10 Things We Do NOT Spend Our Money On
Conversations are often about WHAT we spend our money on – not what we DON’T. For instance, we talk about a recent purchase, a new shirt we bought, where we went out to eat, and the last steal of a deal we got. Rarely do we talk about where we haven’t spent our money!
So what’s the big deal? Well, our culture is consumed with consumerism. You do not have to look far to notice that we are bombarded with “suggestions” of what we should spend our money on.
- Facebook posts.
- Instagram sponsored suggestions.
- Billboards.
- Magazines.
- Advertisements on tv and the radio.
- Podcasts.
- Flyers in doorways of any public place.
- Daily conversations with whomever you run into.
No matter where you turn, there is someone or something “screaming” at you, telling you what you should buy and how it would improve your life.
I guess in a way, some things I do listen to. If it improves my life, saves money in the end, and is worth my time, well, maybe I will throw an ear that way. Majority of the time though, I close the door. Not to be cynical, but to be wise in our spending.
Why write a blog post about 10 things we DON’T spend our money on? I think we can get caught up in the idea that we need to have what everyone else has. I am not trying to prove that we can live without something, but I want to encourage you to think twice about succumbing to the pressures of what you should spend your money on.
Hired help
If we can, we try to fix things ourselves. Okay, not sure about this “we” stuff, but MY HUSBAND. He is the king of going on Google or YouTube to fix something! He also has a book on how to fix about anything, and let me tell you, he does. I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve had to have hired help come in, in our almost 15 years of marriage. He has fixed numerous things on our vehicles, water heater, bathroom, pool, floors, you name it. He has probably fixed it, but not without some elbow grease, frustration, and I’m sure choice words! With our vehicles, some things are beyond our knowledge, so we bring them to our trusted mechanic. And if we do have to call someone, we always go by word of mouth because usually it’s the small business guy that is excellent and reasonable, and who we want to support.
Malls
Rarely do we set foot in a mall and if we do, we usually go to ONE store that has exactly what we are looking for. At this stage in our life, we know what works and what doesn’t. If we have to order it online, then we often try to get free shipping in the process, saving money in the process. Yes, I do enjoy walking through a mall every once in awhile, but this is maybe once a year. We just aren’t big shoppers and window shopping in a mall is one of the most dangerous places in my opinion! We are “if you don’t need it, don’t buy it” type people and in the end, we save money.
Magazines
Do you subscribe to a lot of magazines? Or buy them off the newsstand? We receive one magazine in our mailbox, and it is “People” magazine. I had received a free year of it the past couple of years and feel it’s a good one to “read” to keep up on cultural trends, since we are in youth ministry. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s hard…I’m getting OLD is what I figured out from trying to stay up to date! But that’s beside the point! What do magazines offer that you aren’t able to find anywhere else?
Unnecessary Groceries
Are you an impulse buyer? I am an Aldi-lover. Like go there every week type lover. One of the reasons I enjoy Aldi is that I don’t buy items that I don’t need. How often do you walk through Wal-Mart, Meijer, Winn-Dixie, you name it, and buy more than what was on your list? Hand(s) up, totally been there! But when I go to Aldi, I typically only buy what is on my list and I’m not tempted to buy unnecessary groceries, saving money in the end!
Music
With websites like YouTube, Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, and the ability to listen to almost any radio station online, we rarely buy CDs anymore. We have kept our favorite CDs, but we have significantly lessened our inventory because almost everything is accessible online. And for us, there is no need to pay for a subscription to any of these because we can search any song we want on YouTube and listen to it. To us, the subscription is just not worth it.
ATMs and Finance Charges
Why do I categorize them together? Because they are both completely avoidable. We had an eye-opening experience with the fees one time after we had just arrived home from a trip with our youth group. Twelve hours later we left for another week long trip and we completely forgot to stop at the bank. Bam. Fee charged at the ATM. We knew there was a reason why we avoided this as much as we can when we saw the fee! It wasn’t more than a few dollars, but it was a few dollars we could have saved. If we planned ahead a bit more, this could have been avoided. Also, finance charges – we have never owed on a credit card and we hope we never do so. Since I was 18, I have always paid my bill on time because that’s what my parents instilled in me . And to me, it is just not worth the extra fees; even if it is just a few extra bucks. Just another way to save little extra cash. If we don’t have the money for it, we don’t buy it.
Gym Memberships
Several years ago, I once had a free trial membership to Curves; I thought, why not? Sounded like something new and fun. But then I realized that everything I did there, I could do at home. Even though it was free (and nothing against Curves), I missed going outside and exercising. I have a hard time “paying” to exercise when God has given us such a beautiful creation to exercise in! Though, I’ll admit in the crazy Michigan winters, I do use my elliptical that I bought for $50 at a garage sale. Sometimes my heart failure doesn’t allow me to do as much as I want to, but being outside is SO healthy! We just do not choose to spend our money on a gym membership at this time; maybe 10 years from now, we will.
Dry Cleaners
I don’t think we have any clothes that are dry clean only. If we did, I am sure I would find a way around needing to use their services and find a DIY way! I’ve heard it is expensive and I have a hard time paying more for dry cleaning in the end, than what I spent for the item itself.
Upgrades
We just aren’t “upgrade” kind of people. I know that some get inspired and motivated by upgrades, but I guess we are boring people! We have older i-phones, we don’t have cable, we have old-er vehicles (2004 and 2006), my laptop is one of the cheapest out there, and a lot of big ticketed items we have bought used or have been hand-me-downs. I will be honest that “newer” does sound good at times, like a newer computer, newer car, etc. But we know that comes with a hefty price tag, so what we have works with no need to upgrade. No need to buy something else until the other one goes out or doesn’t work anymore! Just another small way we save money.
Extended Warranties
How often have you bought something online, and it asks you if you want an extended warranty? I can think of countless times! I feel like everything comes with an “extended” warranty these days! But that is one thing we have not spent our money on. Even if we did, would I even remember what we paid an extended warranty on? By the time it breaks, do I even want the item anymore? I can’t think of one time we have ever paid for an extended warranty and I can’t think of one time when we wished we did. A small way to save a few bucks. And if you do pay for the extended warranty, remember to record what you have paid for so that if it does break, you can capitalize on it!
Let me say, these are NOT right or wrong ways to spend your money. We do not judge anyone who spends their money on these things because I know we spend money on things that others would not! I don’t want you to think we have it all figured out because we are learning through life just as much. That is why again, no judging here.
I wanted to share this with you all because so often we talk about the things TO spend money on and not on the things that we don’t.
SO…
What do you NOT spend YOUR money on?
