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How To Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need
My family and friends tell me that I’m good with money so they often ask me: “How do you save money?” and “How do you stop yourself from buying unnecessary things?”
That’s a very general question that I sometimes find hard to answer because I like searching for ways to make extra money and building some passive income streams to make saving feel a little easier.
However, I could still answer that better when you specifically ask me what things I stopped buying to save money.
So, this is what I realized when I spent some time thinking about my past (unnecessary) purchases…
I saved WAY more money than I could have imagined once I became more mindful and intentional about my spending.
If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I’m not a fan of cutting things I enjoy. Definitely not!
Instead, I paid attention to the unnecessary purchases that didn’t add any value to my life.
Here are the things I stopped buying to save money and live better (gotta love the Walmart slogan)! 😉
I want to point out that tip #1 helped my fiancé and I save money without having to cut back on those delicious Starbucks coffee drinks we enjoy! ❤️
On top of that, you can read my story of how cutting cable and HGTV channels made a huge difference to not only my bank account, but my life as well! I honestly didn’t expect that coming. 😮
Don’t forget to save and pin this blog post here on Pinterest so you can always refer back to this list. This will help you overcome spending so you can finally save more, live more, and become finacially indpendent! 🙂
1. Reduce your spending by earning FREE gift cards to Starbucks.
Okay, so I did not stop buying my favorite drinks from Starbucks!
I’m able to save money and reduce my spending because my favorite money-saving resources like Swagbucks allows you to earn FREE gift cards by watching videos, surfing the web, shopping for things you normally buy, playing games, and completing surveys!
I always get so excited when it comes to redeeming those FREE $50-$100 Starbucks gift cards!
Yep, the small and quick wins make me a happy gal. 🙂
In addition to Starbucks gift cards, I like how they offer other gift card selections like Amazon, Walmart, and more!
This is one of the most well-known and popular surveys and cash rewards program in North America. It’s absolutely free to use!
Swagbucks is 100% legitimate and has paid out their members over $321,087,343 to date! I’ve been a Swagbucks user since 2009 and I recommend them to those who want to earn free gift cards.
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2. Cutting cable helped me make money.
According to this USA Today article, the price of cable service has increased 53% since 2007. The average bill was around $100.98 per month ($1,211.76 a year) in 2017, which is almost two times as fast as inflation.
$100.98 per month? That’s no chump change!
Though our cable bill wasn’t that high, we still stopped spending $55 per month ($660 per year) because we were barely using the service.
Even when I was using our cable service at times, I would binge-watch my favorite HGTV shows for many hours which led me to feel sluggish and unaccomplished for the entire day!
TRUST ME, once you find more meaningful activities to do during your free time, you’ll save money and won’t miss cable at all!
How to stop buying things:
After I ditched cable and focused on hobbies that make money, I naturally stopped spending money on unnecessary things within the past year (without even noticing)!
One of my favorite activities to do today is blogging! In fact, since I started a blog, I stopped spending money on unnecessary things and managed to save a TON of money!
Plus, I’m now able to make $20,000+ per month online with my small blog! 💰 Feel free to check out my blog income reports and just imagine what this extra money could do for you.
Could it help you pay off some debt, pay the monthly bills (on time), or perhaps save money for your other financial goals? You can decide! 🙂
⭐️ If you asked me over a year ago, I had absolutely no clue that blogs could make money! I didn’t even know what blogs were! You too can learn how this small blog makes money online using Pinterest.
In fact, you can get started with my easy step-by-step tutorial on how to start a profitable blog here.
In the end, I was so glad to find this perfect alternative to watching TV! 🙂
That brings up my next point…
Do you know how many hours of TV the average American watches per day?
Five hours and four minutes per day!
Geez, that’s almost a full-time job according to The New York Times!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that watching TV is bad.
Just too much of it makes you become sluggish and unproductive according to a Forbes article I read. That’s exactly why I watch less TV these days!
BTW, I’m not saying you have to cut cable. I personally made the decision to get rid of it because I really enjoy blogging (and making extra money from the blog) during my spare time.
3. I stopped buying paperback books on Amazon!
During my college years, and even a few years after I graduated, I loved buying stuff on Amazon and spent $15-$20 per month ($200 per year) on the best-selling finance books.
Some books were unnecessary purchases since I haven’t read them and they’re collecting dust as I speak.
Overall, I don’t have a huge library of books lying around my place, but it’s enough to say I wasted money, so I stopped buying books on Amazon to save money!
🌟 SAVING MONEY TIP: If you like buying books or shopping on Amazon, you can earn FREE Amazon gift cards by taking easy surveys with legitimate resources like Survey Junkie here.
