Living Well on Less

In preparation for the purchase of our first HOME (Eeeeee!), we've been making even more lists and keeping a close eye on our money.

Our list of expenses is pretty short, or at least I think so.

So after sitting down and looking at the 'extras', we've made some cuts.

• Smart Phone...........................................$29.99/month
• Gyms...................................................$34.99/month
• Netflix Downgrade.....................................$3.00/month
• Cable Box...............................................$8.00/month *

*I had mentioned in a previous post that we do not subscribe to our own cable plan. Because of the fact that we rent an in law apartment, we just paid for the cable box. While $8/month doesn't seem like a lot, we barely ever watch TV and we figured that since we won't have it at our new house, why not start now??!

Smart Phone: Yeah, it was cool. I'm not going to lie to you. Technology is great, but we decided that for our purposes, it wasn't totally necessary. I remembered how cool it was just having a cell phone (without a color screen!) and made the jump back to an average 'standard' phone. I sold them my blackberry and got a rebate. For $50, I got the LG Octane. I like it a lot, and I'm really happy that I made the switch back. I always used to feel a little awkward having my blackberry. But now, I feel right at home with my standard phone.

Gyms: I remember thinking that the gym was necessary. It's not. After getting certified as a trainer and becoming a dog-momma (relevant because I didn't like leaving her in her crate so early in the morning...barking and waking up the in-laws just didn't seem like a good way to start the day), I became pretty creative in designing workouts. While we are able to get some of the money back from our insurance company, we also save time/gas/miles on the car by working out at home.  I'll be sharing my updated workout schedule in a post at the end of the week! No gym required : ).

Netflix: We would not have downgraded if they hadn't switched their pricing around. We have the unlimited 2 disc plan and it costs us 11.99/month. I cannot remember the last time we went to a movie theatre...netflix is our treat and we love it!

Cable: I know I've already explained this, but give this a try if you're trying to save money. So many people look at us like we're INSANE when they find out we're CHOOSING to go sans cable once we move. It's become somewhat of a necessity in this society of ours, and it's a bit scary. I've heard of people taking out credit cards before they cut their cable/hbo/hd/fios.  If we wanted to afford cable, we could. But we choose to afford organic peanut butter (Seriously. It's probably around the same haha). Whatever floats your boat.

Savings?

$911.76/year

That's almost two years' worth of house insurance. Yes please.

That isn't all we've done to save, but I just wanted to share the things that are more common.


If you have any suggestions for me, please tell me! We really need to be super frugal for this upcoming year, and I would appreciate any tips and tricks.
Also, we're thinking about getting a chest freezer for our basement to store breads, beans, rice, meals, etc...does anyone have one? Is it worth it?
Thanks all!