10 Easy things to cut out of weekly spending

For most of us, there are quite a few things we have included in our budgets either weekly or monthly (however you shop) that aren’t really necessary for our basic survival in today’s world. We have been programmed by outside influences to believe that we aren’t living unless we have all of these “extras” in our homes. So let’s take a look at just 10 easy things to cut our weekly spending. Are there other ways to cut our sepnding? Sure, but we chose to focus on just 10 of them.

Have you ever stopped to think, I mean truly think, of all the things we purchase to “simplify” our lives only to actually be inhibiting it? Or at the very least, cluttering it? It creates waste, it depletes the bank account, it makes us just a bit lazier, it creates clutter…the list goes on. So let’s look at the ways to cut spending.

So what might some of these unnecessary “necessities” be that are lurking in your cupboards, on your shelves, or in your car? Listen, don’t freak out here. You can cut your spending and still manage to live the life of Riley. I promise!

Unnecessary “Necessities”

The following list is NOT inclusive of everything we might overspend on. We can’t be off-put by the idea to cut spending. Far too many of us are not willing to sacrifice our so-called comforts in life. My shopping list may look nothing like yours, but I’m willing to bet most of these items have made at least an appearance on your list. You may also already know what isn’t vital to survival, but let’s break it down in a fashion that might change your mind. So what are they? Enough suspense already! This will be a bit lengthy as I intend to back up my reasons for these items making the list. Not interested in that part? Fair enough, read the items and skip down to the total cost saved. Come back if you feel compelled afterward.

1. Paper plates

So this one might seem a bit obvious, I admit, but WHY are they on the list anyway? I’ll tell you. The cost may not be high, but let’s break it down to the typical household use (assuming my household is NORMAL). The average price of a package of 150 plates is around $9.50. I’m going to work off the best-case scenario here and assume (again) that a family is only 3 people. Quick math tells me that, at best, you would get 16 days (roughly) if they were used for all three meals. Further thought tells me that most of us will double plate to ensure no seepage or buckling under weight leaving us with only an 8-day supply. That would boil down to FOUR packages per month!!!! That’s $38 and only the first item on our list!!! So this would be the easiest step to take to cut spending for obvious reasons. What’s it take to do dishes?

2. Paper towels

Again, obvious, but indulge me. Most of us don’t even buy just one roll at a time, amen? Yep, that’s what I thought. So if we’re the savvy shoppers we think we are, we go for bulk. Let’s assume a pack of 6 rolls. This one can be difficult to calculate due to single rolls, double rolls, single and double-ply….blah, blah, blah. So let’s use a pretty famous name brand which we will not mention, Let’s just say it’s fast at what it does. A pack of 6 double rolls is approximately $17. Each time we have a spill, wash our hands in the kitchen, bleach the cutting board after handling chicken, clean up cat or dog vomit (yes, I went there), use glass cleaner, the uses are endless. Math is near impossible on this one but one typically goes through two rolls per week since we can’t use just one for each of the items mentioned. That’s two packages per month at $34 total!!!

PSA: KEEP YOUR HUSBAND AWAY FROM THEM, HE WILL WASTE THEM ALL IN ONE FELL SWOOP!!!

3. Napkins

I realize this one might be bordering on animalistic for some of you due to the nature of cleanliness while eating, but hear me out. Remember how I said, “NOT CRUCIAL TO OUR SURVIVAL”? They certainly are not!! There are cloth napkins, hand towels, heck you could even use old, cut-up t-shirts. I know a woman who has a child who had a severe reaction to almost everything (until they changed his diet) and she used the latter choice because of its softness and the ability to use organic (white) cotton. My husband and I used to use what we referred to as the “community towel” during meals. Just throw it in the wash and it’s like new again. Can you do that with your paper napkins? I bet not. So like the brand of paper towels, the same brand of napkins is $3 per 200, If you don’t have an extremely messy 5-year-old, like I do, living in your home then you may get away with just 1 per person per meal. So one and a half pkgs. per month is only $4.50, but we all know this is going to collectively add up in the end.

4. Cable

Please don’t send the angry mob out for me! If you were to have cable alone, no bundle, then we are talking $80/month for the services of approximately 260 channels. Most of these channels we don’t even use!!!! There are 35 music choice channels, 20 or more sports channels because now we need a channel for every team. and at least 5 Spanish channels, Great if you know Spanish as they actually seem to play a better variety of movies. and then all the channels are duplicated due to regular and HD options. So in my personal experience you get about 10 channels you watch regularly, another 10 occasionally and the rest are fillers to make you think you’re getting so much bang for your buck. And after taxes and rental fees? More like $100 per month?? Probably one of the hardest ways I can think of to cut spending. I will say that there are so many apps on our smart TV’s these days that one could easily entertain themselves just fine.

