When it comes to spending money, there are certain things we do need in life that may not be “unnecessary spending”, but if you are going to make the purchase, then it is best not to overspend and throw your budget out of whack. These days with so much competition between retail stores and essentially anything available online at your fingertips, if you can save any money whatsoever just by searching a little, then why not? Saving money from every purchase would definitely add up to huge savings over the course of a month.
Magazines
While these are not essential, especially with today’s social media, you can hear about new as it happens so by the time the new magazine comes out, it is already old news. If cutting your subscription is not for you, at least shop around when it comes to renewing, instead of enrolling in auto renew, where they will charge you top dollar, and by all means, never by a single issue, as that can be $6 just to read. If you can find a good subscription coupon you can get one for pennies off the retail price.
One at a Time Drinks
Certainly, buying energy drinks and sodas are not good for your health, as they contain so much sugar, with Diet drinks containing God knows what, but buying one at a time from a liquor store or gas station and they are a few dollars a drink. Bottled water you can find a little cheaper, but maybe a dollar. If you buy a whole case of water from the grocery store or warehouse club you can get 32 bottles for under five bucks.
Brand-Name Anything
When you are young, brand names are everything when it comes to clothes, and even the latest technologies. Now while I would not opt for a no-name TV or phone, there are plenty of items that you can save money from not buying the top brand names. For groceries, you can find the same quality in the store brand as the major brand, often finding organic. For clothes, a solid t-shirt is a just that, so no need to overspend.
Using Your Credit Card
While using your credit card could be a sign that you are overspending in general, when it comes to the card itself you could be paying more and interest and missing out on valuable rewards. With so much competition in the credit card market as well, companies are throwing themselves at you, provided you have good credit, to take advantage of their offer, so get the best APR and rewards that you can find.
Music Purchases
I used to have a huge CD collection and it is sad not to have physical albums to look at and play, but unfortunately those days are done. While vinyl has come back, it is the digital age, but that does not mean you have to buy songs and entire albums. I recently started Apple Music, and for $10 a month you can stream and download to your computer/phone to play at any time.