Ten Things to Eliminate From Your Budget Today
When people find out that my husband and I have managed to send about $95K to debt over the last two and a half years, the most frequent questions I get is “How??!?” The answer is one you’d probably suspect: lots of work (overtime on the regular), sacrifice, hustle, sacrifice, and oh, did I mention sacrifice?
But truthfully, we’ve been able to make such progress because we both have relatively good paying jobs, we budget our money down to the penny, and we spend with intention. In addition, we do whatever we can to increase our income while also reducing our expenses.
In this blog post, I’m reviewing 10 things we do not pay for (or have drastically reduced) during our debt free journey. If you want to speed up your debt pay-off, eliminate these expenses today!
Ten Things To Eliminate From Your Budget Today
1. Cable TV. In our entire marriage, we have never paid for cable TV. We just can’t justify the cost. Particularly when you can get Hulu for around $7/month and Netflix for about $14/month. These options are far more frugal and just make the best sense for us. Cut the cord on your cable TV and send that extra money to debt.
2. Satellite Radio. When I began this debt free journey, this was one of the things I cut to reduce expenses. While I loved listening to The Today Show during my morning commute, I realized I wasn’t always listening to it, and I often listened to podcasts or audio books during the drive too. It was a no-brainer to cut this unnecessary expense from the budget. Canceling satellite radio saved us $233/year, which we threw straight to debt.
3. Lunches Out. This is one we still splurge on occasionally, but we have drastically reduced the amount we spend on work lunches. With the cost of grabbing lunch, on average, easily reaching $10, you can stack up some serious cash if you challenge yourself to quit buying lunch. Start small at first, if you eat out regularly. Reduce your eating out gradually by focusing on one day a week to commit to bringing your lunch. Then up it to 2 days a week, and keep going. Eventually, you’ll be brown baggin’ it like a pro, while stacking mad cash at the same time. Goodbye, restaurants!
4. Memberships/Subscriptions. Y’all. There are soooooo many memberships/subscriptions out there. I bet many of you don’t even KNOW what you’re paying for on a monthly basis. Additional icloud storage? Spotify? Dropbox? Recurring charges through iTunes? The list really can go on and on. For more ideas about memberships and subscriptions you probably don’t even realize you’re paying for, see this post. Figure out what memberships and subscriptions you pay for on a monthly basis, and eliminate anything that isn’t essential!
5. New Clothes. Tough love, here, folks, but let’s face it, you probably have enough clothes. More than enough. So much that every once in a while, I bet you run across something in your closet that you completely forgot you even had. While you are on your debt free journey, commit to buying no new clothes. If you absolutely must get something, consider buying from a second hand shop.
6. Gym Membership. I know, I know. The gym membership always gets the bad rap on a debt free journey. But there are sooo many ways you can eliminate this expense. Find creative ways to get a work out in. Go hiking. Go for a run or bike ride through the neighborhood. Hit up the community pool and swim a few laps. Work out at home using You Tube videos. Challenge yourself to answer this question: “If I had to get a workout in that didn’t cost me a dime, how would I do it?
7. Storage Unit Fees. Ugh. Storage fees. They are the worst! Is there anything dumber than having so much stuff, you have to pay someone else to store all your stuff? No, there is not.
It’s a dumb mistake we have made in the past and one I will never make again.
My husband (a semi-hoarder) and I (a semi-minimalist) canceled the storage unit filled mainly of his things and have been selling what we can and giving away the rest when I become too impatient. It’s a little disgusting all the things we have mindlessly managed to accumulate over the years. It’s even worse when you consider all that “stuff” used to be money. [Insert crying emoji face].
Do yourself a favor. Empty that storage unit. Sell or give away what you aren’t using and free up that money for better use (i.e., sending to debt, saving, or investing).
8. Late Fees. Basically like setting your money on fire. With late fees, you are just giving your money away and getting absolutely nothing in return. Don’t do this to yourself! Set a timer for 30 minutes. Gather all your bills. Sit down and get organized. Decide what bills need to be paid from what paychecks. Then, on payday, pay all your bills immediately. Leave no room for late fees!
RELATED: How to Start Budgeting When You Don’t Know What You’re Doing
9. ATM/Banking Fees. Again, you might as well just throw your money away. Is there anything more maddening than paying money just to be able to get your money?! Commit to using checking accounts with no fees, and withdrawing money only from your bank’s ATM if they don’t reimburse fees charged by other banks.
10. Books/Entertainment. I used to love buying books. I’m an avid reader, and our home is still, after decluttering tons, brimming with books. But during my debt free journey, I challenged myself to actually go get a library card. And then I downloaded the app Overdrive. Now I listen to books FOR FREE on my daily commute.
As for entertainment, we frequently challenge ourselves to find free options. There are so many things you can do for free if you’re willing to spend the time looking for activities. Our city has free outdoor movies, festivals, plays, and days at the museum all the time. If you really want to get serious on your debt free journey, challenge yourself to a $0 entertainment budget. That’s what ours looks like most months!
Action Steps
I challenge you to pick a few items from this list and implement them today! When it comes to paying off debt as fast as possible, sacrifice really is the name of the game. If you really want to be debt free as fast as humanly possible, you’ve got to ask yourself “What am I willing to give up to get there?” The more you’re willing to give up, the faster you’ll reach your goals. So, which of these things are you going to eliminate? Or have you already? Let me know in the comments below!
