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Learn the 7 things we stopped buying to save money
It took one moment to change everything.
I just got tired. Tired of the money going out and nothing to show for it. I took an honest hard look at where we were spending our money and what we were spending it on.
The amount of money going to snacks, disposables, simple stuff and high priced entertainment frustrated me.
As a family we decided to crack down on our spending and really assess where all our money was going.
A few simple changes equaled a lot of savings
Our biggest money problem wasn’t even really a money problem. It was a time problem. Our biggest money wasters were meal times, grocery prices and coffee.
Let’s face it when you are crunched for time and burning the candle at both ends coffee is your fuel and drive thru or take out seem to be the only logical dinner option.
After doing some much needed money saving homework we found some must have solutions to our time and money issues.
Checkout the 7 things we stopped buying below to save us a huge amount of money each month. Plus if you are brand new to debt reduction you need to read this book.
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7 Things We Stopped Buying:
1. I love coffee
But, my once to twice a day latte fix was wrecking our budget. I stopped buying my morning and 3 pm coffee pick me up in exchange for bringing my own coffee to work using our travel coffee mugs.
We invested in a great coffee maker and amazing coffee that helped me kick my latte fix. This change saved us $120-$150 a month.
2. We stopped eating out so much
When you eat out or order in two to three times a week it adds up. I opted for easy healthy meals at home and freezer meals which saves me a huge amount of time after a long day at the office.
This change saved us approximately $375 a month.
3. I stopped buying my husband lunch supplies!
I honestly stopped buying deli meats and buns. I stopped buying sandwich supplies.
Why? My husband works 12 to 15 hour days on the road or on sites and he just wasn’t eating his sandwiches. I was tired of the food waste.
So I bought what I think is the most amazing, lunch container ever. Now instead of sandwiches my husband is eating hot soups, stews, warm leftovers, pastas and whole meals for lunch.
We save about $80 in deli supplies a month and wasted food.
4. We were spending too much on breakfast muffins
Muffins your simple grab and go breakfast choice was wrecking our budget to the tune of $180 a month.
You see half our house is Celiac and gluten free pastries aren’t cheap. So after trying recipe after recipe we found a homemade muffin recipe that didn’t crumble and tasted great. Money saved and my mornings.
5. We cut back on paper products like napkins and paper towels.
I keep one roll of paper towels handy for when we have guests. Otherwise we now use cloth napkins which are great.
Using cloth napkins cuts down on the waste and they are just simply nicer to use. I also purchased cloth towels for cleaning up messes and everyday uses.
This change saved us about $25 a month which is minimal but it adds up and the change saves so much on waste.
6. We cut back on the entertainment.
Opting for no spend weekends, staycations and cheap dates. We opted for more frugal but fun things to do like hiking, picnics in the park, family game nights and coffee dates on the patio.
7. We stopped buying stuff to impress people.
We stopped buying things to impress the neighbors or to keep up with the trends. Instead opting for things we needed. The amount of money saved doing this alone is limit less.
Updated February 15, 2020
