#8: Saving Money

Prompt #8: Find one major expense to cut from your daily life. How much can you save for travel by cutting it? How many other expenses (large or small) could you reduce in order to put that money toward travel?

I am constantly getting sucked into budget posts along the lines of “Save a Zillion Dollars a Year in a Month!”  I click.  & quickly discover that somehow, people think that ‘bringing your lunch instead of eating out’ is new to the budget-hungry.  Don’t fret – I still get suckered into clicking.  I love saving money.

Is saying that redundant?  Doesn’t everyone enjoy saving money?

My point to this is that how I live is scaled-down as far I can go.

So let’s concentrate on all the things I do actively.

• Movies – We use Zip.ca instead of going out to see movies.  We don’t have cable/tv.  When we do see movies out, we see them at the neighborhood second-run theatre for half the price.
• Groceries – I don’t enjoy grocery shopping at all, but I do enjoy the after-effect of well-planned meals that don’t leave us scrambling over our general food budget.
• Transportation – We don’t own a car.  We walk.  We ride our bikes.  & occasionally take public transit if needed.
• Divacup – I use a menstrual cup (since 2006) cutting out disposable products entirely out of my spending.  This is amazing for me budget-wise, comfort-wise, & makes me feel good environmentally, too.
• Pampering – I do my own nails.  They aren’t perfect, it’s not equatable to getting them done somewhere else.  However – taking the time to spend it on myself is nice & saves going elsewhere + tip.

What’s your favorite thing you do to save money?