Does cutting out small unnecessary purchases really make a financial difference in the long run?
50Sneeky Money-Snatching Routines
It sure does. Raising a child on one income taught me this lesson quickly. For example, I used to stop by the local coffee shop every morning. Not a big deal, sometimes I would also get a breakfast sandwich, but just let's say I bought only the super large coffee at $2.19. Here's the simple math. $2.19 x 5 days per week x 50 weeks (took away 2 weeks for vacation), and here was what I spent $547.50. That's a good deal of money.
Then, I started to brown bag my lunch. An average lunch (and I am rounding down) let's say is $6.00 per day. Same work math. $6.00 x5 days per week x 50 = $1,500.
Finally, I cut out the mid day soda or other beverage. $1.00 x 5 x 50 = $250.00
My total savings for the year on just these sneaky money-snatching routines saved me $2,297.50.
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Comments
Thank you, and yes you sure can. There's plenty of sneeky money-snatchers out there. Movies for example...renting just one movie per week can easily add up to $260 per year. Buying store brand versus Brand Name can save you on average of $500 per year, and the list goes on. If you keep track for just a couple of weeks of what little incidentals cost, you would be amazed. Have fun on your vacation, and drive slowly.
What is it they used to say? Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.
The trick is to stow away the savings, and not spend it on something else...don't spend the ten dollars saved on bagging a lunch on treating yourself with flowers for instance. Keep your receipts for a few weeks, even for small seemingly insignificant purchases & analyze them to find the 'leak', so you know where to plug it.
Does anyone actually realize that their are single, family-less women in between about ages 50-60 that are not elegible for any govt or social service help, have no families, and live on only $700 a month in America, working up 10 hours a day in "casual labor" that does not even provide Social Security? It is an epidenic that ios slowly coming out. And the church even looks the other way? If they can survive, the rest of us can cut back on foolish spending, for sure. Good lens. Good place to speak up.
Thank you for your comment Just Surfed. Certainly there on many people working for low wages and struggling. There are programs that may take a long time to qualify for, however, it may be worth a shot. HUD for example offers housing assistance http://www.hud.gov.
There are also food stamp programs for lower income people without children. Social Security has a supplemental income program, different than social security disability. http://www.ssa.gov.
There are some veterans benefits from county and private organziations that may be of some assistance to those that are veterans or widows of a veteran.
Finally, the veterans administration has a homeless program http://www.va.gov
Blogger Mom says:
2 years ago
Thanks for writing this! You know, I always figure that the morning cup of coffee is OK because I didn't get a speeding ticket or parking ticket that year - does that even make sense? But I can see building a little vacation fund by cutting out some little extras.