frugalbychoice

It’s quite easy to spend money when you leave your house. A latte here, a candy bar there… and suddenly there’s empty space in your wallet.

One way to avoid these “hidden” money drains is to simply stay home.  Obviously, this is not always going to work, but it can be a strategy to add into your frugal toolbox, if you will.

 So when will this work?

Let’s say you have many errands to do. Post office, ATM, grocery store, library, drop off donations at Goodwill, pet store, office supply store. Imagine that you do one or two of these each day after work. It’s all too easy to run through the drive through for a coffee, or to throw a candy bar onto your order at the convenience store. While one 99 cent candy bar or 3.99 coffee shouldn’t break you, they do add up. Especially if this is a frequent habit. I know many people who not only do this daily, but even multiple times a day.

While those errands still need to be done, one strategy is to do it all in one big trip. You may save some gas in the process, and even if you still get that coffee and candy bar, doing this just once a week rather than five or six times could save you $25 to $30 a week (or even more, depending on your personal vice)!  Multiply that by 52 weeks in a year, and you’ve just saved another $1k without even trying too hard or committing to a huge sacrifice.

A second way to add this strategy into your life is staying home rather than shopping for recreation. Alas, I do understand that there is this thing called the Internet that is available 24/7, probably from your own dwelling. Don’t give in! Don’t browse on Amazon or Ebay or any other retailer. Only visit them when you have a specific need. “Browsing” retailers on the internet is just the same as browsing at the mall. You’re much more likely to find something to buy if you’re looking, than if you’re not looking.

So don’t look!