Small Expenses=Big Cash

When I was working, I stopped at a local coffee shop every morning. Each paper cup of steaming hot coffee only cost $1.85... a tiny price to pay for such a fun little indulgence. What's $1.85? Well, I guess it was $2.00- because I usually tossed my change in the tip can.

So, my indulgence only cost $2, right?

Well, I guess... except that I stopped by at least 5 times a week- sometimes I popped in after work or on the weekends. So more likely, I was in that shop 8 times a week.

So I guess my cheap little indulgence cost about $16/week.

$64/month.

$768/year.

That's some serious cash, and I am not counting how often my husband stopped in.

Sometimes, friends ask me how we can afford to live on one salary. This is part of it- trimming the fat out of our spending. Coffee tastes just as good from the pot on our counter. By using coupons, we get literally 99 cups for the same $2.00 I used to spend on one. It's worth it.

To kick the habit, I tracked my spending- I mean EVERYTHING- for a week. A good amount of it was being wasted on small indulgences like coffee, snacks, clothes that we didn't need, blah, blah, blah. To track, I just used a little notebook- kept receipts, wrote stuff down. I learned a lot.

While tracking takes an extra minute... it's time well spent. Simply seeing purchases in writing inspires cautious spending (sort of the same principle of keeping a food diary on a diet!).

Oh and once I kicked my to go coffee habit- a great thing happened... coffee out became special again. I still enjoy the occasional cup out- but I limit myself. I bought myself a gift card and add $10 every month. When it's gone, it's gone... and I'm OK with that. :)