5 Things I Stopped Doing To Save Money
The ability to start something is important.
Like starting to go for walks to improve your health. Starting to wink at yourself in the mirror everyday, because you’re a cutie-tootie. Starting to read that book that's been sitting on your bookshelf, silently judging you. Being able to start a new habit, hobby, or project is an amazing thing. The hardest part of many journeys is taking the first step.
Equally important is being able to stop doing a thing.
Ah, yes. We have all been there, faced with a habit, behaviour, or natural inclination toward a particular action that takes us further away from our goals than we’d like. Let's face it, it's difficult to stop doing things that may be bad for us. I mean, who doesn’t like eating an entire chocolate cake? Alone… In a dark room… Am I wrong?
Uh… Where was I…? Oh yes.
Stopping certain behaviours is hard. However, in the end changing habits that aren’t helpful pays dividends. It can literally put hundreds of dollars into your pocket.
With this in mind, here are 5 things I stopped doing to supercharge my finances.
1) Ordering Takeout
Who among us hasn’t indulged in the unfettered laziness of ordering takeout, especially at the end of a long week? That’s a rhetorical question. Before I got my financial poop in a group, I would buy takeout meals often, probably once a week if I'm honest. I had the money in my bank account, so why not spend it on copious amounts of salty and sugary foods? It was a problem.
It wasn’t until I started this challenge that I really looked at how much takeout was costing me. And though I can’t say for certain, I was probably spending upwards of $1,000 or more on takeout a year.
Yikes!
So I decided to eliminate it. And honestly, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. With takeout being so expensive, the savings added up fast and it helped generate a lot of positive momentum. I also changed the way I “reward” myself after a long work week. Rather than spend the money I had just earned on food that made me feel like a sack of potatoes, I started making delicious meals for myself that also felt like a treat. Girl dinners (for the uninitiated) are now a highlight of my week.
2) Making Mindless Purchases
We all make mindless purchases. Modern technology makes it so easy. As we scroll on a website or through social media we're greeted with pop-up ads or influencer marketing that makes us imagine another, better life where we have whiter teeth and more or less hair (depending on our grooming goals).
The aim of all of this is to get you to purchase that item or marketed product mindlessly. It doesn't matter if you actually need the thing or not, the reward is immediate - yay dopamine!!
I’m now a conscious spending convert, and oh how my actions have changed.
Rather than mindlessly clicking on links and hitting “buy” buttons, I keep an active list of the items I want. This puts distance between my desire for a thing and the actual purchasing of said thing. This approach encourages me to think through my purchases and if they’ll actually add value to my life in some way. Fun fact, when I create this distance between desire and purchase, I often don't end up purchasing the item. Which is a good reminder of how quickly we can fork over our money for things we don't even want.
3) Just Leaving Money In My Bank Account
Ah money, how deliciously gross and sweaty you are. Historically, because I didn’t know how money worked (and I’m still learning btw) I used to simply leave my money in my bank account and spend it when I wanted to. So young, so foolish.
You see, when you leave your money in your bank account and simply live life, you take away your money’s ability to work for you. As mentioned in an earlier post, your dollars are your emmasaries, and you need to give them instructions in order for them to do your bidding.
After I learned this crucial lesson, I’ve stopped just leaving money in my bank account. As soon as my paycheck hits my account I move it into investment vehicles and get it to start working for me. And with that, I’ve started earning more and more money. Which is a beautiful thing.
4) Having Random Subscriptions
One of the biggest drains on my income used to be unknown or forgotten subscriptions. Seriously! Ugh. What a waste of money over the years. And what a brilliant business model! After you have more than two or three subscriptions, you completely lose track. Or at least I did.
Before I cut unused subscriptions out of my life, I would consistently miscalculate how much money I needed to keep in my account to cover all my subscriptions. When you keep saying yes to $5 a month here and $9 a month there, it messes with your bank account more than you think.
As such, I have canceled all of the subscriptions that don’t bring any actual value to my life. This has reduced the drain on my account and increased the value of the subscriptions I do have because I'm more deliberate and intentional with them.
5) Not Tracking My Spending
The most crucial financial habit I've changed over the last year has been the deliberate tracking of my spending.
Ok, you got me. Yes, this is something I’ve *started* doing, and at the same time I stopped floating in the ether of life, mindlessly bouncing from one paycheck to the next.
One of the greatest things you can do for yourself financially is knowing exactly where your money is going. This helps curb other unwanted behaviour - want to quit eating out so much? Track your money. What to stop spending mindlessly? Track your money. Want to know how your money is working for you? Track your money. Want to know what subscriptions you have? Track your money.
Though it may sound tedious or tiring, tracking your spending brings so much more awareness to your life because you have to think through what you’re doing and the decisions you’re making. And if you’re anything like me, after a few weeks of tracking, you start to actually nerd out on it.
Stopping Is Hard
Here’s the thing, I get that changing behaviour is hard. Stopping actions or “bad habits” can take a while, especially when it comes to habits involving your money. But there is so much to gain in slowly making adjustments and curtailing habits that don’t serve you long term.
So go ahead, lean in, try cutting down on takeout or killing a few subscriptions and see what happens. You have nothing to lose, except more of your sweaty, meaty cash.
I know you can do it. You’ve totally got this!
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For those with a dollar to spare, I’ve set up a Buy Me A Coffee account for folks to contribute to here and there. For those frugally focused, I would be incredibly grateful if you were to share my work with your networks and folks you think would enjoy my journey (via email, social media, or homing pigeon).
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