Are you tired of running out of money before you run out of the month? It is so easy to blow right past your budget with the things we think we need on a day to day basis. So, how can you do better? How can you make your budget work better for you? First and foremost you need to stop spending money unnecessarily. To help with that, I have come up with a list of 8 things you should stop buying now:
- K-Cups. Alright, I get it. They are convenient, easy and quick, but they aren’t cheap and they are not good for the environment. Okay, yes, they are cheaper than a coffee shop cup of joe, but the cost of home brew is just $0.15 which is about ⅓ of the price of kcup coffee.
- Soda. It’s bad for you and it’s expensive. Enough said.
- Movie Theater Snacks. I’m all for going to the $1 movies during the Summer or hitting up a second run theater, but I always avoid buying concessions at the movie theater. $7 for a soda? NO THANK YOU!
- Brand Name Medication. This is not always true for all of us, so take it with a grain of salt, but we always buy the generic versions of over the counter medicine and it has always worked just as well as the name brand and we sometimes save as much as 50%.
- Greeting cards. Unless you are buying from the dollar store, skip these. They seriously cost so much these days that they could take the place of the gift itself.
- Pre-Cut fruit. We are all friends here, right? You can cut your own fruit! Plus, you will save yourself a lot of money doing so.
- Bottled water. Buy a filter and a stainless steel, reusable water bottle and save yourself a ton of money and a lot of recycling.
- New Diamond Jewelry. Diamonds have a tremendous markup and a sketchy reputation. Look for used diamonds that you can put into your own set. My husband and I recently bought me a “new” diamond wedding set from a couple that never got married. It had a $2300 price tag and I got it for $175. I feel much better knowing that we weren’t paying a huge price on it and I don’t have any superstitions about the fact that it was from a failed relationship. I’ve been married for 20+ years…I think we are good. 🙂
