
What did you do to improve your finances today?
This was one of my favourite threads on the old forum, and since there doesn't seem to be one here yet, I thought I'd create one :-)
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We've been at it just a week now and one huge takeaway after setting up our budget is how much automatically comes out of our bank accounts that we just don't track. Old software subscriptions, cloud storage charges...$3.99 here, $.99 there...little leaks in the boat. Nice to get a handle on that. We just can't afford to be vague.
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Today I cancelled a subscription I've had for a while and never used *d'oh*. Saved $47 for the three monthly subscription.
On Monday I rang and cancelled my auto-delivery for dog food because I'm switching him to raw. I only remembered because they sent me a reminder that it was on the way so the money left my account and after talking to the CSO was returned a few days later.
I feed my dog a mix of wet and dry manufactured food at a cost of about $50 a week. After doing extensive research I've decided to switch to a higher quality alternative (actual food) that so far has cost me $15 for a week. Saved $35 a week.
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I dropped my subscription to Adobe Photoshop because I haven't used it in months. I can always resubscribe for a month or so if I need it. Also I convinced myself to hold off another two weeks on a purchase, to see if I really need it. And I'm holding out till my gym contract is over in November, then I'm switching to DVDs.
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I accepted a temporary job offer. I'm unemployed, but hoping to get the offer I REALLY want by the end of next week and had been holding out on this temp canvassing job as a "backup". But even though I have the savings to see me through for a while, if I want to keep saving for my goals than some income is better than no income. And fortunately the temp job is something I care about (yay political activism!) and knows that they might only get me for a week if everything else goes according to plan. And if it doesn't...well, I'll still be devastated, but at least I'll have a job.
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Broke down and purchased an Instant Pot (kitchen appliance) today. I belong to several frugal forums and it has a following like the Beatles! I used it today and I have to say I am IMPRESSED. Most tender pot roast I have every had. Especially amazing since I used a cheap cut of meat. Only cooked for 1/3 of the time I would have had my crock pot on. Looking forward to making many frugal one pot meals.
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Cannot wait for September to be over - it's been a tight month financially with a lot of extra expenses which have added up to more than I anticipated :-( Plus side - and my win for today - is that I managed to get an expired store credit voucher reactivated. Will save some category expenditure over the next month or two.
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Okay, this is dumb and like really basic but I replaced something I buy all the time with the store-brand item. 15 years of drinking actimel for €3.89 a pack and the Tesco one turns out to be just as tasty, except for 65 cents. It's like, 15 years of habit, I wasn't even thinking about it. I started drinking it as a lazy student who didn't want to have a spoon to wash 😛 and it was the only drinking yoghurt in existence at the time. There's so many now! 65 cents!! I'm still too lazy to eat yoghurt with a spoon for now, though I'm tempted to try making my own with the instant pot someday... 🙂
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Set up a new phone :-) I haven't been using YNAB long enough to build up a funded true expenses category for this but I had anticipated when I was setting up that I would be getting one in the near future so funnelled windfalls, extra savings etc into covering it. Although it wasn't a perfect YNAB-covered purchase I think it demonstrated my shift in budgeting mindset - I chose a model that was within a reasonable price range, avoiding upselling, tracked its price for a while so I was able to recognise when it was a available on a good deal, and now have the satisfaction of knowing that if it was to get stolen/broken I could replace it without placing too much strain on my overall budget. And yes, I have already set up a true expenses category for buying my next one! Calling it a win as I felt a marked reduction in the stress I usually feel when buying a big ticket item.
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As I changed the bank account for our Netflix subscription so it would go out of our joint account, I saw that Netflix has different plans. I never knew! We were on the most expensive on of 13,99/month, whereas we could easily do with the cheapest plan, which is only 7,99/month! Boom! €6/month savings!
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So, while I didn't do anything directly to make this a YNAB win, it definitely turned into one.
I have a coffee table in my bedroom a friend gave me before leaving the island. I wanted to see if I could set it up with my printer but it turns out the coffee table doesn't really fit in my room and I can't really use it like a table in the way that I wanted to. So, I posted on facebook I had a free coffee table that could go to a good home and I hoped I would get a couple of takers. A friend replied and said she was looking for a coffee table and would I be interested in trading the coffee table for a TV she no longer needed. I said sure! I haven't owned a TV since I moved to Hawaii and I would like to have one for when I move into my own apartment soon.
I sent a few pictures of the coffee table to my friend and she replied she wasn't looking for a coffee table that looked like mine but would I still like the TV for free? So somehow I am keeping my coffee table and also getting a free TV which I'm just going to take as a win after having a horrible September. 😂
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Cancelled my first credit card. I had until February to do it but I'd hate to forget and have to pay the yearly government stamp duty (€30) twice instead. So I'll only pay one stamp duty from now on, for the new credit card which has a tiny amount of cashback rewards (has nearly paid for itself already this year, now that I look at the report!). I've now closed all my accounts with that other bank, which is a relief because of their frequent technical issues.
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Made some time yesterday to make a big vat of soup that I froze in portions and will take to work with me on days that I have to work late to avoid adding unnecessarily to my dining out categories. It always takes time to batch cook but I'm always impressed by the savings - got seven portions out of the recipe, each costing about $1. Looking at my budget gave me the kick up the proverbial to get organised, so that's a win.
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I just cut my own hair. I've been doing this for a little while now, and it always makes me happy not to have to pay. I thought I might as well try it and it turns out I can do it. I've had a few compliments on the cut and no-one has guessed that I do it myself.
I have nothing against hairdressers, by the way. I'm just very focussed at the moment on making savings wherever I can.
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I'm working hard to get a month ahead. The mortgage is the big gap that needs to be bridged. I've been paying it using mostly money from when I get paid on the 1st of the month - not ideal. For 1 Nov I should have 50% of it paid with October money. And November is one of those months with 3 pay periods, so that extra check should hopefully be enough to put me over the top for 1 Dec! I'm already fully funded for True Expenses in October, so other than groceries and fuel all my money will go to November. Feels good.
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I got a notification from my mobile carrier that my contract was up and that both me and my wife are eligible for new phones. We had our eyes on the newer models of our current phones (mine is 2 years old, hers 1 year) and we would have had to up our contracts from $40/month each to $60/month.
Instead we decided to keep our current phones and downgrade our contracts to $16.90 and $20.90 per month. That's $506.40 saved per year (960.40 if we upped to the more expensive plan)! It's hard to think we were even considering the upgrade when our phones are in perfect working order and we would have just been scratching an itch for something shiny.