Being on a budget means that sometimes some things have to go in order for the equation between income and expenses to work. These things of course differ from person to person and as I wrote about in an earlier post, we all have different priorities, and they should definitely have a say in what we spend our money on.
These are some things that we have decided to cut down or cut off in our budget:
Bottled water – as we live in an area where the quality of the water is good we have decided that paying for the bottled version is simply a waste. I have purchased a few glass bottles with a lid from Ikea that we keep in the fridge so that we always have cold water at hand.
Cable TV – this is something that we have actually never paid for. We had it for a while renting our former apartment but I didn’t really use it that much. We have bought a digital receiver (NIS 200) and can receive the public service channels. A good internet connection is in my opinion much more important as everything can be obtained (also legally :-)) on the net these days.
Gym membership – this is a classic that I somehow keep going back to every few years and then regret. I am actually on the last month of this rounds membership and the regret is therefore very fresh in my mind! There are a thousand different free alternatives like walking, running, biking, online exercise videos and programs, etc. The challenge is to be strong and actually go do these things but then again you also have to be to go to the gym…
Buying lunch or take away – since I work mostly from home the temptation of buying my lunch is not big but also when I worked in the city I would only allow myself to buy lunch once to twice a week, otherwise bringing lunch from home. Buying lunch on a daily basis can easily accumulate to hundreds of shekels a month. Same goes for take away!
Processed foods – since being on a food budget I have almost stopped buying processed foods – going back to the basics is simply cheaper and also heathier. Especially in the area of baking I have found that you can really save a lot of money!
So that was some of the things on my list. What is on yours?
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