17+ Ways We Slashed Our Budget

Are you looking for ways to slash your budget? Read our best tips for spending less and still enjoying the good life.

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How We Slashed Our Budget

Everything is much more expensive than it used to be and we’re all looking for ways to save money or spend less. Last year we personally experienced a significant loss of income and had to make some adjustments. My husband lost his job in May and unfortunately has a noncompete agreement that has prevented him from being able to work in his field since then. My income was down 40% thanks to several uncontrollable changes by Google that caused people to not be able to see my content, therefore reducing my income. Obviously, things had to change and I’m sharing what we did to make the best of the situation.

Let me start off by saying that we’ve always lived within and mostly below our means, don’t have much debt, and do have a comfortable nest-egg. All of that has worked in our favor. We’ve made changes to our spending habits and haven’t had to dip into any of our savings or investments so far. And both our girls are grown, have good jobs, and live on their own, so we don’t have to worry about supporting them.

Everyone has different responsibilities and priorities. I’m just sharing what worked for us. I’d love to hear you ideas so please leave me a comment and let me know your favorite budget slashing tips!

Things We Didn’t Give Up

Even though we cut back on our spending we had a great year with many enjoyable moments. We didn’t live like paupers or give up all things fun and exciting.

• Travel – We were still able to take a couple of trips but saved on those by using credit card rewards for some of our lodging. During our travels, we cooked more than we ate out and that saved us hundreds of dollars. We also traveled with friends on one of our trips and were able to split the cost of the VRBO home that we stayed in, as well as the cost of groceries and car rental.
• Date Nights – We saw movies and ate out several times but used some saving strategies that I’ve listed below like gift cards that come with bonuses.
• New Clothes – Our favorite shops give us rewards points and often run sales. We didn’t buy many new clothes or shoes, but always bought at a discount when we did. I recently ordered a new pair of walking shoes on sale so we can keep up our healthy habits. That’s worth the investment for my future self.

We managed to finish the year happy and a bit wiser. We cut back but didn’t live like paupers. Let’s take a deep dive into what we did differently last year.

1. Reevaluate Needs vs Wants

When we took an honest look at what we were buying we realized most of it was not really necessary. Our mortgage, utilities, car maintenance, and groceries weren’t optional. But extras like non-essential clothing, gadgets, and more were cut way back. Now we’re much more intentional about what we spend our money on, and it actually feels great.

2. Develop New Habits

I recently started reading a popular book that my financial advisor husband has read and recommended, Atomic Habits. So far it’s great and is encouraging me to think about all the little things we do in life, including small purchasing and shopping habits.

FYI, another book he loves is Die With Zero which might change your mindset when it comes to how and when to spend your savings.

3. Track Spending

The most important habit for spending less and saving money is to be aware of how it’s currently being spent. We use and love Simplifi from Quicken. It allows you to set budgets, goals, and get helpful reports about your spending habits. It’s simple enough for anyone to use and is currently 50% off. You can sign up for a free trial here >> Simplifi Trial

4. Cancel Amazon Prime

As much as we love Amazon, it’s just too darn easy to order from there. Canceling our Amazon Prime membership not only saved us the monthly fee, but it made us really think about whether or not we needed whatever it was that we were considering buying. We do still order from there but not near as much. And with any order over $35 we get free shipping.

We have a Walmart Plus membership that we purchased on sale, but mostly order things that we really do need. And we love the fact that most of our orders benefit our local store. Delivery is always free and fast. We can order groceries, clothing, household goods, and much more.

5. Drop Unnecessary Subscriptions

How many streaming services do you have? We had too many and don’t even watch that much television. We dropped our Netflix subscription as well as a few others. We’ll probably add it and the others back when there’s something we’re really interested in, watch it, and drop them again.

Most of us have more subscriptions than we realize and can drop several of them. Check your monthly or yearly billing and eliminate the ones that are no longer serving your needs.

6. Use Credit Card Reward Points

Certain credit cards offer rewards points that can be used for travel, dining, gift cards, or payment on your account. Nearly every purchase we make is with a card that gives us points and we rotate between 2 or 3, depending on which one has the best current offer.

If this is something you’re considering, only do it if you can pay the full balance when it’s due. It’s not worth it if you have to rack up interest rates and fees and can actually cost you much more than the points are worth.

Here are our go-to rewards cards with my referral links:

• Capital One Venture – We’ve used the Capital One Venture card for years and often get free hotel stays with our points. There’s an annual fee but the rewards far outweigh the cost. You can earn bonus rewards points from many brands that they feature. It’s a great if you enjoy traveling.
• Capital One Savor – This one is more foodie focused and gives you rewards on groceries, dining out, entertainment, and more. There’s no annual fee, plus there’s currently a new member bonus and you can get the details here >> Capital One Savor
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa – If you book airline flights with a Southwest Visa, you’ll get extra perks and points. Use my referral link here >>SW Rapids Rewards Referral<< to apply and you’ll get a $400 statement credit and 40,000 points if you apply by January 6th.
• American Express – We use this card to earn rewards on groceries.
• Some stores offer deep discounts and rewards points for opening a credit card as well.

