This is the follow-up to my How to Quit Your Job article I published last week.

The purpose of this article is to dig into my specific strategies for how I easily saved over $2k per month.

I used these savings to build enough savings so I could quit my job for at least a year.

Here is a high-level summary of my $2k+ monthly savings by spend category which I will deep dive below:

1)  Food & Beverage

I saved the most amount of money each month by implementing strategies in the following five categories related to food and drinks:

Dining out – nights & weekends

BEFORE

I ate out at restaurants or grabbed takeout at least three times per week.  My meals sometimes included an appetizer, sometimes a dessert, sometimes both, and usually at least one or two drinks or glasses of wine.  On average, I figure I spent about $40 per meal which adds up to about $480 per month.

AFTER

Now I only go out to eat once per week.  If I still average about $40 per dinner, I’m now only spending about $160 per month.

I am also much more thoughtful about what I’m ordering at restaurants.  Instead of just thoughtlessly ordering whatever, I give consideration if I REALLY want it.  For example, I used to blindly order the filet mignon because I knew I liked that cut.  One might say I became a connoisseur of beef tenderloin.  However, that’s no longer my default and I consider other items on the menu that I would equally enjoy, usually at a much lower price.

Also, I rarely order an appetizer or dessert, and I go with water or only one drink per meal.

Groceries

BEFORE

I typically bought only organic, non-GMO groceries and often the most expensive versions of things.  For example, the only steaks I would buy were beef tenderloin at $20-30 per pound.

I would also buy lots of unique and exotic ingredients to experiment cooking new, international foods.   This usually backfired on me because I often didn’t like what I made and a lot of the ingredients went to waste because I didn’t have a use for them beyond that specific recipe.

For example, I once made Tom Yum, my favorite Thai soup.  There was a ton of different “authentic” ingredients I needed so, one Saturday, I just went out and bought all of them at various stores and spent about $40 on all the different ingredients.  It turned out I didn’t like the soup and most of the ingredients went in the garbage.  In that case, I was better off just getting takeout from a local Thai restaurant for $7.    😊

I typically spent about $500 per month in groceries (even when I was going out to dinner at least three times per week).

AFTER

I continue to focus on organic, non-GMO groceries but I am much more mindful about costs and thoughtfully prioritize where I want to spend more money for things that are organic, grass-fed, etc.

Side note:  Coffee and peanuts are the WORST when it comes to pesticides, so I will always buy organic coffee, peanuts, and peanut butter.

I learned to be more open-minded and adventurous about different types and cuts of meat and focusing on veggies that are in-season because these are often great ways for saving money.  My slow cooker and InstaPot are now permanent residents on my kitchen countertop.

I spend much more time shopping at wholesale clubs and more affordable grocery stores like Aldi’s instead of  Whole Foods.  I also focus on buying foods that are on sale, and I clip coupons for extra savings.

I also stopped trying to make exotic foods on a total whim where I often wasted all those ingredients.  If I truly want to experiment with making something, I do much more research and plan properly for it in hopes it will increase the odds I will like it!

While I cook more meals at home now that I don’t eat out as much, I still choose to spend money on high-quality, organic items.  However, I have reduced my monthly grocery bill by about $200 per month.

Alcohol

BEFORE

I typically bought and drank about two to three bottles of wine a week which totaled about $40 per week and $160 per month.

I would also keep very high-end tequila and vodka stocked, figuring I spent about $50 per month on liquor.

I periodically enjoyed a few microbrews so I probably bought a 6-pack every two weeks which is about $20 per month.

Like experimenting with exotic foods, I liked experimenting with new, unique drinks.  Again, on a whim, I would go out and buy ALL the ingredients to make some fancy drink.  Again, I often didn’t enjoy them and would end up throwing out a lot of these ingredients or they would just pile up in my liquor cabinet.  Such a waste…

In total, I spent about $270 each month on alcohol at home.

AFTER

Today, I drink about one to two bottles of wine per week and about one bottle of tequila or vodka per month. However, I keep a very close eye on what’s on sale, what has a coupon, and what brands are high quality but more affordable.

I stopped buying beer since they would often accumulate in my refrigerator if I didn’t like them.

I also stopped buying ingredients on a whim to experiment with making drinks.  For now, I just stick to the drinks I know I like.

I conservatively estimate these changes save me around $100 per month.

Coffee

BEFORE

I used to stop at a coffee shop for a latte or cold brew at least three times per week. Each visit was around $5, so I was spending about $60 per month on coffee.

AFTER

I basically just stopped visiting coffee shops all together.  No more driving through Starbucks, Dunkin, and Panera on a whim for coffee.  Instead, I buy organic coffee beans and make my own coffee at home which costs me about $10 per month.

My coffee savings is about $50 per month.

Weekday lunches

BEFORE

I used to go out for lunch at work about 2-3 times per week and each lunch averaged about $10.  Therefore, I was spending about $80 per month on lunch.

AFTER

I started going out for lunch only once per week which dropped my monthly spend to only $40, saving me about $40 per month.

2)  Personal Care

Vitamins, Minerals, & Supplements

BEFORE

I used to buy pretty expensive supplements like collagen powder, vanilla MCT oil for my coffee, protein powder, and powdered greens which all totaled about $170 each month.  These are definitely not BAD things but seemed more like luxury items.

I also found myself buying supplements on a whim that I would randomly read about. I probably spent about $25-30 each month on these types of purchases.

