Living below your means isn’t about being restrictive , it’s about being intentional with your spending and only purchasing things you truly value. Everyone values different things, and that’s perfectly fine. For me, identifying the things I stopped buying to save money was a turning point. The key is narrowing down what matters to you personally so you can be more prudent with your financial decisions.
This exercise in frugal living helps identify where your money should and shouldn’t go. When you understand what you don’t value, it becomes easier to avoid spending on those items and redirect funds toward what genuinely matters to you.
1. Candles
This might surprise those familiar with my previous content, but I no longer purchase or enjoy candles. Several years ago, I actually launched a candle business, spending two years perfecting the craft. The science behind candles is complex—matching the right vessel with the proper wax, wick type, and fragrance oil percentages.
During that period, I made hundreds of candles and had to test-burn each one to ensure everything worked together properly. When supply costs increased in 2021-2022, making affordable candles became impossible, so I discontinued the business.
Now, years later, I’ve realized I no longer enjoy scented candles at all. My senses became completely overwhelmed from burning so many during the testing phase. What once brought me joy now feels unpleasant, making candles an easy expense to eliminate.
2. Influencer-Promoted Products
I avoid products that influencers push through brand deals and sponsored content. My experience with influencer-promoted items has consistently been disappointing—they rarely live up to the hype or justify their cost.
Genuinely great products typically gain popularity through word-of-mouth rather than paid promotions. If something truly excels in today’s market, people discover and share it organically without needing influencers to sell it.
Having built this channel to nearly 100,000 subscribers without ever doing sponsored content or brand promotions, I believe in recommending things based on merit, not payment. The brands I would genuinely endorse are so well-established they don’t need influencer marketing—they’re already recognized for their quality.
3. Alcohol
I no longer drink alcohol at all, and neither does my husband. Previously, I drank socially and occasionally, but several factors led to this change.
The cost became unreasonably expensive, especially when dining out. As I got older, even one drink would make me feel terrible the next day—completely not worth the expense or discomfort.
Additionally, having family history with alcohol-related issues, plus personal health concerns including three kidney stones in recent years, made eliminating alcohol an easy decision. While I can’t definitively link these health issues to alcohol consumption, removing even the smallest possibility of connection was worthwhile.
4. Food Delivery Services
Services like Uber Eats and DoorDash represent a concerning trend in spending habits. People now use these platforms for multiple daily meals, paying substantial delivery fees on top of restaurant prices. What truly shocked me recently was learning that some food delivery services now offer “buy now, pay later” options. You can order takeout dinner and pay for it over months instead of immediately. If you miss payments, the fees and interest can be astronomical—turning a $15 meal into a $40–$70 cost (Investopedia explains the risks here).
This reminds me of old-fashioned layaway, except you receive the food immediately and pay later, which risks trapping people in dangerous debt cycles. If I want restaurant food, I’ll pick it up myself. And if I don’t have $15 in my account for a meal, that’s a clear signal I shouldn’t be ordering delivery food.
5. New Technology (Unless Absolutely Necessary)
Unless something is malfunctioning beyond repair or fixing costs more than replacement, I don’t upgrade phones, computers, cameras, or other technology.
Phone companies release new models annually, but the differences between versions rarely justify spending $300-400 more. I remember when signing two-year contracts meant getting phones free or heavily discounted. Now companies simply add phone costs to monthly bills, spreading payments over 24 months.
This “buy now, pay over time” model has made expensive technology seem more affordable while actually increasing total costs through financing.
6. Concerts, Sporting Events, and Expensive Entertainment
These events have become outrageously expensive. If you think grocery or restaurant prices have increased dramatically, check current ticket prices for concerts or sporting events—they’ll shock you.
No celebrity, musician, or band is worth $300-400 per ticket to me, especially considering additional costs like parking and travel. These events often run late into the evening, which doesn’t work with my 4:30 AM wake-up schedule.
I’d rather spend that money on things I genuinely value instead of a one-time experience watching another person perform, regardless of their talent level.
7. Frequent Restaurant Dining
While I haven’t eliminated dining out completely, we’ve drastically reduced restaurant visits. Costs have increased significantly, but more importantly, I’ve noticed consistent stomach issues after eating out.
