24 Things I’ve Stopped Buying and Don’t Miss One Bit

I’m always looking for ways to get just a little bit better on our financial independence journey. So when I see a list like X number of “things I’ve stopped buying and don’t miss one bit!” or “things I’ve cut out of my budget as a minimalist.” I stop and read. I’m hooked. I love the idea of efficiency, multipurpose, using less, saving money in the long run, and maybe helping out mother nature in the process too. What could be better. I’ve added in the annual cost savings for each of these cuts so you can see small changes can really add up over time. I had no idea these changes were saving me over $12,200 annually! So when you’re looking for savings in your budget – keep track because the numbers might blow you away too. So as an ode to one of my favorite topics, I give you, drumroll please…

Ms. Begin Anywhere’s list of 24 things I’ve stopped buying and don’t miss one bit

Home & Garden: 

1. Cable

($60/month, Annual savings: $720)

This was one we cut right up front when we started on the road to financial independence, and we haven’t looked back. We used to purchase it as part of a bundle but found we weren’t using it. So we just cut the cord.

2. Subscriptions 

(Annual savings: $300)

I hate subscriptions, they are so easy to forget about – especially if you don’t review your bills on a regular basis. We’ve cut out magazine subscriptions, streaming services we don’t use, as well as software we no longer use. These felt good to stop buying and we don’t miss these if we weren’t using them!

3. Too Many Annual and Perennial Flowers

(Annual savings: $200)

I’m a sucker for a beautiful garden. I garden by the motto: “Nothing succeeds like excess.”  Meaning you give me a planter, I want it to look fantastic upon first planting and not have to wait much if at all for things to grow to get a “Wow”. And, while this is a successful strategy for gardening, I’ve learned it’s not really necessary, and some things even do better from seed.

Now I focus on the perennial plants I love in my garden and learning to successfully propagate them.  In my veggie garden I do experiments of starting both seeds and starts together to see which ones do better and produce healthier more robust plants or veggies. For example, zucchini and turnips both do fantastic from seed in comparison to buying starts (ka-ching!).  I also like sharing any excess in my local Buy Nothing group whenever I can – I have more Red Jupiter’s Beard to share each spring, than I can handle – but what a great problem to have and a great way to meet new neighbors! 

4. Big Name Cell Phone Services

(Annual savings: $960)

In 2018 we switched to Mint Mobile and went from paying $120 a month for two phone lines to paying $240 a year for 10GBs/month per personal. Yep. You read that right. A YEAR. We have never had a problem and we’ve used the service abroad. Game changer! You may even be able to use their lower data service if you can find out how much data you really use each month. I’m experimenting with their lowest level data service now since I work from home.

5. Fancy Christmas Cards We Stopped Buying and Don’t Miss

(Annual savings: $82)

This is one of my favorites. I love the holiday season and I love seeing all my friends and family’s holiday cards. And, in return I like to send out a card too. We used to use all the fancy card services but they were over $100 a year for something that gets tossed in the trash at the end of the season. Boo.

Enter Canva. You can create your own card in alignment with whatever color scheme you are digging that year. I design a 4 x 6 photo holiday card on Canva and print them out wherever I see a sale (Target, Walgreens, etc). These places almost always run a special where you can print 100 photos (aka your card) for 8 or 9 cents each ($9 for 100, no need to use them all).  Stick them into A4 envelopes in whatever color you’d like (cost ~ $9 for 50) and your Xmas card is ready to go for a fraction of the cost of the usual holiday photo card. ($100-$18 = $82)

6. Books/Magazines

(Annual Savings: $16/book x 6 books a year = $96)

For books and magazines, my first stop is always the library. I can get 80-90% of what I want without much of a wait at all. Most magazines are instantly available on-line and for books I love audio books so sometimes I have to wait a week or so for those to become available before I can check them out. Need some reading inspiration? I’ve suggestions in the Learning section.

7. Buying the Same Insurance Year After Year 

(Annual Savings: varies year to year $200-400)

Researching insurance can be a little painful, but once I see what I could save each year, I get more motivated. Plus Policy Genius really makes a huge difference in the leg work and research. You’ll be happy to stop over paying insurance.

8. Unnecessary Kitchen Appliances and Single Use Appliances

(Annual Savings: varies)

Seems like every year, there is some new kitchen gadget on the market claiming to make meals faster, easier, more fun again, etc.  The slow cooker, the pressure cooker, the sous vide, the air fryer, the spiralizer, the crowd sized griddle, the rice cooker, the steam oven…you get my drift.  I love to cook but I’m at the point where I just don’t want to store any more small kitchen appliances let alone appliances that are single use! No thank you! I want to use what I have even if that means getting a little creative. And heck, I’ll go and borrow something from a friend to see if I like it enough to buy it.

