I am on a journey to financial freedom, and have been trying to make conscious spending decisions for years. Over the years I have stopped buying certain things to save money.

 

 

Some days I miss some of these things, but do not regret my decision to stop buying them, and save that money and put it towards my goals.

 

 

There are three main reasons I stopped buying these things:

• They do not help me achieve my financial goals.
• They don’t add value to my life.
• They are not good for the environment.

 

 

Have You Been Wasting Money?

 

Here are 10 Things I Stopped Buying to Save Money

That you can too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home

 

Household Cleaners / Fabric Refreshers

 

 

Various Cleaning products

 

 

There is a cleaning product for every area in your home.

 

You need a different cleaner for your sinks, toilets, shower, stove top, floors, furniture, windows and you get the point.

 

I find it overwhelming looking at all the various products in the store, let alone the cost to purchase all these items.

 

I swear I barely bought cleaners in the 5 years I have been living on my own.

 

My mom would occasionally gift me a bottle here and there.

 

I would wipe down as I go, and occasionally use a cleaner on big messes.

 

I eventually started watering down the products to stretch my dollar.

 

 

Then the eco-friendly side of me didn’t want to contribute to the plastic waste, so I started making my own multi-purpose cleaner.

 

The recipe I use is simple:

In a spray bottle combine:

• 2 cups of water
• 1/4c of vinegar (sometimes I’ll add even less)
• 1-2 tsp Dish soap (I use dawn)

Shake the bottle to mix the ingredients, grab your favorite cloth and you are good to go!

 

 

 

Fabric Refreshers

 

 

I mean Febreze. I was addicted to Febreze. Not all the fancy smelling ones, just the good old original recipe.

 

I just loved spraying it everywhere. I sprayed it on my bedding, my chairs, my carpets, I’d spray my brothers’ rooms when they weren’t home, because teenage boys… smell.

 

This turned out to be an expensive habit. Of course I would only buy it when it was on sale or with a coupon.

 

I even watered it down when the bottle was half empty.

 

 

When I moved out, and had more important things to pay for, like the roof over my head, and FOOD.

 

 

 

I nursed my little travel size Febreze bottle, and would refill it when it was empty with water (I found it the other day, it still has the faintest smell).

 

I know I can DIY it myself, but it’s just not the same.

 

I have stopped using fabric refreshers in general including dryer sheets, I just don’t care for the added scents, or spending the money on them anymore.

 

 

 

Napkins

 

 

Got a glove box full of napkins?

 

 

Getting takeout, ask them for napkins.

 

 

I stopped buying napkins to save money.

 

 

Napkins are not that expensive, and you can buy a large pack for only a few dollars, but I could also save that couple dollars for something else, especially when I can stock up on napkins at the drive-thru for free.

 

It just seems like an utter waste of money to buy something to just throw out.

 

Now what about when you have guests?

 

I pull out the cloth napkins (We fancy huh).

 

I was debating investing in cloth napkins for a while, when I saw some brand new ones my grandmother had never used, she said I could have them (WIN!).

 

They are soooo not my color, but hey free is free, and they will do until I am ready to invest in nicer ones.

 

 

Plastic Bags

 

 

Shopping Bags

 

 

 

I am kind of mad this even became a thing.

 

Yes they are convenient, but the amount of damage plastic bags have caused to the environment, don’t even get me started.

 

We as consumers have relied on them so heavily, that when stores started charging for bags, it was a minor inconvenience to pay 5 cents a bag (I personally think they should charge more to deter people).

 

With the bags getting thinner, you can’t even reuse them and they rip after you put a single item in them.

 

 

 

Not worth it!

 

Bring a cute reusable tote or a plastic shopping bag from a previous trip.

 

 

I remember grocery shopping with my mom long before they started charging for bags, we would bring our own bags.

 

We used some totes, as well as the nice sturdy liquor store plastic bags.

 

 

Sandwich bags

 

 

The one drawer in my house that I probably hate the most is the one that contains (not very well I may add) my sandwich and snack baggies.

 

I had stopped buying the baggies probably two years ago, and started rinsing and reusing them, as well as housing snacks and sandwiches in containers instead.

 

I have also invested in some silicone reusable bags that I can use over and over again, and love them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beauty

 

 

Makeup Wipes And Cotton Rounds

 

Makeup Wipes

 

 

Oh the convenience of a nice cool, sweet smelling wipe.
Oh how I miss them… sometimes.

 

 

Honestly I don’t even know why I started buying them.
I rarely wear makeup.

 

It was probably just less messy and easier than getting a washcloth and a cleanser.

 

Now I must point out that I was still frugal when purchasing this unnecessary product, I would only buy them when on sale.

 

I would also cut them in half to stretch the package.

 

 

(I got a little kick out of it when I even got a bonus pack and would calculate how many half wipes I would get).

 

 

I even went as far as spending my vacation money on them.

 

I calculated the exchange rate, and taxes all while standing in a Walmart in Florida (I think I bought 6 packs 🙄)

 

After awhile I realized I did not need to keep spending $6 dollars on a pack of 25 wipes, I went back to my tried and true method of cotton rounds and toner.

 

 

Cotton Rounds

 

I stopped buying cotton rounds, when my local pharmacy kept raising the price.