AFTER

Now I focus more on healthy eating and only supplementing with key vitamins and minerals.  The vitamins and minerals I think are important to supplement are:  vitamin C, vitamin D3, Omega 3 fish oil, Magnesium (glycinate), and high quality multivitamin with lots of good B vitamins.

All in all, I save about $200 each month on supplements and vitamins.

Manicures & Pedicures

BEFORE

I used to get gel manicures every other week and pedicures monthly at a salon. I wasn’t going to super expensive salons but was paying about $115 per month.

AFTER

Instead of going to a salon, I now do my own manicures every 1-2 weeks and pedicures every 1-2 months.

Side note:  My favorite at-home nail polish is Essie Gel Couture.  It’s really awesome stuff – great coverage, easy to apply, and dries quickly!  All you need is a bottle of color and a bottle of top coat which are each about $10.

While a bottle of color and top coat would easily last 3-4 months, I like mixing up my nail color so I assume I buy one new bottle of color and one new bottle of top coat each month. With these new bottles plus a few dollars for acetone and cotton balls, I’m now spending about $23 per month on finger and toe nails for a savings of $92 each month.

Spa Services

BEFORE

I used to get Aveda facials each quarter which equates to about $67 per month and my face waxed monthly (embarrassing!) which was $42 each month.  These two services totaled about $109 per month.

AFTER

I basically stopped going to the salon for these services.

In lieu of regular facials, I am much more diligent about daily cleaning, toning and moisturizing.  I also now like to make my own detoxifying masks at home using bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar.

I have focused on using the stockpile of skin care products I accumulated over the years as well as making my own products with stuff I have around the house.

For hair removal on my face, I initially started using a Nair for the face product.  However, a few months ago, a couple friends mentioned Tingle eyebrow razors and now I love them for removing that light peach fuzz I get on my face.

Assuming I spend about $20 a month on DIY supplies, I’m now saving about $89 each month.

Gym Membership

This one is pretty easy and straightforward. I swapped my $100 per month bootcamp gym membership for a $20 per month membership at Crunch Fitness.  This saves me $80 each month.

Tanning

I gave up my unlimited spray-tan membership at the local tanning salon.

Additionally, I save money not having to buy the products they recommend for optimizing your sunless tan.

Giving up this luxury and embracing my paste-y skin saves me at least $60 each month.

Makeup & Hair Products

I was typically spending at least $50 per month on new makeup or hair products.

Basically, if anyone recommended a product, I bought it.

However, during this year of “thriftiness,” I stopped buying new stuff and instead used up the products I had already bought.

Haircut & Color

This was the one category I didn’t save too much on.  It’s hard for me to give up on my hair.  😊

Each haircut and color visit was around $200 and I would go about every 8 weeks.  To save money, I started stretching the time out to 12 weeks. This change made my monthly cost go from $100 to $67, saving about $33.

UPDATE:  In the past few months, I learned how to color my own roots, compliments of COVID lockdowns.  Instead of going to the salon on a quarterly basis, I might be able to go twice per year which would save me even more money.  For example, my plan could be something like:  Q1 – salon; Q2 – color my own roots; Q3 – salon; Q4 – color my own roots.

3)  Shopping

I changed my mindset and realized I didn’t *need* anything new so I basically just put a stop on all shopping for clothes, shoes, and things around the house.  This moratorium saved me about $350 each month.

4)  Travel

I know this sounds strange because I’m all about travel but, with my new goal in mind, I knew I needed to pare down my weekend traveling.

First, I was living in Virginia and going on weekend road trips along the East Coast on a whim.  These were obviously fun trips but I wasn’t being very thoughtful or cost conscientious for how I spent my money.  Typically, I wasn’t concerned about the cost of the hotel, gas, or restaurants which now I know wasn’t too smart.

I would also fly from Roanoke to Minneapolis on a whim.  Of course, these trips were fun and meaningful to me for staying connected with friends and family but I decided to save money and leverage miles and points I previously earned.

On top of all that, I went on 2-3 ladies trips each year.  After my divorce, my motto was to never say NO if someone wanted to travel with me.  However, with my big goal in mind, I had had to make a temporary change so I put a hold on these trips.

All in all, I estimate I saved about $200 per month on these travels.

5)  Automotive

By selling my fun-to-drive, summer convertible, I saved a good chunk of money on a monthly basis.

Not only did I save money on car insurance and maintenance, but I also saved money on annual Virginia things like personal property taxes, vehicle inspections and registration.

These savings totaled about $134.

6)  Housing & Utilities

I wasn’t able to change too much related to my housing situation to save money but I was able to do a few things:

1. 1. Canceled all streaming channels/services except Netflix and Amazon Prime which saved me a total of $39 per month.
   2. Changed my cell phone provider from Verizon to Visible which saved me $28 per month.
   3. Cancelled cellular service for my iPad which saved me $25 per month.  (I still use my iPad but need a wifi signal now which isn’t that big of a deal for me.)

The total of these savings is about $92 per month.

Conclusion

All these savings quickly added up to $2,090 each month, or $25,080 annually.

That’s a lot of money…

The biggest thing I learned from this exercise was to be more thoughtful about how I spend my money and to realize how quickly things add up.

I never realized how $100 here and a $100 there can drain my monthly budget so quickly.

Also, I understand how fortunate I am to have been so blissfully ignorant of my spending habits all these years.  However, I hope my honesty can help *some* people out there reading this.

Ultimately, I hope everyone can identify their dreams and make the thoughtful changes to achieve them.

Please let me know in the comments what your dreams are and what your financial plan is to achieve them!