Whether restaurants are using different ingredients or my digestive system has adapted to higher-quality home cooking, restaurant food often doesn’t agree with me anymore. Watching cooking shows reveals the excessive amounts of butter, cream, and various oils used in restaurant food preparation—it’s no wonder this affects people who don’t regularly consume such rich foods.
8. Fireworks
Call me a party pooper, but fireworks represent pure waste to me. They’re beautiful momentarily, but attending firework displays means dealing with crowds, parking, late hours, and traffic—none of which appeals to me.
When neighbors shoot off fireworks at all hours regardless of work schedules, I imagine a cannon filled with $20 bills being lit and shot into the air. A $150 firework display literally goes “poof” in seconds, providing brief pretty colors at enormous expense.
Beyond the cost, fireworks disrupt children’s sleep, terrify pets and wildlife, create environmental waste, and pose safety risks.
9. Products Marketed Specifically to Women
The “pink tax” on women’s products is ridiculous. Women’s razors cost significantly more than men’s razors despite being functionally identical.
My husband and I use the same men’s razor so we can buy replacement heads in bulk and share them. There’s no logical reason to pay premium prices for products marketed to women when identical men’s versions work perfectly fine at lower costs.
This applies to many categories where gender-specific marketing inflates prices without adding value.
10. Storage Units
If I have too much stuff for my living space, the solution isn’t renting external storage—it’s reevaluating my relationship with possessions and decluttering.
I prefer selling or donating excess items rather than paying monthly fees to store things I obviously don’t need regularly. Stuff shouldn’t control your life or finances. I prefer clean, minimalist spaces that feel calming rather than cluttered environments filled with unnecessary items.
11. Hair Coloring
I stopped coloring my hair around 2019-2021 after doing it for about 15-17 years. At some point, I questioned why I was trying to change my natural hair color.
At 41, I don’t have a single gray hair, but when that time comes, I plan to embrace it completely. Gray hair can look absolutely stunning—classic and beautiful when well-maintained.
There’s nothing wrong with natural hair color, and eliminating regular salon visits or home coloring products saves both money and time.
12. Music Streaming Services
I don’t listen to much music overall, so paying monthly fees for streaming services doesn’t make sense for my lifestyle. When my daughter and I want music in the car, we use free Pandora with advertisements.
When ads play, we simply turn the volume down and wait. I explain to my daughter that commercials used to be standard—you had to be present at specific times to watch shows, couldn’t pause content, and had to wait through commercial breaks for bathroom or snack breaks.
For my minimal music consumption, dealing with occasional ads is preferable to monthly subscription costs.
13. Excessive Seasonal Decorations
I don’t understand the massive seasonal decoration trend where people completely transform their homes multiple times yearly. Last season, I saw a neighbor with a 25-foot illuminated reindeer structure in their front yard—not an inflatable, but an actual construction.
My question is always: where do you store these enormous items?
Meaningful seasonal decorations should be special pieces you’ve had for years—antiques or family heirlooms that create memories because you only see them annually. These items trigger emotional responses and holiday feelings precisely because they’re stored away most of the year.
Constantly putting up and taking down decorations for every holiday throughout the year seems exhausting and expensive.
14. Cable and Satellite TV
We canceled cable and satellite television about a decade ago and have never regretted the decision. Neither my husband nor I watch sports, so we don’t need sports channels. We don’t need constant news channels pushing unwanted content or numerous movie channels we can’t possibly watch simultaneously.
The statistics show cable TV is declining as digital services become more popular and affordable. We’ve found zero reasons to maintain expensive cable subscriptions when we can access the minimal television content we want through other means.
This decision saves substantial monthly costs while reducing exposure to excessive advertising and low-quality programming.
Making Intentional Spending Choices
The wonderful thing about personal finance is that everyone values different things. What doesn’t matter to me might be incredibly important to you, and that’s perfectly acceptable.
The key is identifying your personal values and spending accordingly. When you’re clear about what you don’t need or want, it becomes easier to avoid those expenses and redirect money toward things that genuinely enhance your life.
These 14 items represent significant savings opportunities in my budget because I’ve honestly assessed their value in my life. Some might seem extreme or boring to others, but they align perfectly with my priorities and lifestyle.
Consider creating your own list of popular items you don’t need. This exercise can reveal surprising opportunities to reduce expenses while maintaining or improving your quality of life.