21 Things We Stopped Buying To Save Money (2024)

Stopped Buying To Save Money

When you are cutting your spending to save money you truly have to look at what you are buying! Initially, before our debt reduction we would be brand specific. We would eat out several times a week. Learn what we stopped buying to save money.

Overspending

I would hit up the coffee shop for a latté two or three times a week. We simply just weren’t watching what we were buying.

Family Finance And Saving Money

As a family we took a serious look at our finances and assessed where we wanted to be in the future. Our lives changed when we bought The Total Money Makeoverby Dave Ramsey.

Cutting Spending Learning To Budget

As a couple we attended Financial Peace Universityand learned where we were faulting in our budgeting and our spending.

If you need to get your finances, money and budgeting in check Financial Peace University is a great place to start.

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Overspending Money

We took a long hard look at what we were spending money on and I was surprised at the change it made in our budget and how much we were saving with just a few changes.

How To Save Money

You can save huge amounts of money by making simple frugal choices in what you spend your money on. Below we list off 21 things we stopped buying to save money.

Related Money Saving Tips:

  • Thrifty Guide: 50 Frugal Tips
  • 7 Money Saving Starbucks Hacks
  • Secret Must Haves of a Frugal Home

Being Smart With Money

Budgeting, couponing, living well on less, meal planning will all help you save money. Essentially being smart with your money and choosing the best option to make your money work the hardest is how you will save more cash.

Practical Ways To Save Money

Simple ways to save money are frugal tips you can incorporate into your daily life that aren’t hard. Simple choices that make a big impact.

Example Of Easy Ways To Cut Spending And Save Money

Some examples of practical ways to save money might be grocery shopping on a budget at a discount retailer, meal planning to include a few meatless meals, learning to cut back and choose cheaper entertainment or packing your coffee, water or lunch to go. Brown bagging and home cooking are by far the most practical money savers yet.

Things I No Longer Buy

Below you are going to see a list of things we as a family stopped buying. But here is a glimpse of things I no longer buy:

Things You Can Live Without

When you really look at where you are spending all your money you can easily come up with a list of things you can live without.

Saving Money On Coffee

I have a Keurig coffee machine and I don’t buy single use Keurig pods? I am hands down a coffee drinker, so is my husband but we get more coffee for our dollar if we buy a pound of our favorite coffee and use reusable Keurig pods. This is one way we save a ton of money each month.

Things You Don’t Need To Buy

As humans we like things, we like food, we like stuff. If you need to save money I am sure you can think of things you don’t need to buy.

Back to my coffee note above. We drink a lot of it in our house. And yes we do the occasional coffee shop run. But we really don’t “need” to we have the coffee at home and here are 21 amazing Starbucks copycat recipes that help save us the money.

21 Things We Stopped Buying To Save Money

1. We stopped being brand specific with most of our groceries and relied on store sales and coupons to guide our purchases.

We also stopped impulse shopping, or last minute “let’s have this for dinner” shopping. Now we meal plan and it is life saver and an amazing money saver.

2. I will say we are brand specific to a few things. Such as TRESemme hair care products, I have naturally curly hair and I find their hair care products work great.

I have also bought the same moisturizer for all of my adult life. Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel is multi-faceted in uses such as body lotion, sunburn cream, shave gel, hair gel and first aid gel. I simply love the stuff.

We are a Celiac household so we are brand specific to a few gluten free companies such as Udi’sand Skinny Pop Popcorn.

3. We stopped eating out so much. When you add up eating out for a family of three, two or three times a week the bill could be somewhere close to $150 to $200 for a week. This is when I started meal planning.

4. I stopped buying deli meat and sandwich supplies for my husbands lunch for a few reasons. One they weren’t being eaten so the food was going to waste.

Two we purchased him an oven lunch box and this thing rocks. I can send leftovers or soups or chili and he can have a toasty warm lunch on the road. No more cold wasted sandwiches, just warm yummy lunches.

