Today we take a look at 10 things that I don’t buy since it is not necessary. Be more frugal and stop wasting money on things that can be cheaper.
Food
Brand food
First of all, consider your food consumption. As I have written on this website, eating can drain your wallet.
Start to buy generic no-brand food since there generally isn’t a big difference.
Bottled water
Buying bottled water is another huge unnecessary spending habit, like buying sodas. You can save a lot of money because bottled water is up to 600 times more expensive.
However, I know that some don’t have access to it. Check this site that shows which countries provide drinking water from the tap and click here for the more detailed USA map.
And lastly, don’t buy a water filter if you live in a country with clean tap water. The german magazine Ökotest has tested a lot of these filters and they found out that:
- A lot of filters contain after a short time bacteries
- They filter out important minerals
- So. they are expensive and normally make water worse
Fast food or restaurants
While it might sound fun to go out and eat something, your wallet disagrees. A survey from 2019 asked Americans about their spending habits and revealed that dining out and takeout are the biggest monthly spends.
Stick as much as possible to cooking at home with your no-brand ingredients.
Kitchen
Cleaning Supplies
There are countless products that claim impossible cleaning results and still cost a ton. Stick with baking soda and vinegar and save money
Check this site out about Use Cleaning Vinegar to Clean Everything—Except These 5 Things.
In addition, you can look up here some tips about baking soda.
Rags
I used to buy rags to clean my flat, but then I realized that it was just a waste of money. Now, I use old clothes like t-shirts or even socks, cut them appropriately and use them. Socks are actually very handy since you can put your hand inside and clean more comfortably.
Sandwich-maker, Bread maker and more
All these machines are so expensive and also useless that you could just burn your banknotes.
They probably get used once or twice, then collect dust and clutter your kitchen. Use your pans, your oven and an immersion blender and do not fill your kitchen with all these gadgets.
Consumerism – Buy the newest things
This problem has many names and goes for a range of products. You buy the newest phone, the best TV, some brand new clothes or a new car.
If you really want to save money, stop keeping up with the Joneses. Start to use your things longer and consider buying second hand.
Washroom
Dryer
If you have the possibility, dry outside on a balcony or in your garden. Buying a dryer and using it is money that can be used for other activities.
Fabric softener
Rather than buying brand laundry products or fabric softener, start to make yourself some powder and use vinegar as fabric softener.
Things from the past
Don’t buy products that belong to the past and are honestly unnecessary. For example cable TV, a landline, a GPS in your car or DVD’s. There are many more and some have gained again value, like vinyl.
But for the normal case, rather use better technology and things like your phone and streaming.
Lastly and finally – 10 things I don’t buy
These 10 things I didn’t buy were only a few examples. There are many more which range from technology to the washroom.
The goal here is to save money and live a frugal life.
If you want to know more about frugality, click here.