 

I would occasionally buy them at the dollar store, but that was not very convenient for me to get to.

 

Now to cut costs I would also sometimes buy the more cost effective cotton balls instead.

 

 

But after awhile even that seemed like a waste of money, to just be throwing my money away.

 

 

I have made the switch to reusable cotton rounds.

 

 

They are a bit of an investment up front, but have already paid themselves off since I bought them.

 

They are made of soft materials, like a fleece or cotton, some have a terry cloth side as well, to mimic a face cloth.

 

You use them, throw them in a wash bag and into the laundry.

 

Save your money and buy some reusables, and if you can sew, you can make your own.

 

 

 

Hair Cuts

 

 

 

A cute cut and colour can cost $120 and if you go every 6 weeks for touch ups you’re looking at close to $1000 a year, just on your hair!

 

Cut your hair yourself.

 

 

Scary, I know.

 

Start with a trim between salon sessions, look up a Youtube tutorial or two.

 

Don’t trust your own skills?

Have your partner, or a friend cut your hair.

 

Luckily I have a curl pattern, so if it’s not perfectly straight it is hard to tell.

 

I don’t think I have had a haircut in over two years.

 

 

 

 Money well saved.

 

 

 

New Clothes

 

It pains me to spend $40 on a hoodie, or pants, EVEN if I have a gift card.

 

Why?

Because I know if I am patient, and frequent the thrift stores often enough I will find the same pants for $10 or less.

 

 

It has happened so many times.

 

I have literally bought the same pants, that I was wearing for 1/3 the price from a thrift store (perfect timing as the ones I was wearing were on their way out).

 

I was overjoyed (It’s the little things guys).

 

 

I do my best to buy used clothes, and only buy new when I have a gift card.

And I am sure to buy only sale items or clearance scores, as to stretch the gift card as best I can.

 

 

 

Other

 

New Books

 

I love a good paperback .

The smell, the sound and the weight of a book in your hand.

Love it.

But I had to stop buying new books.

 

The cost of a big hardcover in Canada is over $20, and when you take into account the book will only get read once, or twice and then collect dust on a bookshelf, it just becomes an expensive collection.

 

 

 

I made the transition to breaking my addiction by buying used, at thrift stores, garage sales, to eventually stopping.

 

I know there is a library down the street, and I know there are audio books.

 

But one of my goals is to read all the books on my shelf, before buying a new one.

Now if J.K. Rowling puts out another Harry Potter book, you bet I will be throwing that money down faster than you can apparate.

 

I still break this rule occasionally when purchasing gifts for my friends’ babies, because first off they need to build their library and love of reading and second the books are not for me….

 

 

 

Greeting Cards

 

 

Greeting cards I stopped buying a long time ago.

 

I discovered early on that $3-5 for an ugly generic card was not worth it for me.

 

It is so much more meaningful to hand make a card for a friend that matches their personality, and was made with love.

 

Plus they usually don’t throw it away.

 

Now if you get sucked into the world of card making like I did (thanks Kristina Werner and Michaels) It can definitely add up, but I’m still using those products today and haven’t bought a greeting card in over ten years!

 

And if you are not the crafty type, that’s understandable, then pick up your cards from the dollar store, they have the same cheesy messages inside and you can get them as low as 2/$1.

 

 

Another tip, if you are buying a card for a baby or toddler (who can’t read, or appreciate the card) skip the card, write it on the tag or the wrapping paper.

 

 

 

Subscriptions

 

Oooh a free trial.

FREE!

A few months to a year later, the company you subscribed to, starts taking out payments for your FREE subscription.

You get too lazy to cancel, or forget.

Next thing you know you have a pile of magazines you don’t know what to do with.

Sound familiar?

 

 

Do what I did and cancel that subscription!

 

 

Set a date, in your phone, when a free trial will end, and cancel before you are charged.

 

 

 

I do this when there are promotions for tv channels.

 

 

 

Quick tip: record the movies or shows to your pvr, they will still be there even after the channel has been cancelled. 🙂

 

 

 

Bottled Water

 

 

 

I don’t know how I even survived before my reusable water bottle.

Really, I clearly was not getting enough water back then.

 

Buying bottled water is such a waste of money!

 

Invest in a reusable water bottle and a pitcher.

 

I think I have been consciously avoiding buying water bottles since University. I mean I still would buy a Nestea here and there, but then I would refill that sturdy guy with water (#afrugalmoment right there).

 

I occasionally will buy a case/jug of water for trips, when we have no access to running water, or are unsure of the water quality.

 

But other than that I stopped buying the overpriced water.

 

 

To review things I have stopped buying to save money are:

 

1. Household Cleaners
2. Napkins
3. Plastic Bags
4. Makeup Wipes and Cotton Rounds
5. Hair Cuts
6. New Clothes
7. New Books
8. Greeting Cards
9. Subscriptions
10. Bottled Water

 

 

Save your money today by putting a stop to some of these purchases.

 

The more changes you implement, the more money you will have left in your wallet.

 

 

 

 

Which things have you stopped buying to save money?
What are the things you have stopped buying to save money, I would love to know.

 

 

Let me know in the comments below

 

 

 

Stay frugal,

 

 

Connie xoxo