How I saved money by following tips from websites and blogs

My name is Débora, I’m 25 years old and today I’m going to tell you a little bit about my experience in avoiding unnecessary expenses following tips I got on the Internet and how these tips helped me to save a lot of money. I live in a big city in Russia with my husband and three-year-old daughter and our routine is intense. And even if we have a higher income than the city average, we can’t save, which has always made me very anxious. After all, it’s important to have a reserve for emergencies. And, as the saying goes, the most important thing is not how much you earn, but how much you save. I decided to check how much I could save from the tips I got from the Internet, from websites, blogs and YouTube channels.

Now, I will tell readers what my experience resulted in, always using Brazilian examples. Going ahead a little, I say that, of course, the little things are much more expensive than they may seem at first. From then on, I was able to save a lot of money.

Some banks offer fee exemption depending on the amount you move in your account. Others charge per operation. All this, in the Brazilian case, is regulated by the Central Bank. But let’s imagine a case where the bank charges a fixed amount of 20 reais per withdrawal, regardless of the amount you withdraw. Let’s also imagine that you need 1,000 reais a month in cash to cover your expenses. Many people, without realizing it, make two or more withdrawals without realizing the expenses. In the case of two withdrawals per month, there are 40 reais of fees. But, if you make only one withdrawal, you will save 20 reais per month. Of course, it is important to be careful with the risk of theft of this value, so be aware. Even better if you can make this transfer electronically paying less fees. Check with your manager and negotiate with him. Sometimes, by concentrating your resources on a single bank, you can get a discount on rates. Here, you compare the values ​​of tariffs in Brazil.

Monthly savings: BRL 20.00 Possible annual savings: BRL 240.00 or more

When we discover, while cooking, that there are not enough potatoes, for example, the most common thing is to go to the supermarket and fall into the temptation of taking something more, especially if we paid by card. To avoid additional expenses, I used a very simple tip from a blog: always go to the market with a shopping list.

This reduces your number of trips to the market (which also means less spending on transport) and makes shopping much more objective, without spending on impulse. Buying only what you need is also beneficial for the environment, as there is a huge environmental cost involved in producing food, for example. And every time a food item goes bad in the fridge or cupboard, all that work and that environmental cost (water used to produce a plant, for example) is wasted.

Let’s take a more practical example. Let’s imagine a purchase of 20 reais of basic items — the ones I put on the list:

1 kg of rice: R$ 3.75 250 grams of ham: R$ 4.11 Sliced ​​pork chops: R$ 6.74 Tomato extract: R$ 3.24 Macaroni: R$ 1.99

Your purchase will total 19.83 reais, in this case. By making a list in advance to organize what you need and taking a single R$20 bill, you will be able to buy all these items with peace of mind. However, with a card in hand, without a shopping list and just adding a chocolate (for 4.47 reais) and a small packet of candies (for 3.80 reais), your purchase will rise to 28.10 reais, and the difference will be 8.87. It may not seem like much, but think about this amount being repeated several times.

Considering 4 small purchases per month in which you stop spending 8 reais on expendable items, the result would be:

Monthly savings: BRL 32.00
Possible annual savings: BRL 384.00

Canned food saves time, but it doesn’t save money. The price of a canned vegetable selection is significantly higher than the amount of ingredients purchased separately in equal quantities. The same generally applies to pizza, meatballs and other frozen products. Therefore, if we have a little time and need to save money, the way is to prepare our own food, not buy it ready-made!

Of course, this is without taking into account the health issue, since, in order to be preserved, canned foods require the addition of sugar, sodium and a series of preservatives.

Among my favorite ready-to-eat foods were lasagna, broths and frozen cheese rolls. I stopped buying everything ready, and now I only take the ingredients needed to prepare something that I used to buy ready-made. And the taste is much better! I took lasagna as a base, and I realized that for each package I bought, I saved about 3 reais. As a result, considering only the packages of lasagna that I stopped buying to prepare it with fresh food, I saved 6 reais.

