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We often buy things that we don't necessarily need. However, the writer stopped buying certain things and ended up saving a lot of money!
We often buy things that we don’t necessarily need. However, the writer stopped buying certain things and ended up saving a lot of money!
I have saved more than one lakh in the last year by just taking these little steps.
Learning to declutter is an ongoing process but deciding to do so is the toughest. So I took the first step- deciding to keep only things that matter. And in this journey, here are a few things I either stopped buying or reduced to minimum purchase in the last year.
I was the person who would never carry a bottle of water. Reason being I generally forgot to drink water for the whole day (At least 3 to 4 litres of water should be consumed daily and I have improved a lot now).
Whenever I wanted to have water I would just buy a bottle- small or big whichever was available. These cost me anywhere between Rs. 10 and Rs. 50 depending on the brand of the bottle. It does not seem a big amount when you are paying it. But if you calculate it for an entire month or an entire year, this amount adds up to quite a handsome amount. (For me, I’ll say I have approximately saved Rs.3000 in the past year)
In the last one year I invested in a stainless steel water bottle. Now I make sure to fill it up and carry it each day with me. In case I need to carry a small bag, I also have a smaller bottle for that purpose. And I refill if and when I can .
Many beauticians and doctors would suggest that you wear sunblock everyday and reapply it every 3 to 4 hours. At one point of time, I was convinced about this and one tube of sunscreen would be used up in a month to save my skin from tanning. Well nothing happened, I still got tanned and then I used a de-tan face pack and a whole lot of other shit (not needed at all)
A sunblock, I think, is required only when you are on a beach or you directly have to stand under the sun for hours which most of us don’t do.
Aloe vera gel works perfectly fine as a replacement to sunscreen lotion. If you can directly get it from the plant its best (Or what I purchase is the multipurpose aloe vera gel from Patanjali.) It doesn’t feel heavy on skin like the usual sunscreen and lets your pores breathe. It also has other skin benefits.
A sunscreen that I used cost me around Rs.350 (at least) every month. I have saved more than Rs. 4000 in the last year after shifting to the aloe vera gel.
Micellar water is a product that has been popularised a lot in the last few years. I have it too, though I haven’t used it more than 3 times in the last 6 months.
It is suggested that you remove your makeup with micellar water before going to bed. Yes, you should remove your makeup. However, you do not NEED micellar water for that, a face wash can do just fine. Some times to remove the eye makeup I used rose water (that I generally use as a toner) with cotton swabs.
No. I do not smell bad since I don’t use them. Deodorants do you no good. You can empty a bottle in a week but they won’t last more than a couple hours after you put them on.
So for me, deodorants are a sheer waste of money. Instead of having different fragrances of deodorants, I pick a couple of good perfumes. No they are not that pocket friendly. However, in long run I realised they work better that deodorants and also last longer.
So I didn’t save a lot on them but neither did I spend a lot. You can also try ittar, it works better than perfume.
I had started working on these a lot before but now its official – I do not need the parlour services every month. The minimal parlour services like waxing, hair spa and pedicure that I got, bit my pocket by Rs. 3000 every month. And definitely there were add-ons along with it getting this treatment and that massage that would make the bill above Rs. 5000 every alternate month.
Instead of waxing my body I have started using an epilator. I invested in one, a couple years ago. It is a wet and dry epilator that also has a trimmer head . At that time it cost me a little extra and it was used for emergency purposes. But since last year, I have successfully used it as a replacement to waxing.
Also instead of going for a hair spa once a month, I bought the hair spa cream (which lasts almost five times and costs less than half of what I spent for a one time spa). I also got a pedicure kit ( the cost is same but it lasted for 6 months).
So parlour services- only when I need a hair cut. This has saved me over Rs. 30000 in the last year. (Taking into consideration the cost of epilator that I owned, the materials for spa and pedicure )
It’s tough to accept but YES I used to drink and quite a lot. This habit cost me my health and a lot of money that could have been used otherwise. I believe since I stopped drinking (entirely – no occasional drinks too) I saved more than Rs. 40000.
Sheer waste of money for everyday use. These are only needed when you are on a road trip or have a really long travel. I used face tissues almost daily, for little things.
So much so, that I always carried dry and wet tissues in my bag. This was such a habit used it so often that I needed almost 3 packs every month. I have now replaced them with a hankie. Though I still use wipes but only when I travel. This saved me more than Rs. 2000 in past 12 months.
Us girls are very tempted to buy all the make up we can. I was one of those too, until I realised that I use only three shades of lipstick, one shade of eye shadow/blush and one shade of kajal (that is black). The rest is just kept in my box.
In the past 12 months, I bought just two pieces of Kajal (coz the black one was over), 2 boxes of compact and nothing else. Eventually taking the average of how much I spent on make up and the different (not usable) shades of lipsticks, blushes, kajals, and nail paints, I realised I saved around Rs. 15000 from not buying extra makeup.
Just because something is on sale does not mean you need it or it’s a lifetime opportunity. Buy only things that you need and when you need. If at that time it is on sale it is a bonus.
I was very impulsive when it came to buying clothes and accessories, specially when I saw the sale board. And I ended up filling my wardrobe with a lot of stuff that I haven’t worn more than once (and that too coz mom said “why did you buy them if you don’t wear them?”)
In the last one year I have realised that I saved a lot just by restricting myself to buy things only when I need them. There is possibly no way to calculate how much I have saved through this.
No, you have no bacteria that can’t be washed with water and soap and you do not need a hand sanitiser. The chemicals that it contains are harmful for your skin and when you intake food the chemicals get into you body through it.
I use this sanitiser only in process of energy healing (because I cannot carry alcohol cleansers everywhere) and wash my hands immediately after the session.
Reducing the use of hand sanitiser has saved me around Rs. 1000 in the past 12 months.
Of course at the beginning I felt I needed certain things and I felt little lazy and wanted to use parlour services, I also was tempted to buy new shoes and hand bags but eventually conscious control has settled in me and the impulsive shopper has slept somewhere.
I have saved much more than one lac in this one year by just changing little things in my life which have been good for my health and for my pocket. And now I can travel for which I found no money in my wallet earlier (because that is what I love the most).
These little changes can help you fulfil a lot of desires that you have not been able to fulfil because you couldn’t save enough. Without that increase in your income you can have an extra one lac (may be more) in your account.
Eliminate the things you don’t need to have the things you really need.
Picture Credits: Pexels
A Therapist, Life Coach and Dance and Movement Therapy Practitioner by profession I am an enthusiastic person always eager to learn. I have been taking up a variety of courses and when I don't read more...
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