I’ve been thinking lately about goals for the new year and how I can make daily decisions to get me to where I want to be. Budgeting and being mindful of my spending have been on my mind (maybe because I have a baby on the way?). I took a lot at what I spend my money on as well as what’s just not worth it to me. Today I’m sharing the categories I rarely pay for to perhaps inspire others to analyze their priorities or to give ideas on ways to cut back on spending. If you have categories not listed here that you try not to spend on, please share them in the comments so we can bounce ideas off each other!
What I never or rarely spend money on:
- Manicures/pedicures at a salon: I just do them myself at home. I have only gotten my nails done once in 2017.
- Haircuts every three months/hair color: I get one or two haircuts a year. I have never had my hair dyed at a salon, and I don’t see myself starting anytime soon.
- Dry cleaning and clothes that need dry cleaning.
- ATM fees: I try to plan accordingly by stopping by my bank’s ATM.
- Waxing: I do this myself at home.
- Credit card interest: I pay any balance off before I am charged interest.
- Accessories/Jewelry: Besides a bracelet I can’t think of any jewelry I purchased this year.
- Dog grooming: We take Capone to a doggie self-wash place; it’s much cheaper.
- Lottery tickets.
- Hats: Any hats I have were given to me except one winter hat.
Things worth the money to me:
- Fitness classes/races: I will gladly pay for yoga or fitness classes and races because they help me with my health/self-care/fitness goals.
- Good food: I would rather go to a nicer or healthier restaurant than fast-food place. (Who wouldn’t?) I also try to visit locally owned restaurants as much as possible.
- Self-care goodies, such as bath bombs.
- Plants.
Things I want to cut spending back on:
- Food takeout/delivery: I can’t say I want to eliminate this, but I would like to reduce spending on takeout. In my first trimester I constantly ordered via food delivery apps because I was too exhausted to cook anything and felt sick. Also, I am not a native Chicagoan, so when it’s cold I tend to be a chicken about going out in the cold to get food. That’s why we spend more on takeout/delivery than I’d like.
- Parking: This is kind of unavoidable in Chicago, but if possible I’d like to cut back on parking costs.
- Shipping: I used to never pay shipping, but lately I have been ordering more and it’s not always from companies that offer free shipping. I don’t really like adding more items to my shopping cart just to hit a threshold; I only like to order what I need.
Is there anything you’d like to cut spending on?
Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.
This is awesome! I love your mindset when it comes to spending. I would like to cut back spending on miscellaneous things I don’t necessarily need, as well as eating out.
Our spending habits definitely align. When I was younger, I used to go to the salon a lot to get my hair cut and for mani/pedis. As I’ve gotten older, I realised I have better things to spend my money on. Once and a while is fine but definitely not a necessity.
I always feel like such a loser when I don’t spend money on my hair/nails/waxing/facial ect! I really don’t know how some people afford to do all that every few weeks! I know plenty of girls who get their mani/pedis done every two weeks and I have a mini heart attack when I do it once or twice a year.
These are such great ideas! I love getting my nails done, but it may be something I need to cut out for awhile (I go back and forth with it) I tend to be very frugal with my hair – I’ll go maybe once or twice a year. The majority of my money is spent on food – which is good and bad. I love going out to eat, being social, etc. and I lovvvve takeout (especially because of the cold, like you!) but I have to be more careful. That’s probably the area that I’ll start cutting back the most (already have been) as well as random things I think I need, but don’t. For example, I never go to my gym, but I have a free one at work. I hate the thought of working out at work, but I might as well just use it instead of paying $75/month on a gym I don’t use often enough! Also things like grabbing a coffee “here and there” and running to Target at lunch just to get out of the office adds up SO QUICKLY! Time for wedding budgeting haha!
Woohoo, wedding budget! Such an exciting time! Food is my biggest expense, too. I really want to cut back on delivery and food waste in general next year.
I really like your point of view on spending! I need to spend more money on good food to be honest