The First 11 Things to Cut From Your Budget

Do you have some financial goals that seem unattainable? Are you saving up for a big purchase like a house or a car? To avoid overspending and achieve financial stability, it’s important to cut costs where we can. Here are the 11 expenses I believe you should cut first from your budget to get one step closer to your financial goals.

 

1. Restaurants and Uber Eats

Eating out at restaurants and ordering food through Uber Eats can be convenient, but it’s also extremely expensive.

Eating at restaurants often mean you’re not only paying for the $20 entre, but also getting an $8 appetizer, $15 for a cocktail, and also 20% for the tip and whatever additional fees your city tacks onto restaurant bills.

UberEats and other restaurant delivery services also tack on a bunch of fees. Your $13 Mac and Cheese is suddenly $25 after all the fees are included. Just to name a few, UberEats charges: Delivery Fee, Service Fee, Small Order Fee, Marketplace Fee, CA Driver Benefits, San Francisco Local Fee.

To save money, you can try cooking at home more often and preparing meals in bulk. Meal prepping can help you save time and money in the long run. It’s also a lot healthier as you can directly control the ingredients that are going into your food.

If you do decide to eat out, use coupons or take advantage of happy hour specials. Avoid ordering drinks, which are expensive and have the highest profit margins for restaurants.

2. Nights Out (Clubbing and Bars)

Going out with friends can be a fun way to socialize, but it’s always expensive from my experience. A night can easily end up costing $50-$200 for just the drinks (and even more if you’re buying bottles or getting a table at the club).

To save money, you can try hosting gatherings at home instead of going out. I love finding new recipes to cook with my friends or organizing a big potluck at the park. There are plenty of wholesome and cheap ways to hang out with friends that don’t involve burning a hole in your wallet AND getting a hangover the next morning.

3. Alcohol and Drugs

We all know that alcohol and drugs are bad for your health, very addictive, and also quite pricy.

To save money, consider reducing or eliminating your consumption altogether. If you decide to participate in them socially, avoid making it a habit and consume in moderation. Your wallet and your health will thank you later if you can avoid alcohol and drugs as much as possible when you’re young.

Prescription drugs are sometimes unavoidable if you have health issues. You can save by avoiding expensive brands at the pharmacy. On average, the generics are 80-85% less expensive than the brand-name medication. A generic drug is usually a chemical copy of the original brand-name medication and has the same efficacy as well.

4. Multiple Streaming Subscriptions

We all have that one friend who pays for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Crunchy Roll, Apple TV, Hulu, Peacock, Disney+, and Youtube TV. Maybe you are that friend who has 8+ streaming subscriptions.

With so many streaming services available, it’s easy to accumulate multiple subscriptions. However, these costs can add up quickly. To save money, consider eliminating subscriptions that you rarely use or sharing accounts with family or friends.

If you still use cable, you can also try negotiating your cable bill or downgrading your package to reduce costs.

What I’ve done in the past is just wait for a show to air, pay for 1 month of the subscription, and binge the whole show before canceling the subscription. Or better yet, spend that time elsewhere, either on a new hobby or a side hustle.

5. Junk Food

Junk food is not only unhealthy but also expensive.

Avoiding junk foods will allow you to save money now, and also prevent you from spending a fortune on medical costs once you get older. Junk foods are typically high in calories, unhealthy fats, and sugars, which can contribute to weight gain and increase your risk of developing chronic health conditions. They are also heavily processed and can lead to nutritional deficiencies and a weakened immune system.

To save money, try packing your own snacks and lunches instead of buying pre-packaged processed foods. Prioritize your health and budget by avoiding junk food as much as possible and instead opting for nutrient-rich, whole foods. Nuts, fresh fruit, and veggies such as carrots and celery are good alternatives that I’ve switched to.

6. Coffee, Iced Tea, Boba / Bubble Tea

A morning cup of coffee or tea can be a comforting routine, but $5-8 a day adds up to $150-240/month.

Buying a drink every day can create a habit that is difficult to break as well. You could become dependent on caffeine if you don’t have your daily fix as caffeine can be addictive.

To save money, consider brewing your own coffee/tea at home instead of stopping at a coffee shop. You can also try using a reusable coffee cup to reduce waste and save money on future purchases.

7. Clothes & Fast Fashion

First of all, you most likely only wear 20% of the clothes in your closet. Most of us don’t need more clothes, but are just using shopping as retail therapy or as a way to impress others. Shopping when an item wears out is a great way to cut back your expenses. 

When shopping, consider avoiding fast fashion. 

Fast fashion is cheap and trendy, but it’s also wears out quickly. It is often poorly made, which means that it wont hold up after multiple washes. If you calculate the cost per use, fast fashion items are actually more expensive than quality, time-less clothing that you can keep for many years. 

Investing in quality pieces and building out a capsule wardrobes will save you time and money in the long run. 

Purchasing from thrift stores is another way to shop sustainably. You can also use tools like KarmaNow, CamelCamelCamel, or SlickDeals to find coupons and compare prices before you shop. Remember to sites like Rakuten or Ibotta to earn cash back!

8. Video Games

Video games can be a fun way to pass the time, but in-game purchases can quickly add up. 

A lot of video games use a pay-to-win model to generate income. This model could promote a culture of gambling within games and be especially harmful to younger players who do not fully understand the risks associated with gambling. 

These days, some players are spending thousands of dollars on in-game skins and items once they get addicted to the games. 

Avoid or limiting your purchases could help you tremendously in your finances.

9. Nail and Hair Care

Nail and hair care can be costly, especially if you visit a salon or spa frequently. Although self-care is important, there are cheaper alternatives than visiting a professional every 2 weeks. 

I switched to doing my own nails and hair at home. If you don’t like using normal nail polishes or like cute designs, there are many companies that provide at-home kits. For nails, I enjoy using semi-cured gel stickers such as Ohora (they have the cutest designs and its affordable too).

10. Grocery Bill: Experimental Foods, Meal Planning, Wasted Food

With inflation rates skyrocketing, groceries are getting significantly more expensive. 

Grocery bills can be high, but there are ways to save money. To reduce costs, consider planning your meals in advance and only buying what you need. You should also shop on a full stomach, and consider also buying generic or store-brand products instead of name-brand items. 

Additionally, reduce waste by freezing excess portions, eating leftovers, and avoid buying experimental foods that you may not end up using.

You can also learn to meal prepping to save time and money. 

Reducing your meat intake will also help keep your grocery bills lower. Meat generally costs more than veggies, and I’ve seen a huge decrease in my grocery bill after making adjustments to my diet. Focus on buying seasonal foods as well since they are generally cheaper. 

Lastly I like to compare prices and order groceries online. I discovered that ordering groceries online allows me to check my pantry as I am ordering groceries. Certain grocery delivery apps such as Weee are also cheaper than the big box stores (and it’s so convenient)!

11. Impulse and Emotional Purchases

Impulse spending can range anywhere from a couple of dollars to a couple of thousand dollars depending on your spending habits. These purchases can become quite costly over time.

The best way to avoid these purchases is to avoid triggers or add in resistance to make it harder to complete the purchase.

In the past, I would impulse-buy cute stationery whenever I was having a bad day. I realized that this occurred frequently because the stationary store was on my route from campus home. By changing my daily route from class to my apartment, I was able to remove the trigger and decrease my impulse spending on useless cute stationary by 95%.

For online purchases, I unsubscribed my email to clothing brands that send out sales notifications and removed my credit card information from autofill.

Revisit Your Budget

The first step to identifying areas of cost savings is doing an audit of your cash flow. Get your free cash flow tracker and read this article to figure out which budget will ACTUALLY work for you!