This article was written by Jessica at Everything Finance. Everything Finance is a site about just that, everything related to finance. If you like what you see here, make sure to stop by or better yet subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss a thing.
I once had a favorite hobby. I wasn’t all that great at it, but it was such fun and so relaxing that I enjoyed it more than anything. I had to put a stop to it when I was married because we simply couldn’t afford it anymore.
I loved doing pottery. The attention I had to put to centering my pile of clay helped clear my mind and it was very therapeutic. It helped me get through a number of emotional hurdles. But the cost of clay, studio time, glazes, and renting a kiln were not conducive to my budget. I’ve recently formed a leap list and on it is to make room for pottery again.
I plan to keep my budget to the very minimum to make sure I have as much money as possible available to indulge in pottery. I’m going to work at it regularly to make sure that I’m always using an effective budget. I’ve come up with a list of items that are the biggest budget busters and I’m looking at ways to trim the fat, so to speak.
Dining Out
This is by and large the biggest budget buster of all budget busters. It is almost completely unnecessary. Simple planning can alleviate almost all dining out. Planning your meals weekly so as to avoid the inevitable “what’s for dinner” questions will stop those last minute pizza deliveries. Planning snacks and lunches when running errands will keep you out of the drive-thru. Carrying a small picnic basket with non-perishable snacks in the trunk is a great way to cover yourself when you have forgotten to plan.
Cable Television
I have lived without cable television for almost a year. I have only watched it when I’m at my mother’s house. Honestly, I haven’t missed it much at all. I watch the shows I like most online and I use the library to borrow movies when I am in the mood. I recently purchased a $10 tv antenna to watch the local channels and honestly, I wish I hadn’t. The programming is very uninteresting for the most part. I find myself turning off the tv more and more after just a short while.
Cell Phone
I understand the addiction to cell phones, especially smartphones. I am as addicted to mine as many but at one time, it was even worse. In a moment of desperation, I canceled my data plan and started using an older model phone that did not have anything but the ability to make phone calls and send text messages (which I didn’t do much of). I was very happy during those months and I saved myself about $30 each month.
Groceries
One of the easiest ways to adjust your budget is through your grocery spending. Using coupons is probably the best way to do so. Adding in a trip to a drugstore each week to take advantage of their deals will help save you money as well. You can easily save 40% a month by using coupons. Eating cheaper is another way to cull your grocery expenses.
Internet
This is a potential deal breaker for many. One area that I am not willing to back away from. I simply must have the internet to do my job effectively. I lived without internet for 6 weeks in the fall and it ended up costing me money by not having it at home. However, for some, this could be a way to save $35 a month or more. If you have access to the internet at work during the day, there may be little need to be online at night. Or maybe you can find a hotspot nearby to get your surfing in.
Utilities
It may be surprising to some to find out that you can save money on your utilities. Contacting your current provider and asking for tips is a start. Some companies will put a device on your furnace and a/c which is set to shut it off during certain times of the day. You won’t really notice it on there and the utility company will offer you a discount to have it done. You can also shop around. There are co-ops that provide electricity, frequently at a lower rate than a larger company. Also, ask your provider about even billing. This could help keep your monthly budget on track.
Careful examination of your budget will show you places where you can cut expenses. If you find that you have trimmed as much as you possibly can, it may be time to increase your income or look to alternatives to the fun you typically seek. For me, there are full and partial scholarships to a local arts center that I am going to apply for. I’m also going to see if I can do some bartering by checking to see if they would like to add social media to their services or maybe write an article for their website each month.
Budgeting fun into your life is something that takes work but leaving room for it is essential for a happy, healthy life.
Crystal’s Comments: When we look to trim the fat off of our budget, we look at food first too. But honestly, everything else listed would be on our last things to cut list since we are that addicted to cable, cell phones, and the internet…
What would you cut?
My wife does a majority of the cooking (like 96% *lol*) and for us the dining out portion represents her getting a well deserved break. We have made efforts to reduce this to where we’ll mix bringing in food and using coupons, but I don’t envision us completely eliminating this category.
I made a post exactly like this too! Food is our main budget killer. We used to spend well over $1K a month on food just for the two of us.
It would have to be cable for us. However, that would be incredibly hard. I feel like we skimp so much on our entertainment budget that we actually need to spend more. Enjoy the small pleasures in life!
I routinely go over my expenses every month. I cut where I can and examine better ways of doing things. I spend very little on entertainment, dining out or groceries. Could I cut something or more money? I max out my retirement and spend less than I earn, I think it is okay.
I’d cut cable in a heart beat. I gave up TV for a month last year and gained like 40 IQ points and 3 extra hours a day. Don’t worry, I quickly lost them all the next month when I started watching Law & Order and House Hunters marathons again…
Although I’m addicted to TV for sure, being addicted is no reason to keep something around (take cigarettes and booze for extreme examples).
I cut cable years ago and have never looked back. It has saved me time and money since now I have a $8/month netflix subscription, and that means I don’t get sucked into watching whatever is on…because there is ALWAYS something on.
I just posted my January expenses, and that revealed some fat that needs trimming. I’ve been spending more on coffee than utilities — oops!
Dining out is a huge expense…which we are going to have to trim way back now that we bought a house! Cable is also a biggie..but I am not ready to give that up….I am just upset that I will have to give up my Uverse for a crappier more expensive company
My husband and I cut out cable/satellite TV years ago. We don’t miss it one bit. If there is a show that we just *have* to watch (like Sons of Anarchy or Hell on Wheels) we buy a season pass through iTunes. Even if a season costs us $30, it’s still much less than paying upwards of $60 or more a month to have channels we don’t watch. That being said, internet costs is one area that we don’t skimp on.
http://www.craftrunwag.blogspot.com
Hey Jessica, I applaud your discipline! But, hate to see u cut out something that you’re passionate about. I like the fact that you’re looking for additional ways to make money and hopefully add back pottery-Crystal is a good example of how to make additional money
Good luck!
your suggestion to put a picnic basket in the car is not only practical, but could be fun and romantic!