This helps use up the leftovers and decrease the food waste, which essentially is money wasted.

5. I stopped buying my coffee to go in the morning so did my husband. We invested in a great coffee maker, reusable filters and stainless steel coffee mugs. We are now saving $10+ a day.

6. We stopped buying reusable plastic containers and switched over to glass food storage, jars and stainless steel lunch containers. We switched to long term reusable lunch and food storage and we love it.

I stopped buying individual meat portions and food portions. I started buying bulk, farm to table portions. I invested in creating relationships with our local farmers markets, bulk buy locations and invested in food division and storage.

7. We stopped impulse shopping and learned to say “NO”. We planned, wrote lists and stuck to our budget.

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8. We decreased our mainstream big box shopping for appliances, books, toys and etc. We learned to look for sales, shopping online on Amazon, Craigslist, ebay and at local thrift stores.

9. We stopped buying stuff to impress people and started buying the things we need.

10. I stopped purchasing paper napkins and limited our other paper cleaning supplies. We switched to cloth napkins and cloth cleaning cloths.

11. I stopped buying small bottles of things we use regularly like shampoo, conditioner, ketchup and hand soap. We buy these in bulk and refill our current containers. This saves money and waste.

12. We stopped over buying food, there was so much food waste. Even though we were composting our food waste, we were basically throwing out money in the food we weren’t eating. Now we meal plan, we eat or freeze our leftovers and we freeze soup stock related foods.

13. I stopped buying smoothie additives. I was buying protein powder, greens powder, maca powder and much more. I researched a dairy free protein powder that met my needs and I now purchase Vega One for my early morning smoothie.

14. We stopped buying store bought cleaners, a little bit of vinegar and water will go a long way. You can learn more about frugal cleaners here.

15. In general we stopped buying “stuff”. We learned to live with less.

16. I stopped buying dryer sheets and invested in dryer balls.

17. The whole family stopped buying stuff at full price when we could. We shopped sales, thrift stores, bulk buys and used coupons.

18. I stopped my magazine subscriptions which was a huge savings.

19 & 20. I stopped buying store bought dried fruit, applesauce and canned pears. Instead we dried our own fruit in season and canned vanilla pears and fresh applesauce during harvest season.

21. We decreased our entertainment spending, instead opting for No Spend Weekends.

Cutting back on your regular spending. Shopping sales, using coupons, truly looking at what you are spending money on. Using a budget, shopping wisely with a frugal mindset will help you save money.

⭐Amazing Products We Think Everyone Should Try:

All these amazing products help us save money on a daily basis.

Why Cut Spending To Save Money

Simple answer so you can do more with what you have. Saving money will also help you pay down debt, save for your future, invest, buy a home and so much more.

Why Do We Buy Things We Don’t Need

There are a million and one answers to this question and honestly most times we buy things we don’t need because we thought it would make our life easier or make us feel better.

Ways To Save More Money

Saving money will give you more options. You can buy the name brand instead of the generic. Or you can take the family on a vacation knowing you won’t go into debt.

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Smart Money Shopping Choices

Saving money is about planning and making smart money choices. Like living well on less. Shopping generic discount grocery stores and sales to save money.

Simple Money Saving Tips

Simple things you can do today to save money. Start by asking yourself do you really need it? Can you do without it.

If you brown bagged your lunch this week how much would you save? If you turned down the thermostat how much would you lower your utility costs? Simple easy changes with big results.

Frugal Tips That Will Help You Save Money

Frugal living is about making smart choices with your money and learning to live well on less. Discover what frugal tips will help you save more money. Here are 75 super frugal tips that are guaranteed to help you lower your household expenses.

How To Start Budgeting And Saving Money

Setting up a budget and saving money is super easy. You can enroll in our 21 Days of Saving Challenge to help get you started. Dave Ramsey is another great resource on debt, budgeting and saving money.

Setting aside some time today can help you save a ton of money for tomorrow.

