Saving money! We all want to do it right? Well, cutting your expenses back is a great way to get in gear to get out of debt. What’s really important is to not throw yourself a pity party while you do it! Who likes being the one that is always whining about what you don’t have or what you can’t have? Not me! Getting your expenses down is important, but if you don’t have the right mindset you are just going to be absolutely miserable and more likely to forget about the big picture!
Ditch the Frugal Pity Party
Ever seen a friend on a diet where they are only allowed to eat carrots and salad or some other ungodly combination? What ends up happening? They end up getting frustrated and giving up and diving into a big box of donuts. That’s what happens when you are too strict on yourself and your budget as well. You want to make changes that are lifetime changes not just a quick fix that you plan to do for a few months and then go back to your old ways.
The easiest way to do this is to embrace the new you. Learn to love being frugal. Think of it as an accomplishment and something to brag about! Think about how you can share how much you have cut back and stashed in your savings account. Sounds great doesn’t it?!
Know What You Can and Can’t Live Without
To get this party started, make a list of things that you absolutely couldn’t live without. I mean things that if they were gone you would throw a temper tantrum that would make a toddler proud. Be honest, and really put some thought into this list. Next, to this list write of things you think you might be able to live without. If you only watch TV for a few shows, subscribe to a gym you have never set foot in, or have a Netflix membership but are never home to watch movies, you might want to write them in this list.
After you have gotten these lists together, take a good hard look at them. See which of your “have to have” list items you could probably put in the “live without” column. If you aren’t quite sure, take it for a test run. Live without the item for a week. If you are absolutely miserable at the end of the week, it needs to stay in the “have to have” list. On the other hand, if you hardly missed it at all, then you can move it over and save even more money.
Here’s my list of things that I have to have:
- Eating Out Once a Month
- Turkey Hill Ice Cream
- High Speed Internet
- Coffee with Friends on Tuesday nights
Things I could do to make saving money easier:
- Gym Membership ($60/mo)
- Cable TV ($100/mo)
- Getting my hair colored at a salon ($50/mo)
- Paying someone to groom my pets ($50/mo)
Total I could live without: $260/mo or $3120 a year!
To make this even easier, I have made a list of 5 steps to cut your expenses! You may just be shocked that you find that you actually feel like you enjoy your life more not less!
5 Steps to Saving Money
1. Make Your List of Things You Really Enjoy: Be honest with yourself, and write a list of things that would end your world if you didn’t have.
2. Make Your List of Things You Could Do Without: Do you pay for cable, but really only watch a few shows? Have a gym membership you hardly ever use? Find these things, and then right them down!
3. Challenge your “must have” list: Take a second look through your list of “must haves.” Is there anything you can remove? Is there a way to save money on the things that have to stay on the list? Challenge yourself to still find a way to make your favorite things less expensive!
4. Enjoy free activities in your city: Most cities have TONS of FREE activities, you just have to find them. Love going to museums? See if they have a day of the week that is free or discounted.
5. Barter, barter, barter: If you have a friend that is hairstylist, barter for her services! Rather than paying a stranger see if you can cook her dinner in lieu of a new hair cut! Same goes for piano lessons, babysitting, or other expenses. See if you know someone that does what you need and ask if you can do something in exchange for their services!
Just adding up the little things that you could live with out, it really adds up! I don’t even miss it, and I am loving the new frugal me. I have made over $300 disappear from my debt in just 6 weeks!
So challenge, yourself! What can you live without? How can you change to live frugally?
Grace Hodgin says
I do love your list of things you can not live without and I agree the best thing to do is to embrace the new life style and look forward to what it will bring.
Ashley Sears says
Yep, Grace, no room for pity parties. It’s much better to realize how awesomesauce you have become using your frugal ninja skills!
JADE OF Diva Fabulosa says
These are very good tips! I try to live buy this rules too as much as I can.
Ashley Sears says
It’s nice every now and then to play outside of the rules too 😉
Jenna Wood says
We’re always cutting extra expenses, this year, CABLE. Yup, no cable TV!
Ashley Sears says
Jenna, that was probably my favorite thing that we cut! We saved so much and we don’t miss it at all! Now we can use the extra money to meet our goals and do more fun stuff as a family that doesn’t involve sitting on our butts.
Amber Edwards says
Love it! We already cut gym, cable and things like that when we moved and never hooked them back up. They are great savers!
Ashley Sears says
Amber, We cancelled cable when we moved recently too, and I don’t miss it. We have Netflix and Hulu Plus so it’s not even missed, and saved us a ton!
Cinny says
What great tips…Bartering is awesome for saving money! Or trades
Still Blonde after all these YEARS says
1> Being honest. The internet. If not I would have to have a car so I could drive to internet. AND THAT”S the truth
Jodi @ A Mom Having Fun says
We have cut out a lot of our expenses by doing this. About every 6 months I go back and look over our lists to see if there are more things that can be cut out. Love this list – thank you!!
Maureen says
I think you left out #6: Make a list of NEW things you can’t live without. Lots of times people who are “challenging” themselves to be more frugal end up with very negative thinking. How about creating a new (more frugal) habit, and at the same time looking forward to doing it? My husband and I found the $2 movie theater, for example. We really look forward to Friday night so that we can unwind, reconnect with each other, and go out, all for $4.
Ashley Sears says
Maureen, I hear dollar theaters rock! As far as the word challenging, I also think it’s all in how you view the word challenging. If you are anything like me, a challenge is a passionate try to show how much you can rock something! Not necessarily something meant to be painful. 🙂 Can’t wait to read your upcycled top btw! Sounds like an amazing post 🙂 You had me at upcycle.
Kristyn says
love your tips! our family coupons and dosent eat out so we save a lot right there.
lena says
I amw ith you – just forget my priorities sometimes