What would YOU cut out?

Say you want to save $200 dollars a month or $50 a week for a year so at the end of the year you could take a nice vacation somewhere (I want to go to Hawaii), what would you cut out of your monthly expenses?

 

I've cut my booze budget, and has left me with lots of spare change.

Although a slight feeling of emptiness.

 

my craft beer expenses...then most likely my dvd purchasing expense

 

That's hard to say. I don't really have any habits that I consistently spend money on every week, so it would have to be just a general cutting back instead of a cutting out. I think it'd be pretty easy though, I mean, considering how easy it is to just spend a couple extra dollars here and there on things I don't really need.

 

I think I'm gonna cut down on buying alcohol and cut down on going out to eat. Other then that I'm not really sure.

 

hmmmmm. I spend around $150 a month on cigarettes, booze and pot. but I wouldn't want to give up any of those... maybe just cut down on all three.

 

If i cut out cigs and alcohol, i'd have a lot of extra money

 

I spend way too much money at Goodwill/Salvation Army/ Value World on clothes...I could easily cut out that and save that money for a vacation.

 

I keep my spending to a minimum. I don't possess a single credit card, nor will I ever. I have no need for most material things. Just food, clothing and shelter. My one indulgence is beer, which I don't even spend that much money on as I only drink once or twice a week.

 

I don't have any credit cards either and only drink once or twice a week (if that) also. I can't really think of too much I could cut out honestly, as I'm not getting rid of the internet and I only have basic cable- don't spend much money on gas.....

The things I can really think of cutting down on is food because I'm always cooking elaborate recipes and going out to eat at nice places every week or two so if I cut all that out.... I may be able to take my vacation. I've been craving a really awesome vacation for too long now.

 

I spend way too much money on going out for coffee, I could definitely save quite a lot if I stopped that. But I don't really wanna coz I like it. :&

 

well i think tobacco and credit cards are the two biggest money wasters most people don't realize they feed who are doing so. personaly i don't have anything TO cut out, other then if i were to just stop eating, and i don't even see $200 a month or 50 a week, although i know i would if my situation were such as to not prevent me from working.

but i realize too, mine is a unique case and not currently pertinent to this discussion.

when i was working, my budget consisted of a week for rent, a week for groceries and "o&m", a week for the bank and a week for fun. if i wanted to save up for a big item, like a computer or something, i'd eat less and put most if not all of the fun allocation in the bank (or "bank") untill the neccessary ammount was accumulated.

needless to say i lived in some pretty minimal sorts of places in order to do this.
my "fun" budget consisted primarily of visits to hobby shops and hardware stores, with the occasional movie, or drives to explore the outer circumfrance of my surrounding countryside. booze i seldom spent on. tobacco i never got into and credit cards i've never applied for, let alone had or used. i did have the bank/s&l "debit" cards that you could use in the atm. i was still working when those started to come out, and then started comming with any sort of account. i think i may once upon a time have had a visa/mc or possibly BofA, before the visa/mc merger. that should give you some idea how long ago that was.

=^^=
.../\...

 

I don't think I could afford it on my current salary as it is... but I could probably manage to save a good 30ish$ a week if I just eat a tad less. (Not cutting back on the ciggs, no sir... that would be pure evil)

 

I'd cook more simple meals for a while I guess, rely on the less "pricey" ingredients/brands. It would suck though, we've gotten used to eating a certain way, and the few times where I did cut back on what type of meals/desserts I cooked, it wasn't a pleasant experience for us because we're used to a really wide variety of foods.

I remember not long ago a guy was watching me in the meat/poultry section of the grocery store and says "you could save a lot more money if you bought this instead..." and would point at things this or that. He was like "you could feed a huge family with this as opposed to what you're getting!" gesturing to what was in my cart. I told him thank you for the advice and went on my way. My first initial reaction was to be a bit offended, but then I thought, hey maybe he's just making conversation and trying to be helpful. So...thing is, the stuff he was pointing out were things that my family never eats, so it wouldn't have saved us money, we would have been wasting it.

I've had cashiers scan my groceries and tell me that, for example, I'd save money if I bought "X" brand of juice. Well, I don't want to tell them that the reason I won't buy that kind despite it being cheaper is because it isn't 100% fruit juice and it's got tons of added sugar and whatnot. I just politely thank them and change the subject.

But yeah, if I cut back on some of the things I buy as far as cooking, we could save some cash. Not that I don't look for deals or that I go out of my way to make meals that aren't always economical, it's like, cooking/baking for people is one of my favorite hobbies, and when I see a good recipe, I pounce on it, I don't really think about it in terms of cheap or not cheap.

 

I would cut out using heat in my house. That way I can save money, AND stick it to the man

 

i live off $200 a month, so. but try walking more, taking the bus more instead of driving to save on gas. use the heat and ac less (wear mroe or less to compensate). stop paying for internetn and find free places lik ethe library. if you have a cell lose iether hte cell or landline (most folks dont need both)

 

Probably The coke, hookers and strippers would be a good place to start.

 

as I am a teen, living with my mommy, I can not count too well

but def. weed

 

Rent...Our two-bedroom 2.5 bath townhome is $2,400 a month. I pay 1,200 a month and it is steep, even for san diego. I never use the kitchen or the yard. Our building's rooftop has a view into petco park, but I don't like baseball. All the things I am paying for I never use.
Right now I am saving to move in a beach cottage this summer. It's 1,500 per month for a one-bedroom, 1.5 bath with a tiny room for an office too. It is a block from the beach, completley private (I would not have a roomate) and they're styled as little houses with yards and fireplaces as oppossed to the townhome complex I live in now. The noise pollution drives me batty! I need a 3k deposit though so I am cutting down on where I go out to when I go with my girlfriends or alone.
Also, I am going to Hawaii this summer but instead of staying in a resort I am staying at my friend's uncle's house with her.
I'm also making my own fruit salad all the time instead of getting the pre-packaged and cut ones at whole-foods. I also let my colorist take pictures of my hair for her portfolio and in turn get free hair-cuts and hi-lites. I resist the urge to buy new clothes and shoes all the time too and have learned that a 40 dollar handbag from the gap is just as cute as a coach or prada one. I've been a lot better! I used to be so bad and I made so much less then too. I was always in debt. It is so nice not to live paycheck to paycheck anymore.

 

Okay, now I KNOW we need to hang out soon! haha