Today’s post is from our regular Wednesday contributor, Cat.
I’m only two weeks into the New Year, and I can already feel myself wasting money. It just seems like one trip to Wal-Mart can totally blow my budget, and I leave sometimes wondering why I even go to begin with when I always leave with a million extra things that I don’t need.
It used to be easy for me to manage my spending when I lived in the Caribbean. For almost three years, I lived in a place that had very little “spending temptation.” Now that I’m back in the U.S. it seems as though it will take a conscious effort every single day to not spend money.
Anyway, in the spirit of trying to make 2014 as awesome as possible in terms of financial management, here are 4 ways all of us can stop wasting money this year.
1) Sell Your TV
It probably gets old when every single financial blogger tells you to cancel your cable, so I’m just going to go ahead and say let’s just sell the whole darn TV.
I’ve lived without a TV for several years now. Sure, I have a really big iMac that might as well be a TV, but I don’t pay to have channels on it. I just watch Hulu from time to time, and that’s it. I stayed at my parents house for a few weeks when I moved back to the States, and I watched their TV for a while. I came to the the conclusion that there’s nothing too great on it anyway, unless you enjoy watching the Kardashians in reruns all day. The only downside to this is that you’ll have no idea what people are talking about when they rave about TV shows.
2) Actually Get Your Electricity Bill Under Control
There are so many fun gadgets these days that help you to control the temperature in your house. They take a little bit of upfront investment, but they’re worth it if you can save a few hundred dollars a year. There are also bigger investments like high quality, new windows that can also help you with your energy bills for years to come.
3) Get High Efficiency Light Bulbs
Energy efficient light bulbs are the wave of the future. They do cost a little bit more, but they provide great savings over time. Some of them can even last several years. That’s some awesome savings and way less time that you have to spend changing them! Because of the higher price tags, I recommend just buying a few at a time. Then, over the course of a few years, your house can be nice and bright without the high electric cost.
4) Get Rid of Paper Products
I’m not sure I could give up paper products altogether, but you have to admit that having one cleaning rag is a bit more eco-friendly and cheaper than going through a whole roll of paper towels. There are tons of other ways you can use reusable cleaning products as well. I’m bad about buying and using too many paper towels, so I hope to get better with this over the next year.
What are some other ways we can all stop wasting money this year?
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Sell my T.V? Hmmm, I will think about that one. :) We are using high efficiency light bulbs right now and we control our electricity usage.
Teffany @ Ctitcal FinancialHaha you know, just a thought! :)
Haha, we did cut cable but I’m definitely not selling the TV. I need to be able to watch my football!
Matt @ Mom and Dad MoneyI feel so short sighted today with all the men reminding me about football. Silly me. Haha!
We still have a TV to watch movies with but the cable package is long gone!
BudgetforMore Oh yeah I love to watch a good movie!! :)
The sports nut in me – that likes to watch events live – says “Booo, hissssssss” at selling my TV. Getting our electricity bill under control is something that we’ve worked really hard at. Being more efficient with the thermostat, not having all kinds of things running or plugged in when we don’t need to, oh, and selling that damn hot tub (heating 500 gallons of water in the middle of a Minnesota winter….wow)!
DebtChroniclesHaha I get it I get it – How could I forget about football!!
I love #1! Just think of the time savings, not to mention the wasting of money you’d stop. Of course, I won’t be doing it any time soon as I can’t miss my football. ;) I stopped wasting money last year by starting to work from home, lol. I rarely go anywhere so it makes it easy not to spend money. :)
FrugalRulesOh yes! Football! How could I forget. Hubby does miss his LSU games but then he would just go to his rowdy friends house down the street to watch it. So many problem solved with that one haha.
I really like the fourth suggestion. We use cloth rags and cloth napkins (though I do admit, when I’m getting takeout, I’m happy to have some paper napkins that I don’t have to launder).
My trick to keep spending down is Evernote. I use the app on my computer & phone, and keep an ongoing grocery & other “to buy” list. When I catch myself at the store, I just pull up the list. It provides a nudge for me to only buy what’s on the list (though, of course, it’s not perfect at modifying my behavior…)
DonebyForty Ooh I like that tip! I’m definitely still influenced by all the shiny things in the store haha.