It’s free to use sign up and you can start earning free gift cards immedilately toaday! I personally like using it redeem $20 in FREE Starbucks and Amazon gift cards each month!
On top of Swagbucks, I really like using this free resource to help me save extra money each month. 💵💸
4. Eating out too often.
Before making trips to the grocery store, we used to dine out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost every single day! When we reviewed our past bills, we were spending over $20,000 on food each year.
I know you might be reading this and thinking: “What??? That’s insane. Impossible!”
We even asked our friends and coworkers to add up their annual food costs (groceries, takeouts, restaurants, drinks, snacks, etc.) and they were shocked at how much they were spending! 😦
So, before you jump to conclusions, here is a breakdown of our personal food costs NOT including snacks, special drinks, or appetizers!
I even DOWNPLAYED our own numbers just to not scare you away! Trust me, once you pull out your receipts, you’ll be SHOCKED at how much you’re spending on a daily basis! Numbers DON’T lie!!!
| Breakfast & Tea | Lunch | Dinner | Total | |
| Monday | $5.00 | $10.00 | $12.00 | $27.00 |
| Tuesday | $5.00 | $10.00 | $12.00 | $27.00 |
| Wednesday | $5.00 | $10.00 | $12.00 | $27.00 |
| Thursday | $5.00 | $10.00 | $12.00 | $27.00 |
| Friday | $5.00 | $10.00 | $12.00 | $27.00 |
| Saturday | $5.00 | $12.00 | $35.00 | $52.00 |
| Sunday | $5.00 | $12.00 | $30.00 | $47.00 |
| Weekly Total | $35.00 | $74.00 | $125.00 | $234.00 |
| Yearly Food Cost Per Person | $12,168.00 | |||
| Yearly Food Cost Per Couple | $24,336.00 | |||
It’s insane because we thought we were just “living a normal life.” That’s actually quite common when you live in an expensive city.
After realizing how much money we were wasting, we started packing our lunches and making meals at home.
Today, we balance between eating in and going out. To be honest, we enjoy this lifestyle much more because we start to appreciate the foods we eat when we go out to special restaurants!
I highly recommend you to review your personal food costs to see how much you’re spending as well! You might be shocked yourself but the numbers don’t lie!!!
According to this CNBC article, the author writes: “It’s easy to start from a $10 salad one day and end up with a $30,000 credit card tab a year later. In fact, it’s becoming common.”
This is exactly how I felt throwing money away at restaurants and takeouts… 🙁
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For only $5 a month, you’ll receive a delicious meal plan that costs less than $2 per meal. Stop dining out often and start saving AT LEAST $400 every month per person!
Again, my fiancé and I saved over $11,000 in a year when we reduced our food expense!
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With that said, we stopped dining out so often to save more money!
5. Impulse buys at the grocery store (this is more than you think).
After we stopped spending on unnecessary things and reduced takeout and restaurant expenses, we started making trips to the grocery stores more often.
My fiancé is the one who loves to shop for groceries and on most days, he would walk into the store with no plan and buy on impulse. BAD MOVE!
Most of the food went to waste because we were never able to finish it before the expiry date. To fix the problem and save money, I made it a habit for him to write down the items we need (and the stuff we actually eat) with this cute printable I made.
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Read also: How These Personal Finance Lessons Helped Us Save Almost $1,000,000 in 8 Years (Without Winning The Lottery)
6. Overbuying makeup and beauty products.
To save money, I stopped buying so much expensive makeup and other products from Sephora and high-end department stores.
I’ll admit that this wasn’t easy at first. But I was serious about saving money so I bought less and less of their products by only sticking to a few expensive ones that I absolutely LOVE!
Generally, I splurge on expensive foundation and skincare because they go directly onto the skin (plus I look for ones that aren’t filled with toxins that are harmful), but I started using other alternatives for some products that aren’t as important to me.
For example, I spend very little on mascara like this one here
. This is SO much more affordable and it works just as well as expensive ones! 😲
🌟 PRO TIP: When I do spend, I would take advantage of money-saving resources like Ebates to get FREE money back on my purchases from Sephora along with other stores I usually shop at. I really LOVE Ebates and I always recommend them to my family and friends! It’s 100% FREE to use too! 💵
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I still look the same and never felt any prettier by buying more makeup. The only difference is I save hundreds of dollars by being more mindful and intentional with what I buy.
With that said, I choose to save money so that I could invest in stocks which gives me capital returns. 🙂
Related post: The Top Secret Places To Get FREE Money: Are You Missing Out On $5,000?