To save money, some internet finance experts recommend stopping ordering food at home, consuming snacks and fast foods. When I didn’t have time for breakfast, my husband, for example, would buy a coffee to take on the way to work, and then he would also buy a snack, since, at noon, he didn’t have enough time for a full lunch.

I started preparing ready-made portions of complete meals for him, and I convinced him to stop snacking. You could simply heat up the food and eat it in your own working environment.

For example: beans, rice, salad and grilled chicken costs around 8 reais, if prepared at home. But, if you buy a complete snack on the street, you will spend much more than that.

Also, we said goodbye to the pizzas we ordered about 2 times a week. Now, when we want a more “elaborated” snack, we prepare everything at home.

Monthly savings: BRL: 110.00 Annual savings: about BRL 2,800.00

Of course, it’s not every day that we have the time and patience to prepare food. Therefore, allow yourself to sometimes go to a restaurant or order food at home. But don’t make it a daily habit.

Personal hygiene products, like cosmetics, can weigh on the budget. But masks and scrubs for the face, body and hair can be prepared at home with natural ingredients, using some recipes easily found on the Internet.

I stopped buying body scrubs (for 16 reais) and hair masks (for 14.90 reais), replacing them with self-prepared products. On average, products bought in a store lasted 3 months. As for natural products, I only prepare them for one use, which brings me more savings, as I always make them in the right measure.

Of course, we’ve all heard about our body’s need to consume 1.5 to 2 liters of liquid per day. To quench our thirst, especially during a hot day, we often buy 500 ml water bottles. Starting from a cost of 2.50 reais for each bottle, we spend approximately 37.50 reais, if we buy 15 bottles in a month, for example.

I spent only 18 reais for a reusable bottle, which is perfect for both water and coffee. It doesn’t take up much space in your bag or backpack and has a good seal, which prevents disasters. At home we have a filter, where I simply fill the bottle and leave for work or college. For the price, this purchase is much cheaper than buying endless plastic bottles. In addition, in this way, we contribute to the environment, since I used to buy a bottle a day, in the warmer months. See here the size of the damage caused by the accumulation of these little bottles.

Monthly savings: R$ 19.50, excluding the purchase price of the reusable bottle. Possible annual savings: BRL 431.50

Another element of unnecessary expense that I decided to forgo was the manicure. I used to pay 20 reais every 2 weeks. However, also to cut expenses, I started doing my nails with what I had at home. Of course, the durability is not the same as professional work, but I manage to keep my nails well manicured at almost no cost. Compare the photos: it’s not perfect, but it’s acceptable.

Monthly savings: BRL 40.00 Possible annual savings: BRL 240.00

It is not necessary to talk about how ephemeral fashion is: what was once considered a display of the highest style, tomorrow is already outdated. Few things remain current for more than one season, while there are basic clothing elements that allow you to always look impeccable.

I reviewed my wardrobe and found 11 pieces bought in the last year, all of which followed fashion trends and that I wore a maximum of 3 times. Among these items were a blue tulle skirt, six-inch heels, a jacket oversize and even a sports set with a very striking print, for a total value of 987.00 reais! None of the pieces I use, nowadays. Now, I choose to buy pieces that I can wear on several occasions and that don’t stay in the wardrobe for a long time.

Possible savings per month on clothing items: BRL 150.00 Possible annual savings: BRL 1,800.00

My cell phone and my husband’s, then, had their Internet data exhausted, and we contracted additional packages from the operator. We work in different places, and we always use the mobile Internet on the way home for pure distraction. We started to notice that many times we were already in places with Wi-Fi and, even so, the data was still being used unnecessarily.

We downloaded the operator’s application that indicates the level of data consumption and, now, we don’t contract additional packages, as we only use what is necessary. For this, we only use the Internet where there is Wi-Fi. In public places, this is not difficult to find. In addition, mobile Internet is only activated when we travel, at most, and we do not need extra entertainment services.

Monthly savings: BRL 16.00 Possible annual savings: BRL 192.00

For a month, I added up everything I saved and that I had previously spent uncontrollably, both on unnecessary clothes and accessories, manicures, water bottles, bank fees and cell phone expenses. The sum is frightening: almost 600 reais! For some, it may seem like a lot; for others…