Don’t know where all your money is going? Then it simply means you are using money in ways you shouldn’t! There are definitely some things you can stop buying to save money. Thinking about how you always become broke so fast, you almost believe that there is an unknown spirit somewhere that spends your money without your knowledge, but sorry to burst your bubble, there is no unknown spirit anywhere spending your money—you just have an extravagant lifestyle and a poor saving habit. Truth hurts!
Saving money should be the yin to the yang of your earning money. The truth is, you won’t always be broke if you save towards the rainy days. And an efficient way to help you save money is to create a budget, stick to it and stop buying certain things that you actually don’t need (like that new Gucci bag you’ll only use once!).
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A lot of people would argue that you can’t save your way out of poverty, and that’s true, but you also need to save towards having investments, starting a business and meeting your daily needs, which are ways to achieve financial freedom.
How you make use of the money you earn is as important as how you earn the money. You need to cultivate the habit of saving if you want to experience a positive turnaround in your financial life, and it takes discipline to make up your mind that you want to save.
Here are 20 things that hinder you from saving. Stop buying these things if you really want to save your money!
1. Fast foods
So, it’s okay to eat out once in a while because you are probably tired or need something quick, but you shouldn’t make it a habit.
Eating out can be very expensive and before you say Jack Robinson, you will realize that you have “eaten” half of your monthly income by spending it on food alone (can I get an Amen?).
It’s much more advisable to stock your house with groceries and natural food items, take your time to cook and store your food in the fridge for later, then you can just warm it in the microwave whenever you want to eat it.
Not only would you be saving your money, you would also save yourself from the fear of eating unhygienic food outside.
2. Online subscriptions services
Subscription to online services like magazines and apps can leave a very huge dent in your bank account because most of these things are automated and you have to pay for it whether or not you need it.
It is more reasonable to use free apps and unsubscribe from any unimportant online service you are subscribed to, by doing this you will be saving yourself a whole lot of moolah.
3. Data subscription
Data subscription is one service that takes a whole lot of money without you even realizing. We are in the age where everyone wants (needs) to use the internet, but in cases where you are just using your data to surf the internet aimlessly, without earning or benefiting from it in any way, or using it to learn something, it would be in your best interest to cut back on your data subscription.
When you’re bored at home in your free time, it’s easy to burn data for lack of anything better to do. Instead, use this time to learn a new skill, read a book, and generally be productive.
If you are using data for business or to learn a particular thing, then you need to find the cheapest plan that works for you and set a limit for yourself in order to prevent excessive and unnecessary spending.
4. New gadgets
Most people want to use the latest smartphones, laptops and tablets, not necessarily because they need it or because their old one has stopped serving them well, but simply because they want to show off.
It’s alright to get an upgrade from an old gadget to a new one especially if it is useful in your field of work and of course if you can afford it, but if that isn’t the case then you should continue to use the old one as long as it still works fine.
Don’t break the bank because you want to get a new gadget that you don’t even need, be wise about your spending—only then will you be able to save.
5. Expensive designer brands
It’s okay to buy a designer brand in order to make a fashion statement, but go for the brands within your budget range.
It can be hard sometimes because you want to spoil yourself and slay in a known designer brand, but you need to discipline yourself to be smarter with your spending.
Also, not all things designer actually make sense to spend your money on. For instance, there’s this designer paper bag that costs about $1100! Now tell me, why buy a paper bag for that amount when you can get a regular one and still use it for the same purpose? Oh well, I guess the rules of the rich are different.
There are lots of affordable designer brands out there with almost the same quality as the popular designer brands you want to purchase. It would be a wise choice to purchase one of those. As the saying goes, “Cut your coat according to your cloth.”
6. Buying on impulse
The major cause of impulse buying is not having a budget and a written list of items you need to buy when you go shopping.
Impulse buying is one of the things that take up all your money, because you eventually realize that you bought more of the things you don’t need and less of what you actually do need.
Creating a budget for yourself and a list of the important items you need to buy before you go shopping will save you from impulsively buying the things that you don’t need.
7. Unnecessary beauty products
It is true that looking good is good business, but you shouldn’t go broke simply because you want to look or smell good.
There are lots of DIY beauty products you can make by yourself to use. But if you can’t, then you should purchase the beauty products that are more affordable.
8. Junk, alcohol and soda
It’s very easy to buy ice-cream, chocolates, snacks, alcohol and soda drinks when we crave for them, but what we fail to realize is that a lot of money is gradually going into purchasing these items, thereby draining our account.
Sit down and calculate the amount you spent on junk food, alcohol and soda last month, then ask yourself how much more you would have saved up in your account if you went without those things.
Some people would argue that the money is very little or insignificant but we all know that it is little drops of water that make an ocean.
