A couple of years ago, I found myself in lots of debt. I was young, dumb, and had access to credit cards (Seriously, who let these teenagers have access to that kind of money?). This, in combination with leaving a bad relationship at the time, caused me to have over $3,000 in credit card debt.
This scared me pretty bad. I knew I had to do something to kick my butt into gear. I ended up buying a small notebook to track all of the things I was spending my money on, and ended up cutting 8 crucial things out of my budget.
- Iced coffee
This one I am extremely guilty of, even to this day. However, it is certainly one of the easier habits to kick when saving money, hence why it’s a cliche to see on these lists. Especially when you do the math — my daily coffee is about $5 (I love you, Dunkin’).
Now this is fine every once in a while. In fact, I allowed myself to get one every two weeks. But if I got one everyday, that would add up to $35/a week. That’s $1,560 a year! And that’s with me getting arguably not-so-great coffee.
I suppose no one is actually buying a $5 iced coffee every single day. But if you ask me, I’d rather save the extra $130/a year for when I need it.
2. Multiple Streaming Services
Back then, I had about 4 different streaming services I paid for. Truth be told, I definitely wasn’t using them all. Instead, I was wasting anywhere between $7 and $12 per service. I managed to cut my subscriptions down to just one in this area. And now that I’m a student, I get a discount! I only pay a few dollars, and I also get my music subscription included.
3. Fast Fashion
I used to love buying into cheap fast fashion brands like Forever 21. But at some point along the way I figured out that the quality was not worth the price.
Now, I either thrift most of my wardrobe, or only buy the more expensive brands when it’s actually necessary. But I honestly don’t remember the last time I even did that!
4. Bottled Water
Honestly, this one is a no-brainer.
I went from buying water at $2-$3, to investing in a $20 metal water bottle that has saved me plenty of money. Not to mention, helping reduce plastic waste.