost of the big car washes and while it might not be as amazing, it just might be worth it!

What are some quick things you’ve cut from your budget? Was it hard? Was it worth it?

Save on,

~Mavis