Hello everyone, welcome to BudgetHolics! Here’s a list of 5 things I don't buy anymore, and I wanted to save this list for you so that you can also save hundreds, if not thousands dollars per month. Learning how to reduce spending isn’t just an exercise in Financial Minimalism. It’s a sure way to allocate more resources to those things that matter in life. This will allow you to achieve financial freedom faster, and reach your goals much more efficiently. Despite what many financial gurus will tell you, only you can decide which things matter in life and which don’t. In this video I am sharing my own personal list of mindless purchases which provided me little to no pleasure - at least long term - in order to possibly inspire you to cut destructive spending habits out of your lives.
Banking Fees
Banks are still charging monthly maintenance fees, just to have an account and store your money. These fees range from $5 to $20 a month! This is completely unheard of. they also charge you other fees such as overdraft, low balance fees and ATM withdrawal charges. My recent experience with banking in Greece highlighted that some banks even charge you for internet banking in sending money not only internationally but also locally. For this reason I'm using Revolut as my main bank to which you can sign up using this link.
Branded Clothes & Accessories
In the words of Oscar Wilde “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months”. It therefore makes no sense to spend excessive amounts of money on clothes and accessories, especially if you're paying more for a logo on the product, rather than the actual product itself. Most of the time, the quality of the branded item would be much lower than a cheaper alternative. Don't underestimate the amount of waste associated with fashion and especially expensive brands. companies that are destroying clothes and accessories in order to preserve the brand value and do not have the prices of the products reduced. You can get the same utility by buying a brand-free $5 t-shirt from H&M Mr rather than paying $45 to have their outlaw and logo printed on the same t-shirt.
Sales Items
Sales items are another thing I've stopped buying. There are various sales techniques such as the up to x% sale, the buy one get one free, cardholder benefits and cashback from your credit card, coupons and gift certificates. In the video I go over some guidelines to avoid falling into sales traps, you shouldn't avoid sales just for the sake of it. For example if you have a big Blonde purchase such as a new TV or microwave oven, taking advantage of a black Friday sale is a great way to save some money. Also, taking advantage of bulk purchasing for items you're going to consume anyway is another great way to save some Bucks.
Eating and Drinking Out
If you've watched finance videos on YouTube you must have stumbled upon the Graham Stephan 20 cent iced coffee meme. If not, the general idea is that you could nearly become a millionaire by making your coffee at home instead of buying it at Starbucks. I go over why and how within the video. The same principle applies to food and drinks.
