I still get that back to school, start of a new year feeling about September and with the absence of school aged children to prepare, I instead turn my attention to our budget, which I‘ve taken a look at, line by line, all the while looking for potential areas to make reductions.
In general I’m pretty happy with how our budget is this year. They isn’t too much waste spending, and we’ve managed to stay really focused on our two main financial proirities; saving for travel and our future (moving abroad & the UK mortgage). But we can always do a little better, which is highlighted by the fact that a few small non essential items of expense have crept in!
So I’ve done a little tweaking which will save us on average £15 a month.
- Cancelled the renewal of my Livestrong membership. I keep forgetting to update my food intake everyday now so it seems pointless to spend the annual fee at this time (although I may renew in the future). Annual saving $45 (£29)
- Reduced our Lovefilm subscription. We had started with the unlimited monthly subscription at £9.99 a month but found that we only watch on average three films a month so I’ve reduced us to this. Annual saving £48
- Switched energy plans. Like everyone else we’re affected by the energy company price increases so after a little research I switched to a different plan which should save us money over the year. Annual saving £104
It may not seem much, but coupled with my recent seven days of no spending challenge (which was powered by menu planning and store cupboards), in which I saved at least £100, it all starts to add up.
Let me know, have you made any small tweaks to your budget lately?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I let a few subscriptions go too. It actually felt good to do so. I agree, after not spending for a week, it makes you reconsider what things are worth!
I continue to tweak my budget, in hopes that I can build up our emergency fund fast. (I’m not a very patient person, and I want it done…..yesterday.
!)
I’m just now catching up on blog reading, I’ll have to go back and see how the 7-day fast went for you!
!
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movetoportugal Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:22 am
Hi Sharon
Patience is not my strong point either..but I’m learning!
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Way to go, those things all add up, I agree!
I’m constantly looking at things to reduce and cut out of my budget. I need to look at my internet and landline plan, I am paying way too much there. Potential savings of $300/month, so I should get moving on this!
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movetoportugal Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:23 am
Hi Canadian Saver
Wow $300 is a lot!
PS. Thanks for the blogroll add
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Sparkspeople is something like Livestrong I believe, but free…may want to look into that! I’m constantly “tweaking” to see if I can save a few $$ here & there, but mostly it’s the “no spend” weeks that help me boost our savings! Going for September 1st if all goes well… we shall see!
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movetoportugal Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:23 am
Thanks for the Sparkpeople tip Carla..I’m off to look into that!
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The little savings definitely add up in the long run. We recently downgraded our Netflix subscription to save about $7/month. But we also upped our auto insurance a bit (added rental car coverage to my car & increased the medical payments coverage). So the savings balanced out the increased insurance bill. We also recently paid off a small credit card, so we rolled that money over in our snowball budget. Other than that, no other budget tweaks.
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movetoportugal Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:25 am
Hi TLC
Balancing out the bills is a great way to keep your expenses on the level. We do this every year to try and keep our bills from rising.
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I am going to review our health insurance to see if we can make any savings there.
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movetoportugal Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 10:26 am
Hi little green village
Well done on the saving!
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Just back from reviewing my health insurance premiums.
I have spent 30 mins and just saved $720 on my family’s health insurance for the year.
Thanks for the reminder Laura!
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Hi Laura,
Bit frustrated at missing some of your posts but have read back and think I’m up to date now.
I found your August Budget and small changes fascinating. YOU ARE REALLY GOING FOR IT AREN’T YOU!
Have you tried to reduce your grocery budget at all?
Sft x
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Lovefilm went ages ago – we just download/rent from iTunes occasionally. We have NO insurances: it’s all a con. If stuff is destroyed/stolen – so be it!
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