7. Travel-sized products.
Yes, I stopped buying convenience to save money.
I admit they’re cute and all, but I couldn’t stand how little product I was getting for the price I was paying. In the end, I couldn’t justify paying more for “convenience” so I went for these reusable travel bottles
to save money.
You know that ready-to-go travel-sized products are limited in selection and brand, so why settle?
8. Magazine subscriptions.
I went through a phase where I was obsessed with home décor so I signed up for magazine subscriptions to get inspiring ideas.
And this is what I realized…
There wasn’t a lot of great content in those magazines.
They didn’t offer solutions for decorating my home on a budget. Instead, they were only filled with gorgeous pictures (or should I call them ads) to lure me into buying their really pretty furniture products. I honestly go crazy over stuff like that… 😱
Well, instead of buying brand new solid wood furniture like that, I soon learned that I could flip my own to either save money or make extra money like the image of my work I show below!
Not only was I wasting money on magazine subscriptions, but I was also wasting money on home décor products that I didn’t need.
To think of it, I was paying to look at ads, which encouraged me to spend even more!
To fix this problem, I discovered Pinterest and Home/DIY Bloggers that provided budget-friendly solutions to help me save money! Gosh, why didn’t I think of that sooner?
9. Knick-knacks/doodads (the compounding power of $1 saved). 💵 🔜 💰💰💰
It’s those “cute” random objects (ornaments, toys, notepads, or things with a cute character… Hello Kitty, anyone?) that stops us from saving money!
If you’ve been at the Forever 21 checkout aisle, you’ll know exactly what I mean! I know that they’re irresistibly cute, but let me tell you something…
Being broke ain’t cute, girl!
When I went through a de-cluttering phase, I was surprised at how much money I wasted!
Again, a few dollars here and there adds up to a bunch of crap that doesn’t add any value to your life!
I could’ve saved for an emergency fund, a nice vacation, something I truly appreciate and love, or a contribution to my investment account.
💰 PRO TIP: Treat every dollar you save and invest as a “worker” that can grow into more dollars (i.e. more workers). The trick is to have more of your “money work for you” so you can watch your savings grow without having to lift a finger. That’s the power of saving money with compound interest and it’s how people become a millionaire from nothing.
Going forward, when you’re about to buy a knick-knack that costs $5 to $10, ask yourself whether you’re willing to give up 5 to 10 “workers” who could potentially create more workers for you.
This process compounds into something BIG and could leave you with a ton of money saved (without you even realizing)!
My fiance and I have been slowly saving and investing our money for years. As a result, our investments grew exponentially to more than what we could have imagined!
Readers, before you buy anything, do yourself a favor and ask: “Does this add any value to my life?”
It not, don’t buy it and you’ll save a ton of money!
Remember, each dollar you save and invest is a “worker” you keep. That “worker” can magically make money for you. 🙂
Over to you — What about you? What things did you stop buying to save money? To add more money to your bank account, don’t forget to check out the best places to get FREE cash below!
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Are you new to my blog?
If you follow me, you’ll know that I’m all about saving money and making money.
Below are some of my favorite sites and resources that may help you! The best part is that they’re all FREE to use!
American Consumer Opinion (ACOP): This company has over 6 million members who get paid to answer surveys online. I use this free resource as a fun way to earn a little extra cash. Each survey is easy and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
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Related post: The Best Paying Online Survey Sites To Join For FREE Today (Earn up to $50 per survey)!
Drop: My fiancé and I use this FREE Drop app to rack up cash rewards on our everyday purchases. I love how this app allows us to combine their offers with other cash back rewards and store promos. That’s how we get the most cash back! 😉
Ebates: You get FREE cash just for shopping at over 2,000 of your favorite stores. This includes Walmart, Macy’s, Apple, Kohl’s, Target, eBay, and so many more! I use Ebates to save over a few hundred dollars per year just for shopping for the things I normally buy.
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Here’s my #1 tip to stop buying and save more money!
Up to this point, you’ve read about the things I’ve stopped buying to save money. I have to admit that saving money can feel a bit restrictive at times especially when you have a low income (trust me, I know how this feels!). But life doesn’t have to be that way if you’re willing to put in a bit of effort to make extra money. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing and I would love to help you!
There’s a limit to how much you can save, but there’s no limit to how much you can make.
To give you some money making ideas (so that you could save more money comfortably), I wrote these posts to help you reach your fullest earning potential — most of them require little to no experience. I sincerely hope these articles help! Dive in!
