Sharing a Phone Plan

I use T-Mobile as my cell service provider. I have been sharing my current plan with 3 other people. I am choosing to stick to this plan which I have had since college since it costs me $36.40 every month for unlimited 3G data, unlimited texts and unlimited calls. I’d say I’m getting my money’s worth! If I chose to get off this phone plan to an individual plan I would be paying between $60 and $85 for essentially the same services. Sharing the plan cuts my annual phone bill from a potential $1020.00 down to $436.80 which is more than half!

Sharing A Netflix Account

When I had my own Netflix account I used to pay ~$8.99 per month, but now I am splitting it with three other friends and it costs me $4.33 a month!

This might seem insignificant but for someone who wishes to keep the subscription for movie nights etc, this reduces my annual Netflix budget from $107.88 to $51.96.

See what I did there?

I am also sticking to one streaming platform instead of having multiple so that I can avoid extra charges especially because I do not watch TV that much anyway.

Buying From Open-Box Deals

I got my HP pavilion desktop in an open-box deal from Best Buy for ~$800. The original price then was about $1100. Open-box deals are usually items that a customer bought but returned because they did not like. The return period is typically 14 days so the person would not have used the item for that long. Additionally, since the company is taking it back as a return, they certify that it works before putting it back for a sale again. Open-box deals are an awesome way to essentially get a new product for a slightly lower price.

Mindful Shopping On Sale Items

It is easy to get carried away buying things simply because they are on sale. However, most people end up spending more money because their psyche is convinced that they are getting items for a cheaper price.

Buying in Bulk

Buying items in bulk is great because you get more quantities for slightly less than you would for similar volumes of individually packed items. I am currently buying cereal in bulk for convenience but also to avoid the tax and cost of spending a significant fraction of money on items that are not in bulk. Of course, don’t buy anything in bulk you won’t actually use, especially if it’s perishable.

Things you should not buy in bulk:

Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, Perishable items (food that goes bad quickly), Condiments ,Spices (they can outlive their shelf life and flavor)

Things that you can buy in bulk:

Toiletries, Dental care items (electric toothbrush heads and dental floss), Paper products (toilet paper and paper towels), Batteries, Cereal, Canned goods, Rice, Dry beans

Buying in bulk also helps you budget because you have an estimate of how much you spend on say cereal, toiletries etc.

Cooking at Home & Ordering In Less

It goes without saying that cooking at home is cheaper than ordering in every single time. Although ordering in moderation is okay for you and good for local businesses, doing it all the time can really add up really fast. I try to cook as many meals as I can at home with an occasional dinner that I order from time to time. Cooking is also a more wholesome and healthier option compared to buying food all the time since you are able to curate whatever dish you want to your satisfaction.

Take for instance if you are spending $20.00 per meal each day to order in. This is $140 per week and $560 per month. If you include delivery fees and tip, this could easily be $800 per month whereas you can spend ~$150 on biweekly grocery shopping as an alternative.

Tracking My Expenses

“You can’t prove what you don’t measure.” Tracking your expenses is a very effective way of knowing where your money is going. This in turn enables you to cut costs, budget wiser and put money where there is more value. Take time to go through your bank statements, you’ll be surprised where your money goes.

Avoiding Alcohol

An average bottle of Smirnoff costs $17.00 in New York and a Grey Goose costs $26.00. If I drank maybe a bottle of each per month, I would have an average monthly cost of $43.00 on alcohol and an annual cost of $513.00. This is a lot of money which I could either cut off on or drink sparingly. I have chosen to do the latter to reduce the amount of money I spend on alcoholic drinks.

Saving Money Through Direct Deposit

Setting up direct deposit is an amazing way of automating your savings. This in turn saves you the need to go and do it manually. The best way to automate sending money to your savings account is by automating all minimum bill payments first and then saving a regular specific percentage to your savings account. Making minimum payments first prevents you from incurring interest fees that only increase your debt.

Saving sets you up for financial safety because you have untaxed, easily accessible money in your savings account.

Vocalizing My Limits

An easy way that most people end up spending so much money is when they do not vocalize their limits with friends and family. This can either be due to weak boundaries with spending or a push to keep up appearances. As a working adult, I am committing to affirm my boundaries on money with people close to me in a way that they respect the goals I set for myself and meet me halfway in whatever way they expect me to show up for them.

Vocalizing your limits can be as easy as saying, “This restaurant is beyond my budget, can we consider checking out another affordable alternative?”