7 "Luxuries" I Can Live Without:
1. CABLE: I’ve explained my thought processes [with math] here, but the gist is we prefer to pay $16 per month for Netflix, Hulu Plus, and free streaming from network websites instead of spending $100 each month for cable.
2. BUYING MUSIC: In the digital age, it’s really hard to keep track of how much we spend on music when it can be ours at the click of a button. But, it’s just not in our budget to spend frivolously, and at this point, music is frivolous. Both B and I have Pandora accounts, so we can listen to music for free via phone, tablet, bluray, whatever. Plus, there’s always the radio, which there are now apps for as well. And you need a song right now? One word that should be two words: YOUTUBE. Seriously. There’s even an app for THAT. Not to mention that Amazon and iTunes both offer free music downloads all the time.
3. EATING OUT: We eat out about once a month, usually either for a family gathering or out of dire necessity. It’s just really hard for me to justify going out to eat when I think that instead of spending $10 on one trip to McDonalds for unhealthy burgers and fries, I can literally make steak and mashed potatoes at home for the same price. I also think about it like this: I generally spend about $5-8 to make one (non-steak) meal, all components included, that yields 4 to 6 servings (we go through a lot of leftovers!). Why go out and spend $10 on a meal for each of us, when I can make 2 to 3 times as many meals for less?
4. SWEETS: We still eat our fair share, but you’ll be amazed as how much you save [and how much better your pants fit] if you cut your sweets budget in half. Instead of buying a package of America's Favorite Cookies for $3.50, I can buy prepackaged chocolate chip cookie mix for $1, and make cookies myself. Don’t get me wrong, we still spring for Oreos every now and then, but definitely not as much.
5. HAIRCUTS: A couple of years ago, when B and I were still dating, he revealed to me that he gets his hair cut every 2 to 3 weeks. WOW. Okay, so I never had brothers. Who knew? So I whipped out my calculator. $7 per visit, plus, say $3 tip. So call that $10, 20 times a year. That’s $200+. At that rate, I’m pretty sure I can cut your hair. So I invested into clippers and good barber scissors, (spent about $40 total) and have been cutting B’s hair for several years now. I’ve also started cutting my own hair. Fortunately for me, my hair has a lot of texture and is very forgiving if it's not precise.
6. SMARTPHONE: I have a dumbphone that calls, texts, and takes pictures, and that’s all I really need. I invested $200 of graduation money into an Amazon Kindle Fire (which are now even more reasonably priced), that can do literally everything else I would want from a smartphone as long as I have a WiFi connection…. and I don’t have to pay for a data plan. Due to B’s career, we both feel he needs one. But, as for me, I’m good saving my money.
7. Dinner and a DRINK: I REFUSE to buy alcohol at restaurants and bars. Drinks there are WAY over-priced, especially considering I could literally go out and buy a whole bottle of rum for the amount we’d spend on one Captain-and-coke and a Mai Tai. So if we drink, we generally only drink at home.
...And 3 I Can't....
1. HEAT: Okay, truth time. It’s December, and our thermostat is set at a balmy 60 degrees. Yeah, no it’s freezing. So we bundle up in our sweats and have 3 blankets on our bed (one is electric to get it warmed up
before getting in!), but if it saves us some cha-ching, okay. So it's still cool, but not nearly as bad as outside!
2. WiFi: Internet is much more reasonably priced than cable, and provides access to all of our tv/movies, social networks, my blog, news, humans, etc. Especially if you buy your own router (or steal it from that beloved sister who has like 3 old ones in a box in the closet - thanks!) and don’t rent one from the cable company.
3. SECURITY SYSTEM: Given that B works really strange hours, some really late and some really early, we both feel better knowing having a security system. We purchased ours outright (whiiich was more than I was
expecting), but now we pay about $16/month to monitor it. That $16 is totally worth the peace of mind.
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