Reply to $14k net HHI - Budget Input

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Reply to "$14k net HHI - Budget Input"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Lifestyle creep is serious and it slips into your life so quietly that you don't realize it until it's too late.

We recognized that we were spending too much and not saving enough (we don't make as much as you at about $10k per month, but we have no debt, no student loans, no childcare costs and don't have to save for college, etc), so I took simple steps to reign in our budget and cut costs. I would suggest canceling Hello Fresh immediately (we had to do this) and start re-using some of the recipes you've already acquired.

Next, I made a commitment to only cook food we already had in our freezer and pantry, and not buy anything but the absolute essentials at the grocery store. I downloaded a shopping app, and only allowed myself to buy exactly what was on the shopping list. I've noticed that with lifestyle creep, you start buying more in bulk, or buying stuff that you already have at home because you aren't being bothered with tracking and are coasting on the confidence of having that disposable income. 
We saved $800 in one month alone from doing this. It isn't this much every month, but our grocery budget has decreased substantially.

Not sure why you need new clothes and such every month, but we put ourselves on a shopping ban, and didn't buy anything new for six months. I unsubscribed from all department store email so that I wouldn't be tempted by sales and stayed far away from shopping centers.

We have cleaners that come twice a month, and honestly OP, I pretty much stopped buying most of our cleaning supplies outside of basics. You need to look at the household stuff and reexamine whether or not you really need to be blowing $600 on all of that. If this is impulsive spending, start buying paper towels, toilet tissue, and laundry detergent online and through a subscription at Target or Amazon, where not only will you save a few dollars, but it will keep you out of the store and not give you a chance to shop impulsively. 
All of the candles and special soaps and body washes in pretty bottles that you're tricked into buying, it all adds up. Remove all of that temptation and I guarantee you will be able to save. [/quote]

Lifestyle creep - so so true. It's not obvious that you're spending too much in any once place as it's everywhere and a slow creep to get there. [/quote]

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