1 ) I changed the way I eat
I used to eat a modest breakfast, a big lunch, and an even bigger dinner but, over time, I began to realize I was always over-eating late. So I changed things up. First off, I decided to skip breakfast. I realize most people (like Akemi) can’t do without something first thing, but I was never hungry in the morning so, instead, I simply enjoyed an early lunch. A massive early lunch because THAT would be my big meal of the day. I do a matcha latte mid-afternoon to tide me over, and then a light dinner – usually a couple of eggs, some yogurt with fruit and/or granola. I have never been a snacker, so 6:00 p.m. is my cut-off. No more food at 6:00 p.m. This decision was made out of a desire to be more health conscious. As it turns out, I had started intermittent fasting – not eating for 17 hours. Even though that had’t been my intent when I adopted this schedule, it’s really worked out for me. I’ve lost weight, generally feel better, and we save on those more modest dinners.
2 ) I got rid of my car
Like skipping breakfast, getting rid of a car is not feasible for most, but it was for me given I live downtown and most everything is within walking distance. And whatever isn’t within walking distance is an occasional bus or uber ride away. It’s been about six years since I sold my car and this decision has saved me the price of a car, maintenance fees, insurance costs, and parking expenses.
3) We adopted a dog with separation anxiety
Back in my previous relationship, I would eat out every meal. Almost EVERY meal. On the rare occasions we didn’t eat out, we would order in. I was 15 lbs heavier too! But when I started dating Akemi – who is a terrific cook by the way – our dinners out decreased significantly. Prior to adopting Sharky, my average had dropped to 1, maybe 2 outing a week, occasionally to one of those fancy high-end restaurants I used to love so much. Once we adopted Sharky, however, those fancy dinners became a thing of the past because we couldn’t bear to leave him alone. The only times we could go out would be for patio lunches that could accommodate a dog – and those were usually very casual places…and only open during the warm weather months. As a result, we have saved bigly on dining expenses.
There are other smaller steps I’ve taken to bring our monthly budget down including cancelling pointless subscriptions (adios, Netflix!), cutting back on those supervillain statues and t.v.-themed cufflinks, and simply having Akemi run a monthly budget to make me aware of how much I spend on lattes, chocolate, and whiskey.
So, I’m curious. Are you all cutting expenses? If so, what are you losing?
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Ah, you would ask that question today. I just bought a new car this morning. My little truck is 16 years old and my mom is 89. She lives in the woods and I needed something newer/more reliable.
It’s around 200 miles to her house and there are no trains/buses anywhere near her house. So I saved up and bought an Outback. Should be good for the city and country roads. I’ll eventually sign my little truck over to my younger brother but not yet. I do a lot of gardening for myself/son. I just can’t bring myself to haul pine needle straw/mulch in a new car. 😱
Anyhoo, we save money in other ways by not eating out (I’m a decent cook) much and not taking a frequent vacations. Part of the vacation thing is similar to your situation. Lucy gets upset when we travel and she’s getting old/cranky. I don’t have the heart to leave her for long.
Also, we cut back our subscriptions BUT the big thing was we took advantage of a program that Obama put in place when he was in office. The program was to help people pay off their house. I think it was intended for poor credit families or something but the bank offered it to us. (Maybe they had to butch up their numbers or something?) I thought it was scam, at first but hubby researched the program. We got a new shorter loan, with less interest and we paid our house off fairly fast after that. It’s a small house but it’s paid for.
As for skipping breakfast, I would try the morning fast but I go swim in the morning. Something tells me if I don’t want to skip breakfast and then swim two miles. What I do is eat a light protein filled breakfast, a big lunch and just have a protein shake at night. It works for me.
Great to hear you were able to take advantage of that program.
What’s your best dish?
I’m avoiding clothes 🥼👖👗 and yarn 🧶 purchases. Still downsizing from our 30 years in a house with dark, cramped closets.
Ah, must be hard. That is your hobby.
Well, I just got back from a 10 day trip to the UK (my first time there and I loved it!) so I’ll be searching for some money-saving ideas for the next few months, for sure. One thing I’ve fallen into the bad habit of is going out for coffee almost every day. That sure adds up over the course of a month so my first step is to cut that back to maybe once a week and make coffee at home otherwise. I do like getting out of the house at least once a day though, so this may be hard. I also will likely cut out most snack type foods out of the groceries which has the added benefit of leaving me in better health.
I do need to once again go through my subscriptions and see what it is I’m actually using/watching. That stuff can really soak up the money if you don’t keep track. I might have to also cut back on bird toys, but Zack may have other thoughts on that, LOL.
One of the restaurants I went to in London was Dishooms Carnaby. It’s Indian food and it was AMAZING. Also, not cheap.
https://www.dishoom.com/carnaby/
This looks great. And I am partial to the occasional latte too.
I have recently separated from my husband, who was terrible with money and often took me out to dinner or picked up food on the way home from work. So now not only am I not eating out much, I am walking to take the bus to work, and the weight is starting to slowly come off. Little changes can make a difference.
They can!
My biggest cut is involving TV consumption. DirecTV has ballooned to $200/mo., but it was my best option with slow wi-fi. Verizon 5G finally became available in my neighborhood for $50/month. I added Philo TV streaming for $28/mo. and got all of my favorite channels and many more that I actually watch. I cut my live TV bill by 80% (I still have Amazon Prime and PBS Passport) and I get better programming and reception along with an incredibly extensive library and free online DVR that keeps my shows for an entire year. I can’t say enough good things about Philo – a company that I had never heard of before and had only stumbled upon through deep research.
Good tip!