This year, I am determined to save as much money as I can. I hear all the time about people to save money so they retire super early to spend time of their passions. Although this sounds ideal, I don’t know if I will actually be able to do this, but I figured I’d try it out this year.
My goal is to live below my means and aggressively save my money. I’ve made a list a few things to do in order to so.
- Unsubcribe from promotional emails. This one will be the easiest, I think. I figured that if I unsubcribe from emails from my favorite retailers, then I won’t be tempted to check the site and buy things that I ultimately don’t really need. Just because it’s a good deal, it does not mean that I really NEED to have it.
- Not getting coffees, teas, and juices. I reflected on my purchases this past year and I have to say I am pretty disappointed with how much I spent on frivolous things like coffee from Starbucks and pressed juices. For example, a cold brew is about $4.50 and although I don’t have one everyday, let’s say I get 2-3 a week, that’s still $50-$60 a month. This is not including pressed juices that are even pricer.
- Meal prepping and planning. I really want to get into the habit of meal prepping and planning. This will definitely help me to cut down on eating out and eat unhealthily. I also just purchased an instant pot so hopefully that will help with time. I fell into a Youtube loop of watching weekly groceries budgets of $10, which is less than what I would spend on just coffee. This definitely made me feel ridiculous and solidify my plans for saving money.
- Decluttering my closet and wearing only the clothes I have. To be honest, I way more clothes than I need and I’d like to be more conscious of fast fashion. I definitely want to focus more on quality than quantity from here on out. I like to think that I’m not easily swayed, but since downloading instagram this year, i definitely purchased a several things that I did not truly need and online shopped a little too much.
- Sell or donate anything I don’t use. This step will help not only financially, but I think more so mentally. Having clutter and things that I don’t need or no longer use just causes more stress than anything. Some ways that I have started selling not only clothes but also other items is on the Mercari app and the Poshmark app. Some other options are local second hand shops like Style Encore. I will also be donating a lot clothing or household items that I don’t need.
I hope I will be able to stick to my goals this year. To hold myself accountable, I plan on tracking my expenses closely for the month of January. So basically I plan to do “Dry January” but with purchases instead of alcohol. Let me know if you’re trying to aggressively save money this year, or if you have any tips on how if you’ve already started! Any tips or ideas would be super helpful!
Happy New Year!!
Rese & Ry 