Cutting on Budget

July 7, 2021

 As I was searching for YouTube on what to watch while checking some documents, I came across a vlog of Erika Kullberg. Her vlog is quite perfect for the occasion as it was just mainly focused on her while talking. I don’t have to watch her but just listen to her. Though I glimpsed once in a while. 😁 She was talking about things that she cut off her budget and this brought me to writing my own as I have slowly cut off my expenses even before the pandemic started. But it was during the pandemic that my extravagance was finally curtailed.

These are the things that I stopped buying.

Starbucks or Bo’s Coffee

My favorite hangout are coffee shops, particularly Starbucks or Bo’s Coffee. I usually bring my current crochet project with me and just while away the time in these coffee shops. I also ordered sweets or sandwiches to go with my coffee.

When the pandemic started I stopped going to these coffee shops even for a take out. My 3in1 Nescafe is enough for me.

When I was diagnosed with stomach acidity, even my 3in1 coffee has to be stopped.

Brand Names

I am not really into branded items. But once in a while a friend tempted me to buy a branded bag since it is to be paid by installment. There was also one time that I bought a bag at the Duty Free. It was my most extravagant bag. It was a 100% leather Longchamp in RED color. Just can’t help it. But that was it. No more. I am not buying branded bags anymore. They serve the same purpose as with non-branded bags.

When my office was still in the other building, some of my officemates drops by my section and they sometimes stopped by to chat. They are really those who are into brands. It is really hard to coped up with them and well I don’t really want to too. I have a staff who made fun with them every time they drop by. This staff will say to them “let me account how much you are now” and proceeded to name the price from what they are wearing. From the jewelries to the dress they wore, to the bags they carry and the shoes they have on. Sometimes one will cost around Php 50,000.00 or $1,000.00 in a day and some will cost even more than that. There are four of them actually, that my staff makes fun of.

I don’t want to be measured like that. I feel ashamed when she did that to me, though I just laugh it off as I can’t even reach halfway of the cost of the others. The only time I can match with them is when I wear my TAG Heuer watch. But that doesn't count as I did not purchase it myself but rather a reward given by the company for my 20 years of service.

Starting last 2018, I was moved to an office in another building, directly beside my boss’s office, who is also a part owner of the company I am working with. Our partition is just one wall and I can see her every day when she arrives in the office. Her bags are just cloth bags and sometimes native bags. It is really a shame that me, a mere employee is having a branded bag while she, the owner has just plain cloth bags.

So no more branded bags for me.

Fashionable Clothing

This is another thing that I am not into lately. Before, almost every payday I bought something new to cope up with the latest fashion trend. But since the pandemic, all these dresses are just piling up. I only dress up when I go to church and that is only for 1 day in a week.

As I am working from home since the start of the pandemic, I just kept on recycling my lose pants and sleeveless top as my working clothes. Sometimes I just even wore shorts.

Shoes

Another item that I rarely buy even before the pandemic.

I used to wear high heels in the office to match with my dress. Getting older and maybe having softer bones led me to stop wearing high heels. It just gave me aches all over my legs at the end of the day.

So I shift to flat shoes or those having an inch heels. Since the pandemic I have not bought a single pair of shoes. There is just no need for me to buy a new one.

Books

I have stopped buying books for a while now. I bought a lot when Big Bad Wolf was in our area four years ago and until now I still have to read most of them. I just don’t have the time for now.

Maintenance

I stopped going to the salon for maintenance. I stopped having colored nails. I just trim them myself. I also asked my daughter to cut my hair when I feel having a change.

5.5, 6.6, 7.7…

Do you know what are those numbers above? Yes, they are the dates when Shopee or Lazada have their monthly sales. Scrolling thru these apps on those dates will surely make you buy something that you don’t really need.

Not having all those things above does not really undermine me. I am still as effective as I was before cutting all these things off.

What about you? What have you cut from your budget?

Thanks for dropping by.

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Lead image by Unsplash.