Since my new job ( my new DREAM job! more on that later...) pays a little less than what I was making last year, I really needed to rethink my spending habits ( hello daily Dunkin runs, I'm looking at you).
For this month, I have decided to try out 5 easy strategies to jump start my money saving and money making MO! I tried to come up with things that are easy and simple to implement so that I do not feel overwhelmed or like I am suddenly missing out on all the fun just to save money.
Look at my ideas below and let me know what you think or if they worked for you!
1. Unsubscribe from store email lists!
All day long at work, my phone pings with new emails and 90% of them are from the stores I love to shop at advertising the deal of the day. I am a sucker for a great deal, and I am also a sucker for good advertising... These emails have lead me to more impulse purchases than I want to admit.
To take control of my impulse spending, I decided to take away the temptation. I unsubscribed from all of the emails that popped up in my inbox from 8am to 10am. And it was A LOT. I figured that I should start with a small chunk, and not get overwhelmed with how many unsubscribe buttons I needed to click...
In just 10 minutes I unsubscribed from my biggest impulse buy stores: Nordstrom Rack, Loft, JCrew Factory, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and a few more.
First, I feel like this is going to lessen my email anxiety ( so. many. unread.) I also think not having those amazing sales in my face all day every day will keep me from pressing purchase!
2. Change my Google Autoload settings
The best part of online shopping is the ease. The worst part is also the ease... Clicking one little button to buy my whole cart of things is so easy that I don't even think twice about doing it. It's not real money if its online right?!
I decided to go in and change my google chrome settings to NOT remember my credit card number. This way, I will need to physically take out my credit card to type it in, and that will make my transaction time a little longer, giving me time to really think about if I need what I am about to buy.
3. Get Rid on One Click On Amazon
Like the clearing of my autofill, this is another big step for me. Amazon has taken over my ordering history, and it's always so easy to just have an idea of something I want, type it in, see it's on prime, and one-click it to my house!
I have decided to undo my one-click options, again to make myself really think through my purchases and decide if I need that new sweater or book. Which brings me to number 4...
4. Get Me A Library Card
Throw Back Tune for this one!
I LOVE reading. Right now I get amazing free books from bookbub, but I also have a subscription to kindle unlimited which costs me $10 a month. That sounds so reasonable for as many books as I want at my fingertips, but then I remember that there are these things called libraries that let me read an unlimited amount of books FOR FREE. That is $120 bucks in my pocket at the end of the year, and I still get to read until my heart's content. Plus, most libraries have their own ebooks available to check out, so I can still get myself the reads I want instantly!
5. Money Maker Alert- Selling Clothes and Buying Thrifty
I have a lot of clothes. Mostly from my online impulse purchases and those great deals that I just cannot say no to.
But this also means that I have a lot of clothes that I no longer wear. Part of my new year goal was to clean out my closet. In the middle of that process, I made myself a promise to get rid of anything I had not worn in a year. Spoiler: there were many things I had not worn in a year... Many of these, I am ashamed to say, still had the tags.
I now have a big collection of clothes that I am going to try to resell to a few of my favorite places. Plato's Closet was always a spot I used in college and high school, but many of my clothes are too "sophisticated" for their clientele. (This is what I was told when I brought in some of my work clothes last time) However, I do have a lot of pieces to sell from the before time when I was a fun college kid and not a teacher with 30 sensible cardigans. The best part is that PC pays you in cash right on the spot.
For my more sophisticated clothes, I like to bring them to the Clothes Mentor. They also pay out in cash that day, and this makes hauling my bins of clothes there worth it.
The downside of these places is that I am left with all the clothes that they did not buy, and I normally just let them sit and sit and sit in my closet. Until I discovered thredup!
I love that they send you a free clean out kit and you can just fill it up, send it off, and forget about it until the money rolls in!
Last year I made about $300 in sales from this site. You can make money two ways, they immediately buy your stuff and the cash goes right into your account, OR your item is chosen for consignment, and you make the money when someone purchases your item.
The best part is that they recycle/donate the clothes that they do not pick, taking that process off of your hands! That is really my fav part ( besides making that cash moneyyyy).
This is one the store that I did not unsubscribe from. The reason being, the clothes I want are deeply discounted, and they send out some really great discount codes. Plus, I am thrifting and saving money on clothes that I would normally buy full price.
If you are interested here is a referral link with a discount code for
you:
http://www.thredup.com/r/BTKGTC
I plan on updating this with an extimate of how much I was able to not spend.
I would love to hear other ideas for how to save money! Leave them in the commnets below!
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