7. Maximize Earnings on Savings

If you have a savings account, make sure it’s earning the most interest possible. Shop around for a high-yield savings account and earn more. We currently have a savings account with Capital One 360 and the rate is at 3.8%. There are lots of other ways to make your money work for you, but I won’t get into those here today.

8. Cook at Home

We had fallen into a habit of picking up takeout a couple of night per week and it was really busting our budget. Plus it was very unhealthy. Now we cook at home at least 4 nights per week using fresh ingredients and have leftovers on the other nights. It has drastically reduced our spending, plus our health is better than it has been in years.

9. Grow a Garden

Last spring we started a garden with a couple of small raised beds. We did this before my husband lost his job and it did require an investment of the frames, soil, and plants, but we harvested dozens of squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and probably 200 tomatoes from just 2 plants! We also planted a small herb garden which saved lots of money on yummy seasonings for our harvest.

I can’t say for sure that we actually saved that much when you consider the cost of everything including the daily watering, but it was definitely worth it and the vegetables were so much better that what you get at the grocery store. We could have sold the extra produce at the farmers’ market to make a little money if we had wanted to. Since we’ve already (literally) laid the ground work, this year won’t cost us as much. We’ll only need to buy plants or seeds and are really looking forward to it!

10. Save on Groceries

We buy our groceries in bulk at Costco, discounted at our local Aldi store, or on sale whenever possible. If an item that we use regularly is on sale on isn’t perishable we’ll stock up on it. We also clip digital coupons and paper ones when available.

11. Find free or cheap entertainment

We occasionally go to the movies but wait until Tuesday when it’s the discounted day at our local movie theatre. Plus we buy Cinemark gift cards at Costco. We pay $39.99 for $50 worth of movies!

As the old saying goes…out of sight, out of mind. If I don’t see all the latest and greatest, I don’t want it. I’ve also unsubscribed from emails from companies that spam me with sales and deals.

13. Give Handmade Gifts

Rethink gift giving! If you have a skill, give a handmade gift instead of buying one. I take a pottery class at our local art studio and gave pottery pieces as gifts several times last year. Baked goods and hand built items are also always appreciated, as are gifts of your time! Offer to wash a car, mow a lawn, clean out gutters, or weed a garden for a gift that’s sure to make someone happy. Or paint a room, organize a closet, wash windows. The list of nice tasks is endless.

14. Shop Second Hand

Most of our house is furnished and decorated with second hand finds. I honestly love pieces that have a history plus older ones are made better than new ones many times. I didn’t buy much this year because our house is full, and I tried to not shop for anything that I didn’t truly need.

I don’t buy as many clothes second hand as I used to, but both of our daughters do and always find the cutest things. Clothing from the 90’s is their favorite and they’re also made better than newer ones.

Read my best thrift shopping tips and see my favorite finds here: Favorite Thrifted Finds & Shopping Tips

15. Shop Sales

Not everything can be found secondhand. And for those items, we wait until they’re on sale or we have a discount code. Here are a few ways to save on new items:

• Sign up for emails – most brands will offer a discount if you subscribe to their emails. You can unsubscribe if you don’t want to continue getting mail from them.
• Shop on the weekend – many stores run sales from Thursday through Saturday or Sunday.
• Use Discount Codes – most online stores have a page on their site with all the current discount codes.
• Leave it in the shopping cart – If there’s an item that you really do want/need, go ahead and add it to your online shopping cart. Leave it there for 24 hours and decide if you still want it. If you do, you might be in luck because many times you’ll get an email with a coupon code attached for extra motivation to buy it.

16. Shop Your Home

If you want a quick update to one of the rooms in your home without spending a dime, try borrowing items from other rooms instead of buying something new. You’d be surprised at how swapping a few items will give a space a fresh new look. My favorite tips including ideas for making your own decor can be seen here: How to Decorate on a Budget

17. Repair, Not Replace

If you can repair something rather than replace it, you’ll definitely save some cash. Our 11 year old kitchen faucet had seen better days and instead of replacing it, I reached out to the manufacturer and they sent me replacement parts for free.

We’ve also replaced the burner on an oven, cleaned out a washer that wasn’t draining properly, and unclogged our kitchen sink. You can find a tutorial for repairing virtually anything from a manufacturer’s website or Youtube. Also, be sure to maintain and clean your appliances, cars, and other working items and they’ll last much longer.

More Ways to Spend Less or Create Income

That sums up most of my best tips for slashing a budget and saving money. I hope you’ve gotten a few good ideas to help you tighten your budget.

What are some things that you’re doing that I haven’t mentioned? I’d love to hear your ideas! Please leave me a comment and let me know what works for you and your family.

Thanks for dropping by!