It’s absolutely fine to give yourself a treat sometimes, but it shouldn’t be all the time because the truth is that you can survive without taking these things. In fact, they do you more harm than good, both your pocket and your health.
9. Going to the cinema
Why go to the Cinema to see a movie twice every week, when there are platforms like Netflix to watch movies on?
Imagine how much you would save yourself if you stopped going to the cinema as often as you do. Until you take a conscious effort to save, you might never get to do it.
10. Buying in bits
It’s very advisable and economical to buy items you need in bulk rather than in bits because buying more items at once saves you a whole lot of money, time and stress compared to buying them one by one.
11. Expensive outings and vacations
Who doesn’t enjoy a good vacation and unwinding? It’s completely fine and fun to go on vacations and outings if you can afford to, what isn’t fine is exceeding your budget or borrowing money, simply because you want to have fun or look good in front of your friends.
Think about how much money you would be saving now if you decided to postpone your vacation to a later date when you are more financially capable.
12. Buying things for the purpose of impressing
Most people suffer from FOMO (“Fear of missing out”) and they are constantly trying to fit into a certain part of the society or buy certain things in order to impress their family and friends. You deserve to enjoy the good things of life, but that should not be at the expense of your ability to save.
Stick with what you can afford now, then work and save towards being able to comfortably afford better in the future.
13. Unimportant home appliances
Some of us buy home appliances that are not useful simply because it was on sale or a friend was selling it. Why not transfer the money you use on such things into increasing your savings?
Remember, appliances don’t increase in value, so even if you think you can re-sell them later, the truth is, by then it would have lost so much value that no one will want it!
14. Unnecessary event or concert tickets
Attending events and concerts are a very good way to entertain ourselves, no doubt, but you shouldn’t make it a priority or be in attendance at the expense of your savings.
If you can’t afford it without it affecting your savings, sit at home and entertain yourself (make a twerk video if you’re that bored. Who knows? You might just become rich and famous for it…but then again, who wants to be famous for that?).
15. Expensive Jewelry
Jewelry can be very fashionable but it is important that you settle for the ones within your budget range.
These items are luxuries and not a need that you can’t do without, therefore you need to choose the money you spend on purchasing them wisely.
16. Betting
There are people who believe that they will make a huge fortune from betting one day and these set of people don’t mind spending the little income they earn on it.
If that were really the case, then a lot of people should be billionaires from betting. Instead, the little money that people win from it sometimes, still goes back into playing in hopes of winning more. What a cycle!
Being addicted to betting and gambling is in itself a very dangerous and bad habit. Save the money you would normally use on betting and use it for a more profitable business or investment.
17. Clothes for occasions
Often, we break the bank to buy a new outfit for a one-day occasion and we end up not wearing the outfit after that day.
Instead, use the clothes you had before for the occasion and save the money you want to spend on buying a new one because you will eventually tuck it away deep in your closet anyway.
18. Cheap but low quality products
It is better to buy an expensive but durable product than a cheap one with a very low quality.
This doesn’t mean that all cheap products are of low quality and all expensive products are durable, but if you find out that a certain product is cheap but of low quality, go for a more durable alternative regardless of if it is more expensive.
In the end, you will realize that you would have spent more money on replacing the cheap low quality product several times than you would have spent on buying the expensive but durable one just once.
19. Cable TV subscription
With many online TV options to choose from that you can access on your mobile gadgets, it is more reasonable to opt for those options and save yourself the unnecessary cost of subscribing to cable TV. This is especially if you barely watch TV. It’s simply going to waste!
Or you could simply give up watching TV entirely, and see how your life changes for the better. With all that extra free time on your hands, who knows, you could finally start that business or write that book you’ve been meaning to!
20. Transportation
If you are going somewhere and you can reach the place comfortably by foot, then by all means do so.
The money spent on the public transportation you would have taken or the fuel you would have used in driving can be saved for a better use. Also, don’t be lazy. Use those legs, baby!
As Warren Buffet said, “Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving”.
Although we don’t ever wish for problems, they are an inevitable part of human life. So the next time you think of making that impulse purchase or buying an expensive item that you don’t need, think about what would happen if a money emergency came up suddenly and you don’t have any savings or anyone that could quickly come to your aid and help you solve the problem. You can definitely save money if you stop buying things you don’t really need.
If not for anything, it is paramount that you are very careful with your spending in order to gather enough savings to help you on your journey to financial freedom.
I’d highly suggest you watch this video and reprogram your brain from scarcity thinking to abundant thinking. There’s some testimonials in the video which you can skip but there’s some valuable content within. Why not check it out?
Remember to pin these 20 things to stop buying to save money!
If you found this post about things you can stop buying to save money helpful, even just a tiny bit, please take a moment to pin it to your savings board on Pinterest. Thank you!
