*Please note: there may be affiliate links in this post. If you click on those links I may receive a teeny, tiny amount of compensation*
As is often the case, I had another post in mind for today. I’ve decide to spend the rest of the week reflecting on the financial and personal changes that I’ve made in the past couple of years.
I think that when a person is in the process of changing habits and changing their mentality about money they might not realize how profoundly deep the changes are until they take some time to calculate the life energy AND money one has saved. I have to admit that this has been what happened in my case and I would like to encourage everyone to take a moment and really, really look at the financial fruit that the changes you’ve made have borne.
I spent the past couple of years trying desperately to change my life. And in many ways that I can’t even begin to imagine, I’ve changed my life.
How These 5 Moves Save Me $13,260 A Year
I had no idea how much my budget was hemorrhaging until I started getting rid of some the bad financial moves that clung to me like horse dung on a shoe. I may have scraped some of it off-but there still was a bad smell that wouldn’t go away. So here are the moves that I made that eased up a lot of my financial pressure last year and are making things easier for me this year.
- Move #1: Brought My Lunches-I should say that I was very, very fortunate to work in an office (and field) were bringing lunch was the norm. People would go out to eat on occasion but we had a kitchen so everyone would just warm up their food and eat in the kitchen. By bring lunch I saved about $8 on a meal, I also brought snacks saving around $1.50 a day, and made my coffee at the office and at home saving around $2.00=Estimated yearly savings (rounded up)=$4200. Update 12/21/2015-I now work from home-food costs have dropped substantially!
- Move #2: Kicked Verizon To The Curb-I had a Verizon contract. I was paying $105 a month WITH A FREAKING DISCOUNT. The thing is-I hate talking on the phone. So, I side hustled and bought out my contract. I will be honest and say that my only problem with Verizon was the cost. I did receive great service and very nice costumer service when I went to a storefront. I just got angrier and angrier over time when I thought about the amount I was spending. I have Republic Wireless now and it is not perfect..but, it makes me happy and gets the job done. I am very happy that I’ve made this change. Amount saved: $1260. Click on the link for more information on the No contract Moto X from Republic Wireless. Plans starting as low as $5/month
- Move #3: Got Rid of The Storage Unit-I won’t discuss why I had a storage unit. Needless to say I had it FOR FREAKING EVER. The longer I had the unit the more irritated I got. It was time to get that stuff out of the storage. So I did. Amount Saved: $2000
- Move #4: Stopped Shopping-I am amazed by this one because I still love fashion and shoes. I really love shoes. But, I realized that I was emotionally shopping and that I wasn’t leaving the store feeling fulfilled or happy. I just had more stuff. I was spending at least $380 on average a month on clothing. I decided to do a year long No Shopping Challenge and saved $4600 in a year of no shopping. I am shopping again but I will probably spend less than $600 on clothes and shoes this year. Amount Saved: $4000. Update 12/21/2015-I have begun shopping again but am using ThredUp.com to share my affiliate link and earn affiliate credit towards any purchases that I might make. ThredUp.com is an online thrift store with fantastic, well-curated clothing. If you’re a new customer and use my referral link you will receive $20 towards your purchase. Please note this amount may change.
- Move #5: Mindful Grocery Shopping-I am a huge foodie. I’ve met very few foods that I don’t thing I would enjoy eating-those would be: Guinea Pigs (cuy in Spanish), Bananas, and Beets (disgusting). That said, I love to buy food and cook. So, I was going to the grocery story all the time (I’m an emotional eater) and I like to cook. I decided to go just once aa week as much as possible and that has saved me thousands of dollars. I also make flexible menu plans. I save about $150 a month. Amount Saved: $1800. Update 12/21/2015-I am saving even more on groceries. I’ve now discovered an online savings app called IBOTTA. If you sign up with my referral link and redeem your first purchase you will receive an additional $10 towards your first payout. You do have to redeem your first purchase within 2 weeks to receive that bonus. For more information on how to use the IBOTTA app, read the following post: IBotta Rocks My Socks Off!
Total Saved: $13,260 WOW!
*Related Post-The Ultimate Savings Guide “No More Bad Ramen”
If you’re hesitating to make some of these changes I would say reconsider. I am absolutely amazed at how much money (and time) I’ve saved by adjusting habits and taking care of some bad financial decisions. Because I took care of a lot of these issues I eased a lot of the financial pressure that I was feeling and felt that it was the somewhat imperfect but right time for me to quit my job.
When I think about the number of hours I had to work in order to pay for clothes, eating too much food, and a phone that I rarely used it makes me crazy. And when I think about all of the people who are working themselves to the bone I just want to shout from the window tops
Be Mindful, Be Intentional, and Be Focused.
You might need to take some days off so that you can allow yourself the time to think about what changes you can make without driving yourself crazy.
Good Luck.
What Financial Moves Have You Made?
How Much Did You Save?
Latest posts by Michelle (see all)
- How Work Policies Against Black Women Birthed a Love of the Soft Life - 20 March, 2024
- How Taylor Swift’s IP Victory Could Change the Business of Music - 28 February, 2024
- Why Don’t More Personal Finance Content Creators Talk About Policy - 16 January, 2024
“Be mindful, be intentional, be focused”. About sums it up for life in general, let alone finances. Thanks for my morning inspiration as I head out on errands with a friend who is in town to shop today. Your post will keep me on track today- if nothing else I will stop and think, and then not spend casually. Love your blog Michelle
Thanks Susanna for your kind words! Enjoy yourself today and just say no when it’s time to say “NO!” LoL.
Update on shopping with friend yesterday: I was able to remain committed to not spending for the most part. Did cave and buy a shirt marked down to $11 but I don’t really need it and will return it today (lame I know). Other impulse buy was large container of blueberries for $5. So I’m a work in progress! Have a great day!
I think both purchases are perfectly acceptable. Especially the blueberries. Nom nom.
Cutting cable was pretty much a no-brainer to me. Shannon from Financially Blonde has been looking over my finances and she was impressed by my expenses (or lack thereof in general). Pretty excited about that. But I would LOVE to have a bigger (read: existing) clothing budget. Ya know, got to get rid of those hoodies. lol! Just kidding, but a lot of my clothes are faded and stretched. At least I work from home, right? 🙂
I haven’t had cable in so long that I find myself super overwhelmed by the idea of having it! All I want is more shoes!!
It’s mind blowing how much you can save by taking your lunch, etc, to work. Luckily I learned that lesson very early in my working life. Staying away from the grocery store is a BIG one, too!
I have to admit that I was shocked in a very bad way when I saw how much money I was saving by taking care of these lingering decisions/habits. Thinking about the amount of time I could have saved working or the amount of money I could have invested blows my mind. But, I’m in the right money frame of mind so I think I will be a much better steward of the money that flows into my life.
Cutting cable was easy, but giving up Verizon would be tough! I love chatting too much and hate poor cell phone reception. I traveled all around the country for work, and never had trouble on my Verizon plan. Definitely not in love with the bill, though.
I actually enjoy watching t.v. But, I haven’t had cable for at least 10 years (easily). I’m not a phone person so it was not a difficult decision to change my phone service. Occasionally it has issues but overall I’m loving the savings!!
Michelle,
Bringing lunches to work is an area I would definitely benefit from as well. Where I work, there is someone ordering out nearly every shift. I’ve gotten into the habit of making some sandwiches and bringing them in which would, if maintained over a year, save thousands for me as well.
Take care!
– Ryan from GRB
I worked in education so I was very fortunate that the norm was to bring lunches. It saves so much money! You will definitely save a huge amount of money over time.