9. Dryer Sheets

(Annual Savings: $15)

We used to have two cats and the dryer sheets would do a wonderful job of getting cat hair off our clothes. But they are single use item we really don’t need. So now we use dry balls from Dropps (friend referral link, I get points if you try them out, at no additional cost to you) and they have been working out great. Dryer sheets definitely fall into the category of things I stopped buying and don’t miss one bit.

10. Paper Napkins

(Annual Savings: 1 bulk pack of paper towels per year: $26)

We used paper towels in place of napkins for many years and it wasn’t until more recently, like in the last 10 years that we started to use the enormous collection of coth napkins I had. I’m not sure what we were waiting for (maybe the Queen as they say) but I guess we only used cloth in my house growing up when we had a holiday or a family gathering. Otherwise we used paper. I think it was because there was ironing involved or so I thought. Turns out you don’t have to iron all napkins all the time. Now my collect of pretty much any color you can imagine are being used all day every day. 

11. Paper Towels

(We went thru a roll per week when using them for things beyond napkins: 52 rolls per year = $112 – Costco microfiber cloths: $18 = Annual Savings: $94)

I already mentioned above that we used to use paper towels instead of paper napkins. But, almost 10 years ago a friend turned me onto really fancy microfiber cloths. Like I’m talking about the kind that are silver infused to kill bacteria. Yikes! They were pricey. Way more pricey than I thought was necessary. But they were nice.

Lucky for me, I found some plain microfiber cloths at Costco, in that car section I rarely visit. The package was huge, like 36 cloths, but now they are staple in our kitchen for anything we’d use a paper towel for and more.  They are great for dusting and cleaning mirrors and cleaning bathrooms. You can find one in every room of my house, that’s how much we use them. The trick is cleaning them.

Use the sanitize cycle on your washer or use a hot water cycle. And, only clean them with other microfiber cloths that are like colors. We learned that the hard way. We had just purchased some new microfiber kitchen towels since I wanted some nice white ones for hands which I could leave out, since my usual yellow microfiber towels are on the smaller side plus they don’t really go with my kitchen. I washed them all together and my new lovely white towels turned a light lemon yellow – gah! I washed them a bunch and they faded, but word to the wise – clean them with like colors. 

Food We Stopped Buying and Don’t Miss

12. Everything Organic ALL the Time

(Annual Savings: $100)

I used to buy organic no matter what. However, now I stick to those “dirty dozen” that the EWG comes out with based on their pesticide research. Then I give myself permission to buy non-organic other things. 

13. Fresh Fruit When Even Better Frozen is Available 

(Annual Savings: $165)

We eat quite a bit of fruit and veggies, so about 3 years ago we stopped buying fresh fruit for our breakfasts and switched to frozen. This was simple things like blueberries, strawberries, mangos and dragon fruit. I didn’t miss a thing, plus I didn’t have to wash and dry the fruit since it was already washed before it was frozen. So this turned out to be a time saver as well. 

14. Food at Airports and On Road Trips

(Annual Savings: $50)

I pack good snacks in my carry on. This way I know I have something I look forward to eating. This saves time and avoids having to hunt around the airport or rest stop (yuck!). 

15. Kombucha

($3.25/kombucha bottle x 365 days = $1186; cost of home brewing = $47; Annual Savings: $1139)

I drink Kombucha most days, and a while ago I got into brewing Kombucha with the tea, sugar, SCOBY and everything. It’s pretty easy and has very little start up cost once you can get your hands on a SCOBY. That’s the hardest part. I’ve purchased them from Amazon and asked a friend for a spare SCOBY – which is created after each brew. So, brewers always have extra one available. Give it a try if you like having access to Kombucha on demand that you can drink plain or flavor to your heart’s content without the high price tag of store bought kombucha. Talk about a random thing I’ve stopped buying and don’t miss one bit!

Clothing:

16. New Clothes for Every Occasion and Out of Town Trip

(6 business trips per year x ~ $300 per trip for new suits/clothes/shoes = $1800; 2 vacations per year x ~$300 per trip for new clothes/shoes = $600; Annual savings: $2400)

This was a big one for me, but once I made up my mind on it, it was a relief. I would reuse dresses, suits, cute outfits, bathing suits from last season, etc that I already had in my closet. The impulse buying that would go on before a business trip (to make me feel confident), a wedding we were invited to (hello, whole closet of dresses I’ve only worn once or twice), or a vacation (heck, I was just excited for the trip) was unnecessary.

I own over 10 bikinis from when I used to live by this posh lingerie and bathing suit store in Chicago. As long as they still fit and look cute, they are getting used. I don’t have a pool or hot tub, so they get minimal use. And I already have the fancy bathing suit wash to keep the elastic like new…so yah don’t need that either.  Plus all the extra shopping time can now be used on planning for the actual trip.

