I have been inspired by all of the personal finance bloggers who are saving at least 50% of their incomes, including my co-host Matt who increased his savings rate to over 60% last year. I want to increase my savings rate this year. I used to save up to 40% of my income, but in 2016 my spending got out of whack. I’m back on track to reach my savings goals after making adjustments to my budget.
As part of my return to frugality, I have been on an epic mission to spend as little money as possible in 2017. I took a 30-day frugality challenge to see how much I could live on. I discovered at the end of the challenge that I had saved a lot of money and gained a new appreciation for how to live within my means. The results were crazy for me. I didn’t think I could do that. I spent less in January than I did in January of last year. I’m hoping to save more money by spending less each month.
For a different perspective check out my podcast episode on finding your ideal balance between spending and saving:
I was able to save almost all of my income in January because I put most of it into investments so it can grow and compound over time. I hope to continue this trend for the rest of the year and make long-term investments that will pay off in the future. I am off to a good start. I think I can keep this streak going throughout the year. I learned how to increase my savings rate to 82% in January. Tracking my spending and setting up a budget helped me identify areas I could cut back on and make more conscious decisions about how I spend my money.
1. Only carried 2 credit cards (1 personal and 1 business) and dropped the spending limits
I used to carry a lot of credit cards. I only used one of them on a single purchase. I have personal and company cards that I use to make sure I put the right expenses on them. I keep a log of my expenses for each card so I can reference them when I file my taxes.
I only carry one personal credit card and one business credit card, because this ended up costing me a lot of money.
I have an insane credit availability of $250,000+ available to me at any time because of the increase in my credit limits. I’m sure this amount of credit availability will be useful for large purchases in the future. My credit utilization is always low, but it is not possible to hit my limit, so this is great for my credit score. I can’t get certain types of loans if I have a low credit limit.
I lowered the spending limits on the 2 credit cards I carry with me and re-distributed my credit to a few cards. I will be more careful with my spending this year and not exceed any of the new limits I have set for myself. I can not easily spend over the $2,000 limit on each card. I keep a close eye on my spending to make sure I don’t go over the card limit.
2. I only ate out once a week
I ordered carry-out about 3 times per week last year. I’m trying to be more conscious of my eating habits this year and I want to reduce the amount of times I order carry-out. It was pretty normal for me to order a $75 takeout meal on a Without thinking twice on Wednesday. I decided to take the day off and have fun.
I lost my bank account. I would have liked to be more careful with my spending. I made a pact with my wife to only eat out once per week and limit it to $50 or 888-282-0465 888-282-0465. By sticking to our pact, we have been able to save a lot of money.
We were able to use our OpenTable $50 coupon because we accumulated reservation points. We were able to take advantage of the savings and enjoy a delicious meal. We spent less than $150 on take-out food in January. Our grocery bill is usually $200 for the same amount of time, so thiswas a great way to save money. Check out some other awesome ways to save money eating out.
I have been eating a lot of wild salmon, grass-fed meat, and veggies since I started cooking more at home. I’m finding it to be more cost-effective than eating out. Losing 4 pounds in January is a nice side effect of not eating out. Win-win-win.
3. I didn’t buy anything unless it was used on eBay
It was a huge revelation to discover eBay again. I was amazed at how much fun it was to browse through the many items for sale on the site. It is possible to find anything you want, used at a much lower cost than you would pay to buy it new. Second-hand shopping is a more cost-effective option for meeting your needs because you are helping to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills.
I needed a pair of new dress shoes this past month and I found a pair of handmade Allen Edmonds for $12 that usually cost over $350 new. I’m very pleased with the quality of my new shoes, I was lucky to find a great deal. It is easy to find barely worn pairs online because they are made in the USA. You can find them at thrift stores. They will last forever. They are a great investment if you want to buy something that will last a long time.
I like to look for anything I need on eBay first. I’m surprised to see how much money I can save by shopping on eBay. I set up a bunch of alerts for some of my favorite items so I can get the best deals when they are added.
4. Started doing Yoga at home
It costs me at least $150 a month to do yoga, even if I buy passes. When I can’t make it to the studio, I try to supplement my yoga practice with free YouTube videos at home. But one of my friends turned me onto an awesome online Yoga platform that I’m completely obsessed with – DoYouYoga.
I am a lot more productive and chill because I do yoga every morning. I am able to focus better on the things that are important to me now that I have more energy. DoYouYoga has free videos if you aren’t into yoga. There are many different types of DoYouYoga videos to choose from.
The premium $15/month is the best value I have found and more than worth it, even though they offer quite a bit of free content. It’s a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. I like the quality of the yoga videos at DoYouYoga a lot more and they are frequently updating the videos, which include meditation practices. DoYouYoga has written articles and recipes that are relevant to yoga.
I can tell who my friends have kept with it since they all started meditating.
5. Canceled my gym membership and have been working out at my office for free
I have been a member of the gym across the street from my condo for a few years. I decided to give it up at $60 a month and start working out in my office. I’m not sure if it’s worth the price, but I’ll give it a try and see how I feel after a few months. I can work out on weekends if I live close to my office. I can get some exercise while I’m at it.
I have become more disciplined when it comes to working out because I know I can’t just go across the street. I am going to get a workout in before I leave the office. I find that this helps me to stay focused on the task at hand.
