I was inspired by Crystal's list of 7 things they don't buy and decided to make my own. I did add the word 'usually' because there are always exceptions from time to time!
7 Things We Don't Usually Spend Money On
1. Pop. Or soda or soft drinks--whatever you want to call them! And juice. Except for natural ginger ale for when we're sick! We drink mostly water.
2. Cleaning Supplies. I do buy dish detergent and ingredients for homemade laundry soap. I use mostly vinegar and baking soda for household cleaning and it works great and frees up space in the budget for better food.
3. Paper Towels. We use reusable rags and cloth napkins. I do occasionally have a cheap roll of paper towels in my cabinet just in case, but not a regular purchase.
4. Dog Grooming and Bathing. Fortunately, Rock is short-haired and doesn't require a lot of grooming. But he does need baths regularly! Our kennel does a wonderful job and charges $30. While we feel that they earned every penny of that, when our income dropped a few years ago, that was one expense we chose to cut. It was a chore as Rock didn't care at all for baths and we had no idea what we were doing, but bathing him ourselves was a huge savings! He is very used to baths now and does really well. Purchasing a hand held shower head at a yard sale for $2 last summer has made this chore so much easier and faster!
5. Magazines and Subscriptions. I receive two magazine subscriptions for Christmas each year from my mom and mother-in-law. We also get Reader's Digest as a gift. Occasionally, I'll get a free subscription that I see featured on a deal blog. While I don't subscribe to it anymore because we don't use as many coupons, All You is usually worth the cost for the coupons included, especially if you can get it a good deal on it! Magazines pile up around here so it's better that we don't get anymore!
6. Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets. I really dislike the filmy feel that fabric softener leaves on clothes and honestly, I never been in the habit of using either one of these. So not a hard thing to bypass!
7. Most Processed Foods. While there are still a few 'splurges', eating mostly meats, fruits and veggies have helped with this! We've been particularly mindful of foods containing HFCS. And while this does save some money, I believe the health benefits far outweigh the financial savings!
What about you? What 7 things do you choose to not spend your money on?
7 Things We Don't Usually Spend Money On
1. Pop. Or soda or soft drinks--whatever you want to call them! And juice. Except for natural ginger ale for when we're sick! We drink mostly water.
2. Cleaning Supplies. I do buy dish detergent and ingredients for homemade laundry soap. I use mostly vinegar and baking soda for household cleaning and it works great and frees up space in the budget for better food.
3. Paper Towels. We use reusable rags and cloth napkins. I do occasionally have a cheap roll of paper towels in my cabinet just in case, but not a regular purchase.
4. Dog Grooming and Bathing. Fortunately, Rock is short-haired and doesn't require a lot of grooming. But he does need baths regularly! Our kennel does a wonderful job and charges $30. While we feel that they earned every penny of that, when our income dropped a few years ago, that was one expense we chose to cut. It was a chore as Rock didn't care at all for baths and we had no idea what we were doing, but bathing him ourselves was a huge savings! He is very used to baths now and does really well. Purchasing a hand held shower head at a yard sale for $2 last summer has made this chore so much easier and faster!
5. Magazines and Subscriptions. I receive two magazine subscriptions for Christmas each year from my mom and mother-in-law. We also get Reader's Digest as a gift. Occasionally, I'll get a free subscription that I see featured on a deal blog. While I don't subscribe to it anymore because we don't use as many coupons, All You is usually worth the cost for the coupons included, especially if you can get it a good deal on it! Magazines pile up around here so it's better that we don't get anymore!
6. Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets. I really dislike the filmy feel that fabric softener leaves on clothes and honestly, I never been in the habit of using either one of these. So not a hard thing to bypass!
7. Most Processed Foods. While there are still a few 'splurges', eating mostly meats, fruits and veggies have helped with this! We've been particularly mindful of foods containing HFCS. And while this does save some money, I believe the health benefits far outweigh the financial savings!
What about you? What 7 things do you choose to not spend your money on?
