When we realized we wanted more from life, we started the process of financial literacy. We would spend many hours reading, learning and generally becoming more informed about finances. Here are some things to do right off the bat. Please note we use some affiliate links which may provide some income to us for products and services that helped get us to where we are today.
Link Accounts
One thing we did was to link our accounts on Mint, a free budget program. We set up categories on the program, and added all our accounts to it. The program then shows you where you are spending your money. Another option would be Personal Capital, which provides similar information, but it’s not free. As you start to trim expenses and get a hold of your finances, you can see your progress in Mint.
Groceries and Fast Food
We took a hard look at our grocery bill, and discovered that was a relatively simple way to cut our expenses. If you decide to eat out less, your grocery bill will increase but that’ s not necessarily a bad thing. We found that we were eating out frequently, For us, this was a good area to cut. At first we made a lot of crock pot meals. I picked up a crock pot recipe book at the local thrift store. We categorized the refrigerator and pantry to help make grocery lists easier to make. Finally a great way to save money is to shop the weekly sales. We used the Flipp app to look at the local flyers to decide what we will eat for the week. Lastly, we started to go to hard discounters such as Aldi where the prices were 20-30% lower than other grocery chains. We got into the habit of going to Aldi first, then Kroger to buy what we couldn’t get at Aldi. If you are hesitant to try Aldi, they have a great refund policy. You get your money back and another of the product you were returning.
Transportation
We started buying used cars about 3-4 years old. We paid about half the price of a new car, but the cars have 80 percent of the life left. We used Consumer Reports to find the most reliable used cars. Unfortunately, the most reliable used cars are made by Toyota and Honda. Some domestic makers have high ratings for some of their models.
Capsule Wardrobe
We went down to a capsule wardrobe. The idea behind this is to have clothes that can be mixed and matched for multiple outfits. I went down to three pairs of black pants, and six polo shirts (six long, six short sleeves). I bought darker colors that were less likely to stain, and I used a cotton undershirt. By wearing a cotton undershirt, I was able to wear the shirt more than one day if I didn’t get it messy.
Various Household Hacks
We decided to create our own laundry detergent. Basically by mixing equal parts of Arm and Hammer washing soda and Mule Team borax. Please note buying this online is about twice of the cost at Walmart. We still keep a bottle of Tide for greasy laundry. We use 1/8 cup (equivalent to about a heaping tablespoon) of the homemade laundry detergent per load. Another hack we use is to use bar towels instead of normal paper towels. This has reduced paper towel usage quite a bit. We also use homemade cleaners for wiping down the counters, tables, appliances, etc. We mix ⅓ cup of ammonia and rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle with some lemon oil.
Dishes and Pans
We stopped using paper plates and bought eight inch dishes. We also bought some salad and breakfast bowls. We bought a 10 inch pan and a large 3 quart pan for making all in one pan dinners. We use Pyrex 2 cup storage bowls and a 6 cup storage bowl for storing left-overs. We got rid of the messy and confusing collection of plasticware that would not stack. We found that a well organized minimalist kitchen made making dinner much less of a hassle.
Do it yourself
We found that doing things ourselves is another good way to save money. We have used YouTube to learn how to do minor car and home repairs so we can do it ourselves. The car parts store has also given good advice about certain car codes. Which helps us determine if it’s a repair we can do ourselves or not. We decided treat our lawn and flower gardens ourselves. We used a small bag of weed and feed every two weeks for six weeks after spring. We found perennial flowers native to our area such as daylilies, geraniums, and cone flowers that come up every year on their own.
Exercise
I no longer go to the gym and save the membership fee. I walk the block around our home and I do lifts with two ten pound barrel bells.
