Save more, spend less! This should be the central theme of everyone’s new years resolution. Perhaps I’m being a bit presumptuous and you are already a saver, but I still challenge you to save more. My new years mottos is “financial independence”, and I’m working hard to achieve it. Every dollar saved is a step closer to reaching my goal, so I focus very hard on cutting back where it’s easiest. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be selling my car and biking to work every morning, but there are many other cost cutting avenues I have yet to travel down.
I like my daily trip to Dunkin’ Donuts for my $1.89 large coffee with cream. I’m the first to admit that coffee just tastes better when brewed by someone else, but not so much that it’s worth the additional cost. I can utilize my Costco membership, which I pay for, to purchase a very large bag of Dunkin’ Donuts that I can brew for months to come. This bag costs about $10 each, and saves me about $100 a year easily. Granted this cost savings alone isn’t going to do much, but it’s one of the many building blocks helping me to achieve financial freedom.
Cable remains a costly service that we allow ourselves to overindulge in. Now I do need high speed internet, if for blogging alone, but I don’t know about the 200 channels. At the very least you should be shopping around for the best deal. Between satellite providers, the phone companies breaking into the cable market, and the usual slew of cable companies, there are enough entities to use for negotiating power. Also, while the premium channels are nice, they are anything but necessary. Skip the extras and stick to the basics, your wallet will thank you for it.
Lastly, people think the only way they can be healthy is by spending a bunch of money on health clubs, or weight loss companies. Truth be told, you have the power of the internet for tips on healthy eating, companies like Weight Watchers are anythign but a necessity. Likewise, a used treadmill and some cheap free weights can do the same job that any costly gym can do for you. As long as you stay motivated and focused you don’t need a ton of money to live a healthy lifestyle.