3 Simple Ways to Cut Back & Save Money Without Feeling Deprived

In This Article

Plenty of people say, “I just can’t go without!” But you don’t need to stop what you’re doing to save money. If you’re one of those people, but still want to find ways to save, consider the tips in this article.

We can learn to go without, but sometimes going from 0 to 100 is a little too much. The system I’m about to talk about eventually led our family to go down to one car. This move isn’t for everyone, but it is very possible with a “Mustachian” point of view and a few minor accommodations.

Let’s talk about how we got here.

3 Simple Ways to Cut Back & Save Money Without Feeling Deprived

1. Realize that cutting back saves more than just money.

We all know savings rate is a big driver behind financial freedom, but what else does our self control impact? Particularly, I want to explore what self control impacts with regard to frivolous spending.

We can cut back on silly expenses that don’t actually make us feel better or improve quality of life, like a cup of designer coffee. For instance, my husband bought an electric kettle that warms water to the ideal temperature to brew coffee, then uses a french press. His coffee is must tastier than a pricey cup of coffee shop coffee, and the small fee to buy these items has saved us hundreds of dollars a year. We also enjoy fewer car trips and fewer cups in the trash/recycling.

I stopped buying random clothing I don’t need, which damages the environment and the economy anyway. In fact, now I buy clothing from Craigslist or even local social media buy and sell pages. Almost all the clothing I wear on a regular basis (including professional outfits) average to about $2 per item. Yes, this includes pants. I got six pairs of professional slacks at a garage sale for free. A quick sew job later, and they fit my short legs perfectly.

My point is you don’t need to stop what you’re doing to save money. Enjoy that cup of tasty coffee. Get a few shirts if you need/want them, but buy used and cheap! It’s very beneficial not to waste in general, obviously, but if you struggle with self control, you can easily help yourself out by at least spending much less.

2. Monitor your usage.

How much do you actually use the things sitting around your house? The Minimalists said there wasn’t a single thing they’ve thrown away (and later found they needed again) that they couldn’t replace for $20. How refreshing is that? All that stuff sitting in your house can be sold—and can even prevent you from spending money on other items.

For example, we’ve all had that one piece of clothing (or 10) that sticks around because we “might want to wear it someday.” What are the chances that nothing else in our closets will fill the requirements of that particular piece of clothing we never/hardly wear in the first place? Probably slim. Monitor your usage, downsize as necessary, and be aware of what you actually need and don’t need. This will help make you aware of your needs with regard to your spending habits.

Related: 12 Sneaky Habits That Kill Your Budget in the Night

We talked about items like clothing—but what about your furniture? Recently, we started monitoring the usage of some of the furniture we owned. These aren’t things like guest beds, but rather furniture in the rooms we use the most. In our case, our living room had two couches, a coffee table, and a storage ottoman. This ottoman held all our gaming systems because we’re cool like that. Well, we first decided we no longer needed these older gaming systems and sold them off (except our N64). Next, we got rid of the ottoman because all it did was take up space in the corner and acted as an extra seat when we hosted.

Still, we love hosting! So, why would we get rid of furniture? Because 99 percent of the time, we don’t use it. In our case, we assessed our furniture usage and realized of the two sofas in that room, we really only used one. We took some accent chairs from our other room and experimented with a new setup by removing the love seat and replacing it with these chairs. At first I thought I would hate it, but it’s actually really nice. Worst case hosting scenario? We grab some chairs and move them when we’re hosting.

Problem solved, and we’re not holding onto furniture we don’t need. This love seat is getting the boot along with the ottoman, and we gain a less cluttered house as well as some nice, green cash in our pockets.

3. Think bigger—or smaller.

Now here’s the ultimate “think big” idea. In the past, I blogged about making the plunge out of traditional full-time employment. For a few months, I took a mini-vacation/retirement. Since then, I’ve accepted a fantastic job that allows me to work remotely a few days a week and make my own schedule. Also, since May of this year, my husband and I have been tracking just how much we use both our cars—and how many times we’ve needed to use both the cars at the same time. In six months, that has happened twice. And those two times could have been avoided, as they were appointments that we didn’t think to ask about.

This week, we put our Toyota Corolla up for sale (with insanely low miles due to the remote nature of his work). And because it was a Toyota with insanely low miles, it sold almost immediately. We are now a one-car household! The amount it will cost us to take an Uber or Lyft somewhere when these situations can’t be avoided will likely not even compare to a depreciating asset we hardly use and pay registration and insurance fees on. If in the next six months our situation changes, we can simply get a cheaper car.

I don’t suspect we’ll find that the $1,000+ in combined expenses/lost depreciation is exceeded in alternate transportation fees. For now, we’re using a small portion of that money to spruce up our bikes for the one-mile jaunt to the grocery store as needed.

Related: 12 Reasons You’re Poor

Remember: It Can Be Temporary

But what if you have kids in five years? In five years, buy a used car after you’ve demonstrated a clear need. Buy more furniture as needed. Go get those jeans you really liked but got rid of.

If you’re like me, it’s easy to put things away in a bin for donation, then go back to them and have a hard time letting go. Assign that task to your housemate or significant other if needed. Give them the bin and tell them if you haven’t asked for it in X days/months to secretly donate it. The thing is we don’t need all this stuff. We want it. And if you want to downsize, let it be a “temporary” solution that becomes a permanent one. Move that extra piece of furniture elsewhere for a while and see how much you miss it.

So there they are—simple ways to still enjoy the things you love and save money. Hopefully at least one of these things is helpful.  Sometimes all we need is a step down in spending mentality before we go cold turkey.

Is there anything you do that helps you enjoy simple luxuries while still saving money?

Leave your tips below!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.