19 Items to Stop Buying Now
If you are on a budget – and everyone should be on some kind of budget – you’re probably looking for ways to cut expenses.
You may not be in a position to bring in any more money than you do now, but there are likely some items you can cut out in order to spend a little less each month.
The key is to focus on the items you can use over and over again, and stop buying the things that are thrown away after being used. In addition to being wasteful, it’s not too great for the environment.
Now, you may not wish to stop purchasing everything I’m going to mention here, but if you can commit to discontinuing your use of two or three of them, I guarantee you there will be more money left at the end of the month than there used to be.
- Paper products. Many of us regularly buy paper towels, paper napkins and toilet paper, and some of us add paper plates, bowls and cups to the mix. The cost is significant. With the exception of toilet paper, you could cut out almost all of them. Use washable cloths instead, as well as glasses, plates and bowls.
- Bottled water. You may be rightfully concerned about the quality of your tap water, but a water filtration system is a much better long-term solution than expensive bottled water, which may actually be tap water in disguise.
- Zip-top bags. These are very “convenient,” especially for sandwiches, fruit slices, cereals, and other items you want to keep in the pantry or refrigerator. But when they’re gone, you have to buy more. So, buy a set of plastic, air-tight containers from the dollar store and use them repeatedly for these needs.
- Aluminum foil. Same principle here. Instead of wrapping up food that you’re planning on using as leftovers, put that food in plastic containers.
- Coffee filters. If you use a coffee maker, use one with a wire mesh filter that can be cleaned regularly, rather than paper coffee filters that get tossed out after usage.
There are also a number of items that, while you still need them, you don’t have to buy them. That’s because you can make them yourself.
I don’t have the space here for instructions on how to make each of these items, but you can find those directions by searching online. Here are 14 things you can make yourself:
- Cleaning supplies
- Deodorant
- Dishwashing liquid
- Glue
- Hand soap
- Laundry detergent
- Moisturizing lotions
- Mouthwash
- Salad dressing
- Shampoo
- Shaving cream
- Stain remover
- Vanilla
- Yogurt
THESE TIPS FLY RIGHT INTO THE FACE OF “LIVING
CONVENIENTLY” !! …. AND, THEY SHOULD !!
THEY DRAMATICALLY DEMONSTRATE THAT “CONVENIENCE COSTS” !!!
THANKS FOR THE REMINDER !!
A VERY HELPFUL ARTICLE !!!
You can buy reusable coffee filters made of either cotton or Hemp. Just rinse it/them out after use and dry them. I got mine at a health food store somewhere in CO when I lived there. Many catalogs like Gaia, Real Goods and Lehman’s occasionally offer practical alternatives to plastics, paper and other disposable items.
Frank, great article. Just one concern. Wiping your hands on the same dish towel all builds up bacteria and in hard times, will there even be drugs to cure that? Paper towels are better for drying hands. I also DIY my sprout grower; simple as can be and saves me a boatload of money on buying sprouts. I see your point with not being able to list all the recipes here, since I have and use all of them and they take up a book! Since I generally get close to running out of all of it the same week, I set aside one entire day for manufacturing my own products. And since all of them can pretty much be made from things you’d have around the house anyway, they cut expenses hugely. I stopped buying laundry soap and dryer sheets and started making my own. I went from $454 a year for buying those to $8.00 for buying ingredients I didn’t already have on hand.
Remember water, soap, energy to heat the water etc is needed to wash glass containers…nothing is without cost.
You could also get a bidet installed and eliminate the TP (lol) It might even pay for itself in a 5 or 6 years depending on the size of your family.
We have a bidet attached under the toilet seat. It has saved us a lot of TP. Rinse than dry off.
I liked your article, except the reference to “plastic containers”. Plastic containers leach chemicals into your food, especially the “cheap dollar store” variety. Buy glass, Pyrex containers with plastic tops. These are a great way to store leftovers, can be put in the microwave to safely reheat food, and you can eat the leftovers directly from the containers. Healthy, easy to clean, and they last for years.
Very good point, Scott. Thanks for pointing that out about glass versus plastic.
Dear Frank,
SMART, VERY SMART ARTICLE!!! Think of the mass monetary savings, lowered landfill issues and oceanic damages that would be relieved if we could get just half of all Americans to follow these simple instructions.
Needless to say, during a major disaster most people become “lost” as how to cope without all their daily disposables.
One thing you may have overlooked, but we have seen become a serious issue during major natural disasters is … replace throwaway DIAPERS with old-time cloth washables. Yeah, it is nasty and messy work to wash and dry them.
If nothing else, those who are parents of toddlers that aren’t house broken yet, should keep a couple dozen cloth diapers stashed with their other emergency supplies.
God Save America,
Orrin