Great tips, Cat! I wish I could stop using paper products too but I still use paper towels occasionally. I also use a ton of baby wipes but that’s inevitable for a while.
Holly at ClubThriftyYeahhhh someone tried to give me reusable baby wipes and although we’re going to try cloth diapers, I think I’ll just need the normal wipes haha.
BudgetBlondeHolly at ClubThrifty Yeah, baby wipes are pretty awesome. I use them for all sorts of things besides baby butts. We were painting this weekend and I brought a pack to wipe up little paint spills =)
I have to disagree with you on the TV thing. :) I think there are some great options out there that are NOT the Kardashians. ADN…having a TV and watching Netflix and Hula has kept me from going out and spending more money because it’s a huge source of entertainment for me. I could always be better about not using thing like paper towels as much as I do.
BeachbudgetHaha no one is with me on the anti-TV option today but you make a good point!!
My tip: Don’t go to Walmart :)
brokeandbeauHaha no kidding! I feel your pain!
Getting rid of paper products is probably one I can work on. I use paper everything and it can add up quickly. I should work on that one this year.
Raquel@Practical CentsYeah it’s a simple goal – probably can save a few bucks and the Earth and all that! :)
Good tips here! I don’t think I could completely rid myself of my TV, but we do go without cable. We rarely buy paper towels, but I don’t think the wife would be okay with giving up toilet paper. That might fall in the necessity category.
ImpersonalFinanceBahaha noooo I’m not giving up toilet paper either. No thanks!
I don’t even remember the last time we bought paper towels. We have anti-bacterial wet wipes for really dirty jobs, but for the most part just use rags.
Funny- recently, W was complaining about us never having paper towels. We went to Target and I was about to buy a few rolls to make him happy, but showed him the price first. It was like $2-$3 a roll, so he decided NO. It’s not a ton of money, but it’s just wasteful since we really don’t need them.
SenseofCentsThat’s so funny. I like those wet wipe thingys too!
Good tips. I am also not definitely selling my TV. Hahaha….I prefer to keep it but I won’t update it anytime soon. We can get rid of paper except one will be with us for a while. I hope DC will allow me to post this you tube advert link. Any replacement for this paper product?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HeRBiZnhaY
BorrowedCentsHaha no one wants to sell their TV today. Come on guys! ;)
Great tips! Although for me, the tv is my “cheap” date night because instead of going out to a movie or dinner, hubby and I will watch a Netflix movie. I am a BIG believer in energy efficient light bulbs, especially since they are not as expensive as they used to be. Plus, I can’t remember the last time we had to change one.
blonde_financeI hear some of them can last 30 years now – cray cray!
I always waste money at target. This past week I spent $$1200 bucks at target and I can’t even remember what I bought.
MonaSezTarget will do that to you! It’s the twilight zone!
I don’t know if I would go so far as to sell the whole TV. Definitely cancel the cable bill and go with Netflix/Hulu and a digital antenna. Having a TV though makes it easier to have a frugal activity like movie night with friends. It’s a little harder to do if everyone has to cram together around a smaller computer monitor or laptop screen.
MicrosMissionsThat’s a good point. My iMac screen is 27 inches haha, so it’s super large and in charge but anything smaller wouldn’t work.
I agree with the idea of eliminating paper, but like you said, it can be challenging! I started it by eliminating them one by one and finding a replacement for each one, such as rags instead of paper towels. Then each one became a new habit without being totally overwhelming.
SimplySaveThat’s a good idea! Baby steps!
Clearly written by a chick…LOL. I could never get rid of my TV, especially on the eve of Championship weekend. I pay a little over a buck a day for DishNetwork and we get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
I don’t have a TV (laptop with Hulu/Netflix works for me) and I don’t pay for electric (utilities included with rent)! I am terrible with paper products though. Paper towels are my BFF, but I really do need to move towards reusable rags or something.