3 Quick Ways To Reduce Spending

The outflow of money has a way of creeping in and taking root. The small $5 here and $10 there quickly turns into hundreds of dollars per year of expenses. We work too hard for this money to let it go so effortlessly. The following are just a few places to explore the reduction of expenses.

Cell service

Single line wireless plans from the top U.S. carriers start around $60/month for an “unlimited” plan, before any taxes and fees. I switched to Google Fi a little over four years ago and now pay a total average cost of roughly $25/month. I am willing and able to sacrifice wireless data consumption in exchange for a savings of more than $35/month.

To be transparent, I currently use less than 1GB of data/month, and I haven’t experienced a notable degradation in coverage or quality by switching to Google Fi.

Entertainment subscriptions

Netflix, Spotify, HBO NOW, or cable. Most of these services cost $8–$15/month and cable costs quite a bit more. While there’s been a trend of individuals dropping cable service over the last few years, many of us are simply trading the cost of cable for other entertainment subscription services. I recommend experimenting and cutting all entertainment subscriptions and instead pay yourself $15/month.

Daily lunch

This has been the most difficult for me, as it requires ongoing effort on my part. I have to pre-make meals ahead of time to make sure I have lunch to take to work with me. Many times I’ll simply take leftovers from dinner to work for lunch. Each day I can bring lunch from home keeps me from spending an additional $5–$10 on going out to lunch.

Update: working from home due to COVID-19 has removed lunch out at a restaurant from my list of expenses.

Closing thoughts

The great thing about no-contract, monthly subscription plans is that they provide us the opportunity to experiment. Try canceling or suspending service for a few months. It’ll probably suck at first, but you just may find great value in the money and time you’ll be gaining back. Perhaps use the savings to build an emergency fund or invest?

What have you done to reduce spending?

Agree? Disagree? Have something to add? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Disclaimer: The above is just an opinion intended for information purposes only. Seek a licensed professional for financial advice.