My spending has ballooned out of control. Normally, I’d seek out ways to enjoy my lifestyle for less money. But this time, that tactic won’t do.
Real sacrifice is an unavoidable necessity. To remain a member of the self employed masses, I need to inspect my current expenses and brainstorm opportunities to reduce cash outflows.
Since I have to go through this hunt and slash exercise anyway, why not share the details with you?
Perhaps you’ll learn a thing or two from the process. Perhaps I’ll learn something from your feedback.
In the interest of not boring you with a 2,000 word blog post, I’ll focus exclusively on my largest expenses.
So here goes.
Housing
I shell out $1,075 each month to cover rent, electricity, gas, and water.
To trim housing costs, I could relocate to a cheaper, less desirable neighborhood within the metro DC area.
Additionally, sharing a place with roommates might shave a couple hundred bucks off rent. However, I use my apartment to generate rental income, meaning a move might cause my net expenses to jump. So for now, I’ll stay put.
Groceries
Like many Americans (as well as Canadians), I lose an ungodly amount of food to spoilage. If I minimize the quantity of sustenance that finds itself into the waste bin, I’m guessing my grocery bill would plummet 30%.
Here’s what I plan to do to alleviate the problem:
1. Either totally forgo fresh produce or buy one or two servings at a time.
2. After cooking family sized meals, portion out enough to eat off of for the next day and a half, then freeze the rest. Accept that I’ll get bored with eating the same dish for three consecutive days and prepare something else.
3. Set up a cell phone reminder to transport food from the kitchen counter to the refrigerator before falling asleep at night. (I’m too ashamed to admit how much money forgetfulness costs me.)
Dining Out
Restaurant meals are one of the largest drains on my bank account.
I tend to make the worst decisions, financial or otherwise, when I’m hungry. That’s why it’s so important that I always have a variety of interesting dishes handy.
In the event, I’m out of delicious prepared food, I’ll keep healthy snacks handy to stave off hunger while I whip up a quick meal.
Health Insurance
Like magic, my monthly health insurance premiums dropped $362 in the middle of this year.
At the moment, I’m covered under my former employer’s group health insurance plan. It provides superior benefits at a lower price than anything I’ve seen for individuals.
Switching health insurance plans in the United States is a serious decision. The wrong move could land you in bankruptcy. I’ll hang onto my current medical insurance while I’ll research my options. I have until June 30, 2013 to finalize my decision.
Wireless Phone
With the addition of portable Wi-Fi service onto my wireless plan, my cell phone bill shot up to a whopping $150 per month.
Sure, there are steps I could take to slash this expense, but I refuse to accept the level of discomfort brought on by the cancellation of my data plan. Plus, since I don’t subscribe to a home phone service, I “need” an unlimited talk and text plan to avoid overage charges.
Internet
Believe it or not, but I pay for high speed internet service at two locations. In total, the charges add up to over $110 per month. I know, it’s sad.
Even though I just installed internet service (and incurred a hefty set up fee in the process) less than a month ago at the second location , I’m cancelling it. I can’t justify the recurring $50 fee when mobile Wi-Fi service bleeds me of $35 a month.
Gym Membership
Even though I could chop gym membership fees in half by getting my fitness needs serviced at a local community center, I think the change would be too dramatic.
The local community centers are frequented by old people instead of hot guys or women who inspire me to keep moving even when I feel like passing out.
I could cancel my membership and workout at home with the exercises I find on Bodyrock.tv or Zuzka Light’s YouTube channel. But honestly, I like people to watch me work. 😉
As you can see, I kept the luxuries that were most important to me, e.g., gym membership, data plan for my smartphone. Primarily because nixing those things wouldn’t add much time to my stint as a solvent business owner.
Can you find any other ways for me to reduce my expenses?
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Shawanda Greene is a free thinking, frugal gal whose only vices are boxed wine, lip balm and money grubbing. You can find more of Shawanda's musings at 
The only place I see you cutting things out here is in your food habits and otherwise making excuses (though totally reasonable) for why you need to spend so much in other areas. So really it seems like the only place, other than not dining out, that you can cut would be in your smaller spending categories.
Hahaha, you sound like me! Many of these things are huge luxuries to some people but not everyone has the same viewpoint or the same situations. I’m also focusing on decreasing the food budget. I started by packing DH lunch. And I also decided to go to Costco at the END of the month instead of the beginning.
I hope health insurance isn’t one of them.
I’ve considered getting rid of my first internet connection as well for about a nanosecond. The discomfort would be too much. I’d have to spend a lot of time working on library computers. No thanks.
If you are happy and saving then you are doing well. Housing: check out ways to save on electricity, water – cooler house, shorter showers, shower at the gym; groceries – I started buying frozen and canned produce more due to waste; are there convenience food items you can forego; dining out – have gift cards or coupons on hand if you do want to dine out, drink alcohol at home – mark up is ridiculous for opening a cork or cap!; wireless phone – good that you don’t have a land line; gym membership – depends on the cost.
Sounds like you’re saying this is your comfort level and anything lower you feel like you are depriving yourself. If you are meeting your goals, then carry on the same way! If not, then you could make small or big changes if you wanted to.
I could definitely cut more. My gym membership is only about $45 a month so it’s not a huge expense. I’ve drastically cut my dining out budget. So far, I’ve only eaten out once this month. And as I write this, I’m eating a lunch I packed for my day at the library. Even if I cook my meals at home, I’ve found that I lose too much money in gas and too much productivity by driving home for food.
I am in the DC metro area and now considering a new housing situation. 1k total housing expenses is great! If you do move…let me know!
Will do, but the outlook is bleak. 🙂 As you know, it’s hard to find inexpensive, conveniently located, and decent living quarters around these parts.
Looking at all the unnecessary things that you splurge on, it’s not surprising that you are **fabulously broke**.
I might be fabulous, but I’m certainly not broke. This exercise was to devise a plan to keep me that way.
When you mentioned about buying fresh product and fruit, I instantly reflected back to a time when I would buy too much. I hated throwing out food due to spoilage. I, too, started to buy smaller quantity of servings.
Those are all such great tips….and great points! So many times we fool ourselves into thinking we can have it ALL if we just find enough sales, but spending is not saving! I’ve been pondering that a lot myself lately, so much so that I turned it into a blog series for October: 31 Days of Living Well and Spending ZERO. Thanks for the great insight.
Spending zero? What a smart series. And you’ve done a phenomenal job organizing it. I think I need to jump on board the program.