Take your flagged list from the medium challenge and parcel out which recurring expenses you’d like to keep—meaning that the cost fits your budget and you actively use whatever it is for a specific purpose—and which ones you flagged. Take the questionable ones and think through whether or not you’d like to keep them, or if you can find a way to bring the price down. For example, maybe you can pause the service for six months to reevaluate down the road (in other words, see if you even miss it), or you can call a customer service representative and ask for a discount, or you can share certain services with friends or family members to make it cheaper for everyone involved. Push yourself to make the list of what remains as short as possible, and notice if you’re using a lot of pushy reasoning with yourself—like “But my dog, Dolly, loves her box of treats every month…” I mean, if that’s important to you, great! Just be real. Not every subscription or monthly membership is a bad thing, but all cost money. If you were to cancel the vast majority and put those funds elsewhere, you could probably go sit on a beach with a fancy umbrella drink. I’m just saying.
TRY THIS
Look at your budget and spending habits, and for the next three months, completely eliminate one recurring, variable expense. At the end of this test run, see if you actually missed that expense or not. If so, add it back in; if not, enjoy the money you saved.