Financial Friday-Making the Hard Decisions

I took some big steps towards cutting back on non-necessities this week.  The biggest is canceling…wait for it…Amazon Prime.  The truth is, I’m not shopping enough online with my current budget to warrant spending $100 for free shipping and to stream free TV for an hour or two a month on the Roku.  

 

I already had the Roku for streaming and haven’t had cable since I downsized the rental back in September.  I share a Hulu account with my old roommate from Louisiana and I pay for my own Netflix.  I know that some people get rid of everything including Netflix but to me it’s worth $8 for movies.  Otherwise I would likely be spending more money on entertainment.  And since internet is included in my rent whether I use or want it or not, I feel Netflix isn’t that much of an indulgence.

What an indulgence looks like.

The second smaller, but still significant, change I made was a budget cut.  I cut $60 out my monthly grocery/commodity budget, $50 in my monthly personal spending budget, and $20 in my monthly gas budget.  I’m not prepared to allot myself less blow money simply because things like professional haircuts are important to me.  Eventually I would like to get my monthly grocery/commodity budget down to $150, which will be half of what it was originally.  To see if I can actually get it down that low I’m sticking to a very organized menu planning system that I learned from OCD Much? on YouTube.  Seriously, if you’re trying to live on a budget, get motivated to keep a tidy house, or how to schedule your life, that chick is the one you want to watch.  And she manages to not be sanctimonious or ask for Go Fund Me donations.

Another first is I actually had money left over this week!!!  I was left with $24 this week which is being rolled into my BANKED envelope for travel  and emergencies that aren’t emergency fund emergencies if you know what I mean.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a fantastic New Year!