5. Going out to eat/delivery

I know that COVID has brought most of this to an end or near end, but the cost is still there. Many have adjusted to wearing the mask to get into the restaurant in order to get a seat. So the average meal nowadays is around $12-$15 per plate, YIKES!!!!! This is assuming you’re looking at a burger and fries type of meal. Start looking at your lobster and steak dinners and you’re going broke real fast. The median average is $50 each time we go out to eat. You can’t even get a pizza delivered for under $20! Imagine the meal with leftovers that you could have made at home for that price. Assuming you only go out once per week, you’re still racking up the fees at a whopping $200 per month (again, based on 3 people). Find a great pot roast recipe here or oven roasted turkey breast here.

6. Alcohol

I’m not a drinker…..AT ALL so I’m going off of some research here and not personal experience. So far as I can tell it isn’t unheard of for a case a bear to be consumed over the course of the week. I have that on good authority. Add into that the occasional bellying up to the bar on a Friday or Saturday night and things start to add up quick. Research does show that the more you consume, the more you might spend while out at an establishment. Assuming the case of beer and not the wine or hard liquor preference, then we are talking about $20 per case (30) of bottled name-brand beer with a monthly total of $60.month. Add in to that the occasional Friday night out and that alone can average $30-$50. We’ll chalk that up to only once per month for cost sake and say you are now at $100/month.

7. Cell Phone Plans

Notice I said plan, not cell phones altogether as that would be absurd in this day in age. It’s our “lifeline”, if you will, to our loved ones. I’m not saying we absolutely couldn’t do without them because we certainly could. Society ran quite well without them in the past. Sure, we could claim that times have changed, but that’s not a truly good reason, is it? So let’s just cut back on the plans we have. We have Wi-fi most places we go so there’s really no need to get internet coverage. We don’t NEED to talk so much so we can reduce our plan minutes. Drop the insurance as well since they either find a reason it’s not covered under the plan or we truly never need it. You could easily cut your cell phone bill in half. From $200 down to $100 for family plans.

8. Hair & Nail Salons

Let’s face it…….if your nails and your hair define who you are, your problems run deeper than I can cover here. We all recently found out that it wasn’t so bad to go au naturel due to COVID. Quite a few decided it was a great time to go gray. I’m not quite ready for that so I had my hair color delivered. See, I’m an offender of over-spending too. The average blowout with color is $150 while nails are $35-$60 per month. Now the hair is only done every 3-6 months depending on how fast your hair grows. So approximately you could be saving upwards of $110/month, but we’ll play along and assume nails are on the low side and hair is slow-growing. That would bring us down to $60/month. I’ve been doing my own hair and makeup for six months now. See picture below…..I think it’s been a real success! I told you not to be afraid to cut spending!

9. Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime

Again, we all need something to do these days so I wouldn’t recommend cutting them all, just one or two (if you have them all) Decide which one gives you the most for what you’re looking for and decide from there. With the rising cost of Netflix, one might find that to be a no-brainer but think about it. EVERYTHING on Netflix is all-inclusive without ads or banners or commercials. Hulu has at least one version that has all of those things As for Amazon? Well, much of the good stuff is an additional cost to watch not making it a great choice UNLESS you do as much online shopping as I do (insert husband groans). So the average savings is about $10/month for each one that you cut out. Since I started writing this post I have personally gotten rid of Netflix and Amazon Prime (I never had Hulu). Amazon was probably the most gut-wrenching one, but I have since learned to live without it after a grueling first few weeks.

10. Yearly Memberships

Not much to say here, but for every gym membership or jelly of the month or magazine subscription, or clothing subscription where they send you clothes that a stranger picks out and sends to you based on style choices you made or shaving or survival (which I find extremely necessary by the way). We’re talking hundreds a month if you belong to one of the latter ones. For arguments sake let’s just go with $35.month for extras.

There you have it! If you do even one of these items you should feel good. It may lead to you wanting to further your journey to cut spending! This article has really brought to memory “The Frugal Gourmet”. Anyone else? No? I’m alone on this? OK – sorry,

Bit of a Disclaimer Here

Prices are different everywhere. I can only go on what I have here in my area for costs. There are areas where the cost is cheaper, but so is the base income in those areas. Also, there are more options in highly populated areas making pricing less due to actual competition. I don’t have that where I am either. We are pretty much at the mercy of one option per some of these items, like internet, cable, electric. Kudos to you if you are lucky enough to live in an area that is cheaper while still having a higher base income (cost of living),

The Final Calculation

Monthly Savings	Yearly Savings
$681.50	$8,178.00

So what will you do with this information? Maybe nothing at all, but at least you’ll know where to cut potential costs in the future. With this monthly savings, you could have afforded yourself something you thought you never had the money for. With this yearly savings, you could have a down payment on a new home.

Please offer any feedback or discussion you might have. I welcome it with a smile. I’m always open to another view or gaining more knowledge from others.