17. Clothes I Don’t Love

(Annual Savings: Varies)

I return things if I don’t love them. Haven’t we all purchased something that looked pretty good in the store, but got it home only to feel so-so about it.  I have. Rarely do I purchase clothes in this season in my life – not that I’m opposed to them. I just have ones I like and I wear. And, I do this trick where I start each season with my hangers facing the wrong way, and when I wear the item on the hanger, I flip the hanger to hang on the hanger rod the right way. By the end of the season I know what I’ve worn and what I haven’t. What I haven’t is on the chopping block for donations. If it’s something I love, I’ll save it for one season more. But otherwise, it’s out of here.

Personal Care & Technology: 

18. Manis

($74/gel manicure per 3 weeks; Annual Savings: $1282)

I love having my nails done, and the french manicure is my favorite. Only thing I change is who does them – I do.  And, I do them with a gel manicure set at home and they last as long as the salon. I’ve even taught a few friends and my sister-in-law and she’s never looked back either.  I know it’s nice to get out of the house, but so is Netflix in your PJs while doing your nails.

19. Pedis

($68/pedicure per 4 weeks; Annual Savings: $816)

Same thing as above, as long as I remember I’ve been doing my own toenails. I use regular polish because I’m not around sand very often and then touch them up when I need to. I have this diamond foot file that i love and makes my feet look even better than going to the salon most of the time due to being able to use it right out of the shower

20. Botox

(Annual Savings: $300 every 4 months = $1200)

I have terrible eyesight. I’ve had it my whole life, plus I’m a natural worrier (even my job now pays me to worry – ha!) Screens are a constant most days. I scrunch up my forehead when reading and thinking, and have a sizable vertical crease between my eyes without much trying. I tried Botox for a while but the upkeep was a pain (literally) and it was only a matter of time before Mother Nature won anyway, so I pulled the plug and just leaned into my forehead crease. Now I think of it as something that distinguishes from everyone else. Good thing I can add it to my memojis. 

21. Shower Gel

(Annual Savings: varies)

While I still love shower gel, I now make beautiful bars of soap from food grade oils I have around the house, essential oils, and perennial herbs from my garden. I know this sounds a little hippy dippy but I assure you, it’s not. I’m not sure what it is, but I’ve turned a few of my friends on to the process, and they are hooked too. I think it has something to do with the natural uplifting or calming nature of essential oils that lurs me back into the kitchen to make more. Plus I love having a handmade hostess gift on hand when needed. 

22. Small Packs of Tissues

(Annual Savings: $24)

My grandmother gave me my first handkerchief a LONG time ago. She was into tatting. Yes that’s a real things and it doesn’t have anything to do with tattoos…LOL. It is a craft that makes a durable lace with loops and knots. Anyway, she used to put the lace on handkerchiefs and she gave me at least one for maybe… my first communion…no idea…nevertheless, it was quickly put into my dresser drawer and forgotten about until last year during COVID and the tissue and toilet paper shortage.

Now, we never ran out of either of these things, thankfully, but it got me thinking. Perhaps, I should try one since I have them and they are reusable. Do my part for mother nature. Plus I had seen my sister in law use one from her wedding so I thought, I couldn’t be too weird. Long story short, I’m never going back to tissues. Not only are they single use, but even the soft ones feel way rougher on your nose than a handkerchief. I’m hooked.  

23. The Newest Phone Every Year

(Annual Savings for 2 new phones: $2000)

I think this one was harder for Mr BA then me. Phones are not something I think much about. I appreciate them but as long as they work, I don’t need the latest one with the biggest memory or newest camera. Sure they are nice but I like other things way more. We’ve also learned that if you get a new battery it really extends the life of your phone, so try the new battery option if your phone is working great but the battery is dying within the day.  Also, I found that both Mr BA and I don’t both need to have the same phone. So, if he really wants the newest one but I’m still happy with mine, it’s ok to just upgrade one phone. Win-Win.

Experiences

24. Super Fancy Meals Out When They Are Not Enjoyed

(Annual Savings: $200)

I’ve stopped forcing Mr BA to go out to fancy restaurants.  He doesn’t value it, so why force someone to do something they don’t want. It’s no fun for either of us.  So, I’ve stopped and I haven’t looked back. If there is some place I have to try, I suggest it to my tribe of girl friends since surely someone will be interested and we’ll make a date.

Well there you have it, my list of 24 things I’ve stopped buying and don’t miss one bit, which also saves me over $12,200 annually!

In the world of personal finance, you can focus on the earn more or spend less side of the equation. And both are great. In the beginning of your journey, the low hanging fruit can be to look at your budget and see where you can spend less.  I hope this list inspires you to look for areas where you can spend less and get more value from the things you do spend money on. And, no judgement if you don’t want to cut these things from your budget, each person values different things. Plus just because you decide to cut something from your budget, you can always add it back in if you find you miss it – Experiment!