- Save More Money
- Make More Money
- Make Money Blogging as a Beginner (With No Tech and No Writing Experience)
Enjoyed this post? Don’t forget to share it and follow me on Pinterest! 🙂
The math in your chart in #4 is a little off. It doesn’t add up to 12k, but we see your point.
Hi Ang!
Thanks for your comment! 🙂
I checked the math in #4 and it looks like it adds up (but I may have misinterpreted your comment?).
Our numbers in Sat and Sun for dinner is also higher because we tend to go out to restaurants on those days — that actually excludes our orders of drinks and appetizers because I figured some people may ditch those. If they don’t, then the numbers would definitely be higher and scare some people — especially for millennials who tend to eat out a lot in bigger cities!
I was already trying to be someone conservative to not frighten people too much since it’s a case-by-case scenario.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts!
Okay, I got stuck on just the one – these are all great ideas! but…..GO TO THE LIBRARY for books……and DVDs, and books on CD, and to look at magazines, and to listen to music…..and to learn a craft. *rant over* 🙂
Hi Kristine,
You’re right about going to the library for many free resources. The library has a lot of hidden gems that many people don’t know about and it’s a great way to save tons of money!
Thank you for dropping by and sharing your thoughts! 🙂
Wow this was a very organized and well written article. Awesome ideas and upfront truth. So excited I read this and got great tips from it.
Hi Katherine!
I’m glad you enjoyed this post!
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
#12 sounds just like my wife. She loves going to Hobby Lobby and buying little trinkets.
For #8 you should just go to your library. Youll save ALL of your money and your zero waste, suppoeting your local librarien and creating more jobs. Not to mention if its important you can photocopy a chspter and save it in your hard drive
I love tip #1. Because 14 years ago I dropped cable. I not only saved money, I also dove into blogging full bore, removing the cable TV distraction. Saving dough and working on my blog helped me become a pro blogger so I could circle the globe. In this day and age you get virtually everything online anyway, and we’re all heading to internet TV in the near future.
Ryan
Hey Ryan!
I totally agree with you!
Glad to hear that this online space is working out really well for you! I hope I can learn from you!! 🙂
Thanks for dropping by!
I stopped paying for cable a long time ago and I don’t think that I will ever get cable again.
When it comes to saving money, I stop going to the shopping mall or just buy my stuff before I need it only if it’s at a deep discount of 40% off or more. A good example is buying my clothes. I don’t have to be a fashionista, I just buy clothes that I like before I need it and never pay full price.
I wish we never paid for any cable for all those years haha! The sad part about it is that we never used the service. We probably only used it a few times to check the weather or watched a glimpse of CP24 LOL!
I am surprised that I haven’t been shopping for clothes lately. I used to shop quite a bit for clothes but I haven’t found time to. I haven’t even thought about it after I kept myself busy with other stuff. I agree that clothes should never be paid for in full price!!
Hey Panda!
Great stuff here! I need to get better at #3 and have been seriously considering to do #1. I think #10 is the worst offender, I agree with you, conditioner and also shower gel are great substitutes!
I’m glad there are no Hello Kitty stores around! Especially now that we are expecting a girl! OMG!!! 🙂
Oh, and I loved this:”Being broke ain’t cute, girl!” 🙂
Thanks for putting this list together, Panda!
haha after reading Miguel’s post about your personal gym, it’s probably hard to give up Cable. But there are cheaper alternatives!
It was only easy for us because we actually never used it even when we had cable available. I don’t want to know how much money we threw down the drain!
And OMG! Congrats on the new baby!! You definitely need to buy hello kitty stuff for her (but only when it’s at a great deal). You’re known as the queen of finding discounts so I’m sure you won’t have any trouble scoring excellent deals for your baby girl!! So excited for you!! 🙂
I left the buying books and magazine subscribing long ago. You can grab them at the library and don’t have to worry about spending money on them. And many books costs lots of money so I will only buy them if I know they will be valuable to me down the line
Hi Kris!!
I wish I visited the library more often. I’ve been there only a few times because I haven’t found time to actually explore its full potential. I hear a lot of great things about it!
Buying books and magazines can definitely make you wonder where all your money is going!
I ditched the random stuff a long time ago. It frees up your money and you avoid the accumulation of junk.
I love being intentional with my spending. It feels that much more rewarding when I do purchase something because I know I actually want it.
Hey DM!
I agree that the junk frees up your money. It’s also a relief of frustration seeing crap in your house every day haha.
Most of the time when I see a product, I won’t buy it. I’ll let it sit for a week and if I don’t think about it in my sleep, then that means I don’t really want it. I actually forget about it most of the time!