My Lifestyle

When I decided to get serious about debt reduction, it seemed there was nothing I could do to reduce my monthly bills.  I have always been very conscious about keeping them as lean as possible.  There’s no fat there to cut.  My problem is shopping and the way to deal with that was to stop cold turkey.

Still, when you’re trying to do everything you can to get out of debt, you have to look at your lifestyle.  There are things I could cut or reduce; the question is whether I’m willing to do so.

Here are some of the ways I could cut monthly spending and my thoughts on whether doing so is worth it or not.

• I have an iPhone and the $90 monthly service that comes along with it. I absolutely never should have bought the phone.  I couldn’t afford it and I definitely couldn’t afford the monthly bill, but here I am more than a year later.  It’s hard to imagine going without the phone now, though I know that I could.  It’s more a question of whether I’m willing to and whether it would be worth it, since I’d have to get a new phone and break my contract.  Right now, the answer is no.  If it stood between me and getting out of debt, then I would change my answer, but I can make significant payments without trading in my phone and the smallest possible cell bill I could have would be $50.  Right now, the iPhone is worth it to me.
• I live alone. I have the cheapest housing possible for living alone; I’m in a tiny studio apartment.  If I moved into a two bedroom apartment with a roommate, I could save about $175 a month in rent.  Right now, it’s worth it to me to have my own space.  Only the smallest of apartments around here would really save me any money.  I would consider the option if I had someone I wanted to move in with, but right now I’m not willing to risk the random assignment.
• I have my own car. I live in California, so going without a car is practically unheard of, but I live and work and go to school all within very close proximity.  Getting groceries and visiting friends would be difficult, but I could do it.  My car is paid off, I pay about $97 a month for insurance, and spend about $30 in gas (because I don’t drive much).  To me, it’s not worth it to lose the independence and convenience of having my own car.
• I wear decent clothing. I don’t wear designer clothing or anything too expensive, but if something is worn out, I replace it.  I certainly have more than I need and keep up a  certain standard of dressing that exceeds what is necessary for my job and for being a student.  This, I can cut for now.   Just before getting serious about debt reduction, I spent $200-300 on clothing.  I told myself I was just stocking up!  Yeah, I’ve fallen for that before.  This time, I’m holding myself accountable.  I’m going to try not to spend any money on clothing until the beginning of next summer and, ideally, beyond that.  When I do buy clothing, I will be very intentional.
• I use several beauty products. I have spent a lot of money on make up, especially, but also hair care, nail polish, and other beauty products.  It doesn’t cost too much to keep it up, though.  Most items don’t need to be replaced too often and I have forbidden myself from buying more.  I don’t get manicures or pedicures, I get my hair cut only twice a year, and I don’t tan or anything.  I can be pretty low maintenance.
• Health. I wouldn’t normally mention this, but it was a money drain in November.  I spent $185 on new glasses when I could have gotten cheaper frames and said no to the anti-reflective coating.  I got white fillings when I could have paid nothing for the silver.  I’m trying to think reasonably about these things, but also long term.  Not keeping up with my health, not choosing quality will likely cost me more money in the future.  Plus, I pay for a portion of my health insurance and I should be using it!
• I go out once or twice a month. I go out pretty rarely, but when I have the opportunity, I usually say yes.  That means spending money on food, drinks, and possibly a movie or whatever.  Compared to other twenty-somethings, I spend very little in this category, but it’s hard to justify it at all when I’m trying to get out of debt.  Right now, I’m probably not going to cut down from rarely going out to not going out at all.  I’m 25 and spend most of my time at work or in school.  I need to socialize occasionally!
• Fast Food/Coffee/Vending Machines. I probably eat out at least once a week.  I don’t think of that as being a lot, but looking at the money I was spending, I see how quickly it adds up.  I’m trying to limit it only to when I go out with friends, but a maximum of twice a month.  If I do eat out, then I’ll concentrate on keeping the bill low.  I don’t get coffee a lot, but a cafe recently opened very close to me, so I stop in occasionally.  And then there’s the vending machine at work.  Going broke 80 cents at a time.  I’m trying to severely limit both and do all of my food spending at the grocery store where prices are cheaper and easier for me to track.
• The grocery store. There’s a lot of fat I could cut here.  I spend between $200-250 a month just for myself.  That’s not bad for a budget in general, but I’m trying to get out of debt!  I’m not on a rice and beans diet, that’s for sure.  I spend more than I should, because I don’t really cook, so some of the things I buy are prepackaged meats and cheeses, which are not cheap.  Still, I’m trying to get myself to not eat out and if there’s is no good food in my kitchen, I’m more likely to give into that temptation.  There is one area where I could cut grocery spending: alcohol.  What I drink is pretty cheap, but I could limit my drinking to just Friday and Saturday.  That would cut out $5-10 a week from my grocery bill.  Consider that done.
• Misc. This is all the random stuff that comes up and the small bits of money I spend here and there.  I don’t lead an unpredictable life full of drama where money problems are always arising, but there are things you can’t help.  There are the things I can help, though.  Like random trips to Target and mindlessly buying music on iTunes.  There should be nothing left defined as misc. in my budget.  I’m trying to account for everything.

I know it probably sounds pretty restrictive to watch everything so closely, but I’ve found it to be strangely liberating.  There isn’t all this doubt in my mind about what I can afford and where my money is going.  I know where it’s going.