I love not having cable. In fact, I find that I’m a better parent now. My kids and I spend more time reading (we are reading the Harry Potter series at the moment) and playing board games (today is my oldest son’s birthday and he is getting Pay Day, next week when my youngest has his, it will be Monopoly Jr.). We laugh more and talk a lot. I never realized what an detriment it was to my parenting abilities not to mention our budget. I can’t imagine adding cable back in for quite some time.
@frugalportland It could be romantic I suppose. I don’t have a partner so I’m strictly thinking practically.
Thanks for all the great replies! You guys are great!
Dining out and then entertainment with friends that wasn’t free or cheap.
Smart phones and food are big expenses. My husband needs his for his job (sales), and I need mine…? Why? Oh boy. Here’s a hard decision to make.
We cut cable in 2007. I’ve never had a cell phone.
Going out to eat is NOT neccessary. We don’t go out to eat. If you want to get together with friends, you can have them over for dinner. If you want to have a special meal, you can do that at home.
I just cut 56% off of my highest winter gas bill by turning the heat down a couple of degreees. According to the gas company, each degree is 1% of the bill, and this month, they raised rates 2%, so I should have just broken even. However, we have had a warmer winter, and since I lowered the temperature to 65º, the heat didn’t even come on many nights.
We researched our internet needs to get the lowest rate possible (my husband often works from home, and I print internet coupons and have a website, so we feel this is an expense we should have).
We have drastically cut food costs. Right now we eat for .40 per person per day ($3 for 8 of us).
And while it would be GREAT if these cuts gave us flexibility to spend the money elsewhere, right now it has just meant keeping a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and clothes on our backs. We’ve had a 70% loss of income for the last several years. Even needs (food and utilities) can be cut drastically.
Food is our biggest expense after housing, we spent almost 10k at the grocery store & dining out in 2011 so that’ll be our main focus of cutting back. We also cut cable many years ago, but we only have cells without data plans so we can’t cut them.
One big area we were able to cut was auto expense. We dropped the collision/comp on our 10 year old car and had the rating dropped to pleasure vehicle (since my wife walks to work), that saved $200/yr.
It’s easiest to cut back on food, especially when you cook. I love finding recipes that are easy, yummy, and save money!
We have pretty much cut everything that are unnecessary (I think). We don’t have cable (Crystal would know, lol). We pretty much cook most meals at home and eating out we do are budgeted in. Utilities, we can cut naturally by living in CA
Internet and phone are two things we are not planning to cut. I guess I could use coupon, but then I will have to give up something else. Right now, I don’t know what…
Food, by far, is my biggest budget buster. I do use coupons (and I think you can use them without going crazy). But… I will run behind in the morning and neglect to pack my lunch… or after a stressful day, coming home to cook doesn’t sound enjoyable, so I’ll stop and pick up something easy or comforting. I do much better when I cook up a bunch of something on Sunday for the week. This week I made some awesome chicken in my crockpot that I’ve been having over rice for dinner the past couple of nights (but would be good as a sort of pulled-pork type sandwich too). I’m going to put the recipe on my site in the morning.
Other things I’m really good about–I have a boring cell phone.. I can’t seem to justify a smart phone. I just talked myself out of an IPad because I couldn’t justify it (for me) as more than a fun toy. I research the daylights out of major purchases…it’s just food and some nickel and dime type stuff that does me in (like signing up for a Weight Watcher membership that automatically comes out of my checking account).
Eating out is what usually puts a dent in our wallets. In order to save money for our upcoming vacation, we take the estimated amount of what we would have spent at any given restaurant and put it toward the vacation fund. It may be $15 (not eating at McDonald’s) or $45 (avoiding hot wings at the local sports bar)… then we go home and review our vacation destination online as a reminder of the upcoming reward. Great tips, Jessica – thanks!
We’ve lived without cable or satellite for more than a year, and have been totally impressed with the availability of nearly every network TV show and thousands of movies, via our Blu Ray player. We probably watch more TV now, than we did when we had 300+ channels, because we actively choose our programming instead of vegging out in front of the tube. Buying the Blu Ray player is possibly the best money-saving $100 we’ve ever spent! Thanks for the budgeting tips – terrific article, Jessica!
Watch it everyone, you are inspiring my pro-cable post, lol.
Great post! We haven’t had cable for the past year, and we only recently added internet back. We’re in Australia, but we’ve found that we can get Hulu here and watch a lot of our favorite shows. Our neighborhood video store offers $1 weekly rentals and our public library has a great selection, so we’ve worked our way through Mad Men and many films that way.
Food is also our budget buster. Prices can be really high here. Last year, bananas were $14/kilo! We spent $170 a week at the grocery store for a family of three – nearly double what we paid in the States. But the Aussie dollar is really high now, so hopefully that helps us in the long run.
Interesting post to read
keep posting
Cable, I think. But my husband might have severe withdrawal pains. An interesting article might be how to negotiate these kinds of things so you and your roommate/spouse/partner, etc. all agree on them!
Great ideas! I think that it is important to be able to spend money in order to do the things you really enjoy, even if it means cutting back in other areas. There are so many little things people can do in order to reduce their expenses, the ones you listed are very helpful. I personally haven’t had cable in my house for over a year. Not only does it save money but it saves me wasting time! Now I can read books I enjoy instead of being sucked into trashy television. Thanks for all the tips!
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