Everyone needs to cut their spending, but they don’t know how. No one wants to give up their coffee, and many don’t want to quit smoking. There’s a lot of us who don’t want to give up eating out, and many who won’t give up going to the movies. So what the heck do you cut spending on? I’ve got 5 realistic ways to cut your spending. Wanna know what they are? Good, keep reading!
5 realistic ways to cut your spending
- Ladies, and gents, too: do your own damn nails. Yeah, I said it. Stop going every week to the nail salon. Beyond the expense of the manicure, you’ve also got to give a tip. Just do your own nails. I’ve been doing my own nails at home for over a year, and I’ve gotten damn good at it. I even have SensatioNail, which lets me do gel at home with an LED light instead of the UV ones at the salon. BONUS.
- Skip a couple of haircuts. Yes, if you’ve got a short haircut, it can be a pain to deal with your hair getting a bit long. Get over it. Buy a headband, push it back for a couple extra weeks. Or, figure out how to do some snipping yourself, just between major cuts. It’ll save a chunk of cash if you spread it out from 4 weeks to 6 weeks, or from 6 weeks to 8 weeks. However often you went last year, extend the visit by two weeks this year.
- Clean your own house. I know it sucks, but if you’re trying to save money, having someone clean your house isn’t helping your bottom line. Don’t try to convince yourself with mumbo jumbo about not having to buy household cleaners, because the cleaning lady brings everything with her each week. You can get cleaners, with coupons, for pennies these days. Heck, I make my own cleaners with things like vinegar, baking soda, lemon, and BORAX. Do the weekly cleaning yourself, have someone come to do a deep clean every month, or every other month, if you need to. Trust me, I get there’s not enough time in the day. Whether you work from home, like I do, or you work in an office all day, it’s the same amount of hours in the day. I don’t get to clean all day because I work from home, I do it when I can. Toilet gets cleaned one day, vacuuming gets done on a different day, I just make sure I have dusted prior to pulling out the vacuum.
- Get a different cell phone plan. There’s a ton of plans out there, shop around. Be open-minded about plans like Virgin Mobile, Family Mobile at Walmart, Boost Mobile. Hell, there’s a ton of plans that offer the same high end phones all the other plans offer. They just offer lower rates for their customers because they’re using the same towers as the big boys, but they don’t have to maintain them like the big boys do. Currently I pay $35 per month for unlimited talk, text and data. I’m with Virgin Mobile, and because they loved how loyal I was, they recently gave me unlimited talk with my plan. It’s nice to have, and it’s nice to be appreciated for my business.
- Consider buying REFURBISHED electronics. I had no idea, until recently, you could buy almost any electronic device, refurbished. Basically, it means used, but the place you’re buying from has made sure it’s as close to new as possible. Nothing scratched, nothing broken, batteries charge up correctly, and all of the parts are in working order. Tablets, smartphones, game consoles, Apple iPad, iPhone, iPod – whatever it is, you’ll be able to find it refurbished. Stores like Apple have a whole section of refurbished goodies, and Gamestop has more than just game consoles in their refurbished section. All brands are getting into this trend, even Camera companies. Been aching for a DSLR camera? Get one refurbished through Canon, B&H or, even Best Buy.
Love it! I do all of those! I have never paid to have my nails done, been doing them (incuding acrylic tips) since I’m a teenager. It’s the one thing I can’t justify spending money on (although I did get treated to a pedicure once) and its something I can do while I’m watching my favorite shows at night. I also have a refurbished blackberry (ok don’t make fun, it was the brand new version when i got it, FREE from Verizon because it was refurbished). I do treat myself to Starbucks once in a while, but I used to go EVERY DAY and spent $5 to $10 a day. I bought a $40 espresso maker, and now I save about $150 a month. I know you and I think alike.. some people may find their nails are very important to get professionally done but they can cut something elsewhere. (Honestly, mine look better than professional and I get to change the color as often as I want)!
You can’t slide for the Blackberry. I’m sorry. LOL!!! I didn’t know they still made those things. Although, my husband has you beat. He still has a PAGER. Yes, he left it at a fast food place once. He realized it after he got home, so I told him to call the place to see if it was left on the counter. He did. NOT ONE KID that worked there knew what it was. The girl said “where’s there’s thing black thing with a holder that I found on the counter, so I put it in the lost and found. Is that it?” I literally laughed a bit of french fry out of my nose on that response. HAHAAAA.
I love my nails. I’m getting really good with my left hand, so my right hand looks almost as good as my left hand when I’m done. People ask me where I get my nails and toes done, and can’t believe I do them at home. Makes me feel like I’m good at something!!!
See now, I really want the bberry mostly for email, and its still the best for security! Besides, I refuse to pay all the money for an upgraded phone when i really don’t use it for anything else. We have a kindle fire if I feel I need some apps, I use that!
As for the nails… I love doing my own, and they do look better. I NEVER use the gel though, I like to change colors too often for that, lol.