Things I No Longer Buy. Things I No Longer Do.

 As two retirees, our budget is limited. Inflation and now the tariffs are causing us to re-evaluate our budget as well as our spending. We carry no debt. Our expenses are simply for the basics. Our biggest expense is health care. Our annual medical insurance (Medicare) along with co-pays takes up about 22% of our annual income. Once we pay our standard monthly expenses (heating/air conditioning, electricity, utilities, home insurance, vehicle insurance, pet insurance and put aside $300 a month towards property taxes, and set aside cash for home and car repairs we have approximately $1800 left over for discretionary spending. That would include weekly groceries (we budget $550 a month but we often spend over $600) gas for the cars, and other miscellaneous expenses. 

I track the $1800 category daily. These expenses are put on credit cards simply for the rewards. We get 3% back on groceries, 5% back on travel and 1.8% on everything else. We also have a mileage card but since we've stopped taking vacays by air, those mileage points turn into cash that can be used exclusively at Amazon. Many, many times we accumulate so many miles (cash) that we can buy items at Amazon for free. I pay each and every credit card, in full, at the end of the month. I have never paid any interest or late fees on any credit card. I just use them as a tool. That is all.

As soon as I notice we are nearing the $1800 limit, all expenditures stop until the next month. This system works for us as we continue to remain debt free. If an emergency pops up, we have a savings account for that.

Needless to say, as the inflation rate keeps rising (and now the threat of tariffs) my husband and I have stopped all outside activities. We basically stay home now most of the time. The only time we venture out is to either go grocery shopping or to a hardware store. Other than that, whenever we  need something, I order it from Amazon. It saves on gas and once I do a price check, Amazon usually comes in as the least expensive. Our annual membership with Amazon, to me, is a very good deal. The membership includes two free books per month, Amazon Music for free, Amazon Video for free, unlimited photo storage for free (5GB limit on videos) and if I delay some deliveries, I get Amazon Bucks which we use to rent recent movie blockbusters for free. For us, it's a win/win situation. Other than Amazon Prime Videos we do not have any other streaming services other than our ROKU device. For $139 a year (or $12 a month) I think that for us, Amazon Prime is a very good deal. Click here if you are interested and join.

Things That We No Longer Buy: starting at the top of our head, neither of us have gotten haircuts at a salon in years. We buzz cut our own hair, for free. Hubby uses a #3 blade. I use a #8. It cuts my hair in layers, which I like because my hair is curly/wavy and it comes out looking almost professional. The same  goes for our little doggie (15 pounds) I cut and groom her every month. This saves us at least $172 a month or roughly $2064 a year! If my dog needs medical attention, I always try something holistic (and cheap/free) first before rushing off to the vet. My Go-To website for vet advice is this one, click here. Dr. Jones has saved us a lot of money by advising DIY flea & tick sprays as well as avoiding unnecessary (and expensive) vaccines.

I don't wear a lot of make-up. Whatever I have now is organic. I buy it once and use it rarely. I do, however, use a lot of chapstick over the year. I buy those at the Dollar Store (two for $1.25). I used to get a mani and a pedicure once each year, preferably at the start of summer but I no loner do those anymore because of the cost. I do them myself now. We don't go to a gym as we have set up an exercise area in our basement. Hubby uses it all the time. I occasionally use the treadmill. I lift weights, however, almost daily.

We reduced our RV vacations from around 5 or 6 per year down to just two. We like to spend one week per summer at the ocean (already booked) and a few weeks each winter in Florida (looking at sites currently). Hubby and I do a lot of day trips however. Since we live in upstate New York, there are tons of free state parks (free to those over age 62 from Monday to Thursday, including Niagara Falls). Many state parks are located either near a lake (Lake George, Lake Placid) or a river (Hudson River).

