Changing your money mindset and learned spending habits can be difficult. We live in a consumerist society that encourages us to spend more on material things and save less. It even encourages us to spend what we don’t have yet *cough Afterpay cough* Are all these extra expenses really adding value to our lives? Or would we be happier if we lived a more simplistic life which meant we could work less? The less things we need money to buy, the less time we have to slave away in our cubicle to pay for all these things. Reducing your expenses is a key foundation of financial independence and once you do it you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
For each individual financial independence and security will look different. It might be that you want to retire early and live off passive income (Achieving F.I.R.E) It might be to pay off your mortgage before the age of 65 or to just get your foot on the property ladder with your first home. Think about what financial security means to you and have a tangible goal to work towards. This way you will start to examine what you are spending on and if it is really worth it.
Marie Kondo taught us to throw out items that no longer bring us joy and the world went mad for it. We should take these principles and apply them to our spending habits. If it is not helping us to achieve our long-term financial security is it really worth it?
Number 1: The Gym Membership. Unfortunately, even when I was paying $20 a week to access the gym it did not automatically give me the six pack of Abs that I hoped it would. This is the common trap we all fall into. “If I am paying for it, it will motivate me to go and actually do it” Sorry ladies it doesn’t work like that, if you are motivated you will do it, with or without the paid gym membership. There are so many ways to work out without needing to pay a weekly Gym fee. My personal favourite are free workouts on YouTube. Check out Sydney Cummings who puts out a new workout each day!! It’s like having your own personal trainer but for FREE! If you are someone who does utilse their gym membership, of course that is totally fine. There is no point being rich if you are too unhealthy to live your life and enjoy it. However, I do suggest shopping around when it comes to the gym. $60 a week is quite a bit different to a $15 membership, so if you are something who still needs the gym for motivation maybe compromise on the gym you are going too. Do you really need f45 or would you be happy to go to your local university gym for a much cheaper price?
Number 2: Uber Eats or any of its lesser-known food delivery cousins. The popularity of this app is truly staggering. It is very easy to get addicted to convenience (and deliciousness), but the financial consequences are severe. Takeaway used to be a luxury but not anymore! Let’s say you buy Uber Eats three times a week for $25 each, that is $75 total per WEEK. That is $3900 per year!!! I can think of a lot of other things I would rather spend that money on! From the health perspective as well, getting take out too often is not only bad for the bank account but also the waistline. You need to make a plan to do your grocery shopping once per week and meal prep on the weekends if you are struggling to cook food during the work week. There are so many meals you that are budget-friendly and easy to cook in bulk and slap in the freezer for an easy dinner. For example, some of my favourite meal prep dinners are pumpkin soup, spaghetti mince & pies. You can defrost these easily have an easy budget dinner for the fraction of the cost of takeaway.
Number 3: Manicures and Eyebrow waxing. The amount of money that women are expected to spend on ‘looking good’ is so unfair. We have to buy make-up, hair cuts/styling, beauty treatments, moisturisers, wrinkle cream, daily sunscreen, and god knows what else. I am certainly not giving up my makeup and pricey daily sunscreen. However, a good pair of tweezers, $10 tub of wax and some nail polish, and I am covered. I no longer spend money on professional waxing or manicures as it is something that to me, you can do yourself for a much cheaper price.
Number 4. More than one entertainment subscription service. (I said more than one I am not unreasonable) Some of my gal pals have Stan, Netflix, Disney Plus and HBO? Whaattt? Who has the time to really utilise all of these streaming services and is it really worth it? I don’t think so. If you really want multiple services then organise with your friends or family members to share. If each person purchases one service with multiple screens and you share all the details you can still access everything but for the price of only one subscription. Otherwise, all these services will really start to add up when you work out what you are spending monthly on these.
Number 5. Any purchase that requires the use of Afterpay. Anyone who knows me knows that I despise Afterpay. It feeds a culture of instant gratification and encourages people to spend what they don’t have. Remember the good old lay-buy days where you would follow your mum to the back of Kmart to the lay-buy counter and make that final payment. The anticipation of making that last payment and receiving the item was half the fun! We don’t have to wait for anything anymore and it’s teaching us not to worry about our financial future.
Number 6. Brunch with the girls. Saturday brunch will set you back an easy $25 and if you do this every weekend then it will add up. I am not saying don’t socialise with your friends but there are ways to socialise without spending $20 for two eggs on sourdough that you could have made at home for $3. You can invite your friends to your house for brunch, go for a picnic, go for a hike, have a wine night at home whatever it might be. If your group of girls are avid brunch-goers and would think you have lost your mind if you suggested that they go on a hike instead, then I have a simple solution. If you are trying to save money and reduce your weekly spending just tell them that. You can go to brunch but you will just get a takeaway coffee rather than a whole meal. If they are your friends they won’t care, I know I certainly wouldn’t.
Can you cut any of these things out of your weekly budget? Or maybe it is something that I have missed. If you live close to work could you ride a bike instead of catching public transport? Any money that can be saved is an extra dollar that you can put towards your savings or investment account. Making some small sacrifices now will help you get to a stage in your finances where you won’t have to worry about spending $25 on brunch.
