After basically hemorrhaging money over the past few months for our bathroom renovation, I’m in savings mode again. And yes, I know the holidays are coming up. But for the moment, I’m trying to take a closer look at our normal expenses and see where we can make improvements.
Which brings me to a blog post I wrote back in 2014, called How I Saved $2,277.60… Just By Asking. It may be one of the most helpful blog posts I’ve ever written in 11+ years of blogging, so click through and check it out.
Really. Go read it. I’ll wait.
Okay, so after reminding myself how I saved money last time… I decided to pull up my credit card statement and made a list of my reoccurring charges.
Everything from school before/after care (could I cut back days?), to Kindle Unlimited (do I really need it when I’m using the library, Overdrive and Hoopla?). I reviewed our car insurance policy, checked on the current prices and promotions for streaming services, and decided where we need to trim the fat a bit.
Did I cut everything fun? NOPE. Not at all.
But I did think about whether I was still getting the enjoyment out of our $7.41 monthly Discovery + streaming service (yes, we are). So, this way I’m making more proactive decisions, rather than just ignoring them and letting them auto-renew for all of eternity.
As a result of this review, I decided to make a few changes and try them out for the rest of the year. By giving myself a couple months to get accustomed to the small cut-backs, I can look at everything with clear eyes in January.
Another Ask
You may have noticed that I occasionally share Amazon Associates links when I’m reviewing or recommending an item here on Pocketful of Joules. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases… which means that clicking on an affiliate link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you. And I do mean small, but it does add up over time to help pay for the annual blog hosting fees I pay.
I went through my Amazon orders for the last couple years, as well as items I’ve recommended and made a special Pocketful of Joules Favorites List. If you click through and buy anything on the list, OR if you click through my list and then go elsewhere to make your needed Amazon purchases, I may earn a small affiliate commission.
If you’re planning on shopping anyways, I’d really appreciate it!
You can find the Pocketful of Joules Favorites List here: https://amzn.to/3s6voAn Every single thing on the list is something that I currently own, use and would recommend. If you have any questions about individual item recommendations, just let me know and I’ll give you my feedback!
Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.