It is true that occasional big financial decisions (house buying, car buying, private jet buying) are massively important when it comes to your financial situation.
But most of us grasp the gravity of these decisions.
I mean, you wouldn’t buy a private jet and not consider the ramifications of the decision.
(At least, I hope not!)
You could buy this kind of jet on impulse and I wouldn’t judge you.
But there are plenty of daily, weekly, and monthly expenses that we tend not to take very seriously, even though they can add up to pretty significant amounts.
My friend Gwen recently calculated how much money she’s saving by biking to work and bringing her own food and drinks, and it added up to over $500 a month.
Few of us would take on a $500/month expense without considering it, but people pay for the metro/subway and buy food and drinks at work all the time without giving it a lot of thought.
So.
What are you paying for every day? every week? every month?
Calculate how much those things are costing you on a yearly basis, and you just might find yourself inspired to do some budget trimming!
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P.S. I know I say this frequently, but if you are looking to trim your cell phone bill, you really should check out Ting Wireless.
Click “Rates” on their site, and you can quickly calculate how much your bill would be with Ting. Plus, you get $50 off when you open an account through any link on my blog.
Serena
Wednesday 27th of March 2019
For me, the odd clothing splurge, not packing lunch, and not planning my friend dates well add up. I save about $10-12 every time I bring lunch to my work or volunteering. I’m imposing a clothes-buying ban this coming month to force me to save money and take a look at the emotions driving the shopping, because I don’t need more clothes. And I can always host dinner at my place or request to limit the number of times my friends and I eat out per month.
Suzan
Wednesday 27th of March 2019
As Karen states I have many projects that need to be finished or started. I have struggled when I was married. My ex and I were not on the same page. Now I am trying to save. I am spending less and starting tomorrow I am paying myself first.
Molly
Tuesday 26th of March 2019
Great post! Some thoughts I have about it: - Today I had limited time to run through Aldi - and gosh darn it if that didn't save me money! I didn't have time to wander up and down all the fun aisles, so I just bought everything on the list and that was it. No impulse purchases, just the things that prior Me (who wrote the menu and the list) knew we needed. - We are a one-car family (which caused the above limited time run through Aldi), and sometimes that gets annoying . But we've done the math several times, and it's worth the occasional inconvenience (and Uber ride) to not have to own a second car.
Kristen
Tuesday 26th of March 2019
Yeah, if you can make it with fewer cars, that's definitely worth paying for an Uber ride every now and again!
Karen.
Tuesday 26th of March 2019
Ooh, it's the One Coin Loophole. Here's a super short podcast, 4:27, that is on point. https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast-episode/little-happier-carries-shoe-collection
Mine is the grand plan problem. I have an idea for a craft project or a garden improvement or whatever, all totally legit, but after the stuff to accomplish it is purchased, it just sits. Now, I still have grand plans, but I have (mostly) learned to discern which ones are even remotely possible and at what threshold I should invest in materials.
Stephanie
Tuesday 26th of March 2019
There is so little that I spend money on unnecessarily (if I'm spending money, it's on things we absolutely need, and I tend toward the bare minimum there as well). I tend to massively overthink things and look at the big picture first, and so that 50-some cents I spend on a bottle of flavored water at Aldi on grocery day becomes in my mind $24+ on flavored water throughout the year immediately, and I start thinking, do I really need that? So I don't buy it every week simply because of that, just once in a while. My husband, though, is master of the "*scoff* It's three dollars, it's not a big deal!" But when you buy four or five things that are three dollars, and you do it every weekend, that does add up. And what can you say without sounding judgmental?