The 8 tricks to not spend money

There is a house in my life. A purchased house, with a garden, by the water. There is an offer that the seller is considering. I start hyperventilating at the thought that this place under the sun might be ours. That's why I keep myself busy with practical things, like saving and not spending anything more.

I start picking at myself when I think about having a garden, having to mow the grass and pay off a mortgage. I am thirty-two and a bit allergic to being bourgeois. When I think of a purchased house, I think of bourgeois, my apologies to everyone who owns a purchased house by the way. But a new house also means renovations, because it is a fixer-upper. And a new house means you put every euro into that construction site. Therefore, here are my quite simple, but (hopefully for myself) effective tricks to get and keep money in your savings account.

1. Unsubscribe from every newsletter (except ours)

I just saw 70 percent of MyTheresa sliding into my inbox. That gives us an increased heart rate here simultaneously. There is only one solution: unsubscribe. No H&M, no Bijenkorf, no (gulp) MyTheresa anymore. It's the see-eat-do-eat principle and you don't want that anymore. Next year they will be the very, very first.

2. Do budgets

Allow yourself something nice or tasty every now and then, otherwise you'll never last. Make a budget per month, immediately think about what you can spend per week and stick to it. Everything you purchase becomes a celebration in itself.

3. Don't eat out anymore

Cooking for friends and friends cooking for you is (usually) also nice. The only condition is that you eventually sit down with someone who can cook. And that you provide good wine on the table; nothing is worse than not being able to eat out and also drinking bad wine. Here you check Amayzines Wine List.

4. Save

Calculate what amount is feasible to save in a month and let that immediately disappear into the savings account when money comes in. If you don't see it, it's not there. But don't transfer absurd amounts that leave you living only on crackers and water, because you want to keep it up.

5. Unfollow people/brands on Instagram and delete your apps and cookies

The internet is outsmarting you, which is why I keep struggling with that dress from H&M in my timeline. Unfollow people who are only on vacation, unfollow brands that make you short of breath. If you're cleaning up anyway, then immediately delete the shopping apps and cookies.

6. Start trading

Sell what you no longer use or wear and buy something you want for that amount. Or even better: fatten up your savings account with these euros. But in the spirit of ‘it should remain fun’, I would just spend it. You don't feel it in your wallet, but it helps you get through the winter.

7. Leave your debit card at home

Okay, this is a little thing, but I’ll share the trick with you anyway. Lysanne She puts twenty euros in her wallet for (bread)necessary situations and that’s it. Could just work.

8. Switch supermarkets

Lidl is again (and still for years and years) the cheapest and best supermarket for vegetables and fruit. So why would you go to the vegetable jeweler on the corner? Jumbo is also really much cheaper than the Ap, says the Kassa research from 2018, so just take a detour from now on.