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Welcome! I am so glad you are here I am Cynthia, primary frugal mom blogger at Saving & Simplicity.

Where you will find frugal, money saving posts and articles along with DIY projects, Cheap & Easy Recipes and so much more.

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Updated: June 9, 2023

21 Things We Stopped Buying To Save Money (7)

21 Things We Stopped Buying To Save Money

21 Things We Stopped Buying To Save Money (2024)

FAQs

What should I stop doing to save money? ›

Here are seven money-saving barriers — plus advice on how to knock each of them down.
  • Spending too much on housing. ...
  • No defined budget. ...
  • The “I'll save when I make more money” mindset. ...
  • Lack of a measurable savings goal. ...
  • Student loan payments. ...
  • Your comfort zone. ...
  • Overusing credit cards.

How could you spend less and save more? ›

Track your spending

Don't worry about setting a bunch of budget categories. Just keep it simple and spend 5 minutes a week tracking your spending either in your savings account or checking account or by using a budgeting app. This quick review will help make sure you reach your savings goal.

How many people fail to save money? ›

As of May 2023, more than 1 in 5 Americans have no emergency savings. Nearly one in three (30 percent) people in 2023 had some emergency savings, but not enough to cover three months of expenses. This is up from 27 percent of people in 2022.

What is the 10 rule for saving money? ›

The 10% rule of investing states that you must save 10% of your income in order to maintain a comfortable lifestyle during retirement. This strategy, of course, isn't meant for everyone as it doesn't account for age, needs, lifestyle, and location.

What is the 50 30 20 rule? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

How to save $5000 in 3 months? ›

How to Save $5000 in 3 Months [2024]
  1. Create a Budget and Plan.
  2. Pick up a Side Hustle.
  3. Sell Things Around Your Home.
  4. Refinance Debts.
  5. Cut Unnecessary Expenses.
  6. Reduce Living Expenses.
  7. Try an Envelope Savings Challenge.
  8. Use Cash Back Apps.
Apr 3, 2024

What is a no spend challenge? ›

So, what exactly is it? It's a personal challenge, typically lasting for 30 days (but sometimes more) where you abstain from spending on nonessential items.

How to save little money every day? ›

Daily Savings
  1. Brown Bag It.
  2. Brew Your Own.
  3. Join Supermarket Loyalty Programs.
  4. Score Senior Discounts, Perhaps Sooner Than You Think.
  5. Get Student Perks.
  6. Charge It to a Cash-Back Card.
  7. Shop for Home Telecom Service.
  8. Consider Switching Mobile Services.

Can $1000 last a month? ›

Living on $1,000 per month sounds impossible. For many, it might be. But it can be done with some strategic planning, intentional action and the ability to compromise. You won't be able to do everything you want to do when living on only $1,000 per month, but you can make it work.

Is saving $1000 a month good? ›

Saving $1,000 per month can be a good sign, as it means you're setting aside money for emergencies and long-term goals. However, if you're ignoring high-interest debt to meet your savings goals, you might want to switch gears and focus on paying off debt first.

Do poor people save money? ›

“A common misconception is that people who are poor or have low incomes can't save,” she said. “Evidence from savings programs and research shows they can.” McKernan and the other experts we spoke to for this piece provided some steps for people with smaller incomes to start building their savings.

What is the 50/30/20 rule? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.

Should you ever stop saving money? ›

A general rule of thumb says it's safe to stop saving and start spending once you are debt-free, and your retirement income from Social Security, pension, retirement accounts, etc. can cover your expenses and inflation. Of course, this approach only works if you don't go overboard with your spending.

What is an unhealthy obsession with saving money? ›

Fear of spending money or excessive frugality is sometimes known as Chrometophobia, a Specific Phobia related to money. Fears about spending money may also be involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Why shouldn't you save all your money? ›

You don't want to keep your money at the bank because: It just degrades in value due to inflation. Your money isn't “working” for you. You can invest your money into growth assets rather then it sitting there.

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