7 comments:
Fun topic! Well, I'm not as good as you about soft drinks and magazines. I do buy way fewer soft drinks than we used to, but sometimes I've just got to have a Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper!
OK, things I don't spend money on:
~Alcohol of any kind. We don't drink so that's any easy one.
~Cigarettes. Another easy one, as we don't smoke, either.
~Lottery Tickets. Again, something we don't do as a matter of principle.
~Books at full price. If I really want a book I can figure out how to get it way cheaper than the original price. Sometimes that means waiting until it's been out for awhile.
~Clothes for myself. I usually rely on what my mother and mother-in-law buy for me.
~I don't use fabric softener sheets or liquid.
~I don't get manicures, pedicures, or massages at the salon.
There's my 7 things!
1. Trash service: David hauls our trash and recycling weekly to the dump - a HUGE savings!
2. We're with you on dryer sheets/fabric softeners!
3. Hair Cuts - I cut both David and Samuel's hair and trim the girls except for their Locks of Love excursion. I usually get my hair cut a few times a year - but all of this adds up to a big savings!
4. Disposable Paper Goods: Like you, we don't use a lot of disposable paper items. We use cloth napkins, reusable rags and very few paper towels. I do like Lysol wipes on occasion - but use them sparingly. I also do not use a lot of aluminum foil or plastic wrap and things like that.
5. Also with you on magazine subscriptions. The only one I get regularly is Country Living and am able to get it with free Coke Rewards points (David loves his Coke!)
6. Tax Software or Preparation Help: people always look at me like I'm from Mars when I mention that I do our taxes. By hand. I just always have and when I'm used to doing it, I don't want to pay someone else to do it! :)
7. And, a few misc things that come to mind: syrup or cream soups (make my own), cable TV, Net Flix or movie service, coffee (we keep a small amount for company).
My brain is mush tonight and this is all I can think of :)
Some of my seven will be repeats from previous comments (like-mindedness...bliss): Alcohol of any kind; trash service; newspaper or magazine subscriptions; cookie dough (I make my own); most of Jane's clothes (she has older cousins with a generous mom); most home maintenance projects(my husband is handy); Netflix or DVD rentals, although we have been members of Netflix in the past.
OK. I use fabric softener for towels and sheets. How do you remove the dry, rough texture of clean towels without softener?
You are inspirational - I am thrifty but I still buy some of these things
1. dry cleaning - do it all at home
2. haircuts- I just trim my ends and buzz off Hubby's even though I would prefer he go to a barber
3. dog baths
4. cable tv
5. my neighbors have already turned on their AC but I am enjoying nice breezes in open windows
6. we do our own lawncare
7. we drink water from the tap - the water truck that comes to our neighborhood is the noisiest of all delivery trucks too, so annoying!
I could go on - this is fun!
dryer sheets & softener
pedicures & manicures
hair cut every other month
dry cleaning
mostly cut our grass
buy used clothes when can
drink tap water
my 7
I'm a little late to this party, but I loved this post. My list looks alot like yours:
1.Soda & juice-I do buy it if we have a party but only a couple of bottles since we don't drink it I don't want leftovers.
2. Paper products (except toilet paper, of course)- like you I do keep a couple of rolls of paper towels just in case but probably go through one roll every couple of months.
3.Magazines-look at them at the library or if someone shares but most w/ most mags you can see a lot on line. I found I wasn't reading them so it was a waste.
4. Water- we have a reverse osmosis system so the water comes out of the tap. If we travel I will pick up a case to take with us in the car-water is sketchy in some of the towns we drive through so I like to be prepared.
5.Windex- I buy some cleaning products but use vinegar for anything I can. The thought of windex makes me ill and vinegar does a great job - as you know.
6. Cookies- I make my own whenever we 'need' them!
7. Lottery tickets - better to take those few dollars each week and put them in the bank. :)
I don't use dryer sheets every time I wash but probably buy a box or 2 a year. I should try to add that to my list!
Nice post. You might like this cartoon about bottled water Bottled Water Cartoon and this post on the same subject Tap or Bottled Water?
Post a Comment