We do not pay for entertainment. Our area has many free concerts throughout the year (especially the summer and Christmas) There is always a fair, car show or a free event somewhere locally. I track them through my FaceBook account. We no longer go out to restaurants nor join our friends should they decide to go out for the evening. We stay home. We very rarely invite anyone over for dinner anymore. We do, however, still have people over for coffee and a home-made cake. We no longer buy wine or beer. If my girlfriends want to do lunch, I invite them over my house and everybody brings something. I do not pay for streaming service or cable. Our smart TV's both have ROKU devices as well as antennas for free television channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and some other local channels). I only 'pay' for recently released movies (Conclave, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown etc) when we've accumulated enough free Amazon 'cash' to view these movies for free.

We do not buy new devices until they are no longer able to be updated. That includes our iPhones, iPads and iMac computer. My own iPhone 11Plus couldn't be updated lately because I had no more space on my hard drive. So I transferred ALL my photos off my iPhone and onto the free photo account I had with Amazon and was then able to update my iPhone. For free. I didn't have to buy a newer iPhone. This saved me hundreds and hundreds of dollars! We did have an internet cell phone. We got it because at that time our cell phones did not have good coverage. We needed a clear working phone because of my cancer medical treatments. I had to be able to have clear conversations with the many, many doctors I saw for my care. In the interim, we switched cell phone providers from AT&T to Cellular One (from $118 a month to $50 for the 2 lines plus an AARP discount) I just recently cancelled our internet phone, thanks to the better service from Cellular One. I thought I'd be saving $15 a month. Turned out to be $25 a month, plus tax bringing down the monthly expense by $33. That's an annual savings of $396. This lowered expense came in handy when we renewed both our home owners and vehicle insurance (both rose in price). 

We do not use a landscaper. Hubby and his friend take care of the 3.5 acres of land we live on, including our vegetable garden. I have never hired any cleaning service. I still do all the interior cleaning of our home. It may not look as sparkling as it did a few years ago but it's clean, neat, un-cluttered and respectable. Hubby does ALL the home and vehicle maintenance and repairs. Everything we need is DIY. 

We no longer buy snacks, cakes, cookies, chips or candy (except dark chocolate for health reasons). They are too expensive and just empty calories. Neither one of us buy new clothes anymore. We either shop at a Goodwill or a Job Lot. I have two pairs of shoes (sneakers and summer flip flops) that I have constantly worn for the last 4 years. I do have a pair of boots for the winter. Hubby has way more pairs of shoes than I do. He has work boots, running sneakers, walking sneakers, work shoes. He often buys top quality but that is changing now. He can no longer buy $85-$100 pair of shoes. 

We've reduced our beef intake. We eat an awful lot of chicken, chopped turkey and either pork chops or pork loin. We've also been eating a bit more fish lately, especially wild caught salmon and cod. Aldi sells those at a good, fair price. I buy their frozen flounder and frozen halibut also. We try to have fish once per week. Every Monday is Meatless Monday. We try to have something plant based on that day. We still do a decent, sit-down, good-sized Sunday dinner. Either Italian or American fare. 

I make my own brown sugar (sugar and molasses) bread crumbs (we save all the ends of the bread in the freezer and then grind them up in the food processor when we need bread crumbs for cooking) I make our own salad dressings, chicken broth (I make chicken legs for my dog in my Instant Pot and that gives me free chicken broth). I dilute my coffee creamer with skim milk 50/50. That saves me both money and calories! I dilute, with water 50/50 my shampoos, conditioners, body creme and whatever else I can get away with without much difference. I reuse my tea bags a few times. I make my own pasta sauce from scratch. I buy most of my meats (proteins) on clearance. We make our own pizza. I've become very creative when it comes to leftovers. We make our own seltzer. We NEVER buy soda. If I do buy 100% fruit juice, I dilute it with seltzer. I recently incorporated portion control onto our meals. We only drink two cups of coffee each morning. 

I have a Singer Sewing machine. I've been mending our clothes, especially our socks whenever they get holes on the bottom or on the heels. I've been known to sew aprons and place mats and give them away as either birthday or holiday gifts. I'll be bringing that talent back to good use this upcoming year. I used to sew my own clothes, such as pants, caftans and pajamas. I'll be sharpening up my scissors and getting back to making my own clothes again. 

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