I have learned that there are 3 foolproof and simple ways to save money. These methods work for me. I’m going to share them with you. If you want to use them, great. If they work for you, also great! And if you think that they don’t work for you, then so be it.
- Stay at home.
- Stay off the internet
- Use the word “No”… a lot.
Stay At Home
When I’m at home, there are precious few ways for me to spend my money. At home, I have many free things to do. I can read books. My garden and yard always need attention – watering, fertilizing, trimming, picking up litter, weeding, transplanting. Being outside in my yard offers the triple benefit of fresh air, free exercise, and no opportunity to spend money.
As soon as I leave my home, it’s a completely different story. Sit back and let me spin you a tale…
I needed gas for my vehicle, so I went to Costco. My goal was to spend no more than $40. (To preserve my sanity from the exceedingly high price of gas, I fill up when my vehicle is down to half a tank. The price is less palatable, even though I might be going more often. We do what we need to in order to protect our mental health, right?)
While standing at the pump, I remembered that I needed to buy some bread. Costco sells the bread I like in a 3-pack, which means I can stash a couple of loaves in the freezer until I need them. So I went inside the Costco store. And on my way to bread section, I remembered that I was running low on fish and that I’d been hankering for some fish. So I stopped at the meat section. I grabbed my chicken – a package each of thighs and breasts – then grabbed one package of salmon. My planned spend of $40 turned into $119 in the blink of an eye.
How did it happen so fast?
Easy! I left my house. And while I was ought spending as planned, I remembered other things that I needed. Since I was already there, didn’t it make sense to spend my money right then and there on the things that I needed instead of making a second trip another day? Did it really matter that I hadn’t planned to spend an extra $79 that?
When I want to save money, I just stay home on most days of the week. This way, I know in advance that I’m going to be spending money on those days that I do leave the house and I can plan for it.
Stay Off the Internet
At home and outside is a highly effective situation in which I don’t spend money. Indoors, there’s a lot more advertising coming at me. I gave up cable in 2015 and switched to streaming services. Cutting the cord eased the pressure on my wallet, and streaming services deliver the same quality of TV as cable. Sometimes it’s even better. I’m always a year behind on Grey’s Anatomy, but that’s okay. It’s just TV – it won’t go bad if it’s not consumed right away. As a result of my choice to cut the cord, the only advertising I see comes in the form of embedded marketing. Heaven help me if I go anywhere else online!
Nearly every website has some kind of advertising! This shocks absolutely no one. However, what I’m finding is that the advertising is getting to me. I used to be able to block it out, but now… not so much. Thanks to the ads on multiple pages that I visit, I’ve come to discover that my life simply won’t be complete until I have a pergola & composite deck installed at my house and buy some brand-new patio furniture. Can you believe that I’ve lived this long without these things?
I’d thought my sense of apprehension about the future was due to climate change, severe income inequality, and deeply embedded social problems. Turns out, those slight yet ever-present bad feelings in my tummy were due to the fact that I don’t have a backyard worthy of a magazine cover on Home and Garden. If I just spend some money to make my backyard look great, then I will be happy.
Thank Deity-of-Your-Choice for the advertisers who planted this idea in my head! <sarcasm off!>
If I want to save money, it’s best if I just stay off in the internet and avoid the ads.
Use the word “no”… a lot!
I’ve spoken before about the importance of prioritizing what you want from your life. This way, hopefully, you spend your money on the things that matter most to you. After all, you work hard for your money. When you spend it, that money should be working hard for you too.
The only reason that I haven’t run out and bought myself an even prettier backyard is because I know that there are more important things for my money to do. I still plan to travel. That’s a little luxury that’s going to cost me more than it did pre-pandemic. Flights, hotels, food, souvenirs – I want these things more than I want a pretty place to sit while mosquitoes eat me alive.
The word “no” is tiny but tough. It’s a powerful little thing! I say it to myself when I want to stop at the drive-through instead of eating the food in my own fridge. That little trip to Costco I mentioned before? It could’ve been a $200 wallop to the wallet, instead of only $119. My store still has some lovely gardening planters that I’ve had my eyes on for a little while. And there were so many lovely, delicious things in the bakery. I told myself “No!” instead of filling up my cart.
Keeping focused on my priorities makes it a lot easier to say “no” when it’s required.
Looking back over my life, there is only one time that I regret that I said “no” to myself. My second cousin had invited me to her wedding in Paris. I didn’t know her very well and accepting the invitation would’ve meant travelling to Europe twice in the span of 4 months. My budget simply couldn’t swing that kind of travel, so I had to decline the invitation. After seeing the wedding photos and how stunningly beautiful everything was… <big sigh goes here>… Well, everyone has a regret or two, right?
For the most part, I use the word “no” a lot when I want to save money.
So that’s it. Those are my simple ways to save money. Take what you need from this post, leave the rest. The choice is always yours. If these rules don’t work for you, that’s okay. I’m sharing my bits of wisdom in the hopes that they help. You may just need to come up with your own rules, habits, mantras, incantations, spells, whatever in order to save your money.