If You're Rebuilding Financially, Redditors Say These 'Nice-To-Have' Purchases Just Aren't Worth It Anymore
If you’ve hit a rough patch and are trying to rebuild, your best bet is to reset your spending. This means cutting out some of those nice-to-have purchases that, while they feel good when you buy them, don’t truly add value to your life.
Resetting your spending could give you more room in your budget for emergency savings or debt payoff. As for what to get rid of, here’s what the good people of Reddit suggest.
Check Out: I Earn 6 Figures but Live Simply: Try These 4 ‘Underconsumption’ Hacks To Save Hundreds
For You: Start Growing Your Net Worth With Smarter Tracking
Internet and Cable
On Reddit, the original poster Destin2930 shared their journey to try to get back on track financially after racking up $40,000 in debt. A major purchase they’ve decided to go without is expensive internet and cable.
According to them, they switched to GoNetSpeed for $40 a month. Given they were spending $267 for cable and internet before, that’s already significant savings.
Monthly Subscriptions (Besides One)
Monthly subscriptions can rack up, and fast. Destin2930 shared that they cut out all subscriptions aside from Netflix. The reason they kept that one was because their kids watch it regularly.
If you think about it, monthly subscriptions can eat into funds better used for savings or debt repayment. A Disney+ and Hulu bundle (no ads) costs $19.99 a month. While not every service goes for the same amount, that’s not far off what you’d find with ones like Netflix or Amazon Prime.
Even just canceling three at $20 apiece is $60 back in your bank account each month. That’s $720 annually.
Clothes and Sports Equipment
If you’re only buying the necessities or hand-me-downs, you’re probably in pretty good shape here. But if you’re shopping regularly for clothes or sporting equipment, that’s a lot of money gone.
On the Reddit thread “How much do you spend on clothes per year,” people reported spending hundreds of dollars annually. Some went even higher than that.
“Thousands I think, but I'm a fashion loving shopping addict,” wrote Sommerniks. “I love to play around, but I could do with playing around a little less.”
It’s not just limiting shopping that helps when you’re trying to rebuild financially. Selling old, unused items can help, too.
“I sold all my kids’ old clothes and sports equipment and don’t buy anything that is not necessary,” wrote Destin2930.
Major Grocery Store Shopping
According to the USDA, Americans spend roughly 33% of their gross (before-tax) income on groceries. When you look at it strictly from a budgeting standpoint, that’s a massive percentage.
It also means that, if you’re earning the median personal income of $45,140 (as reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), nearly $15,000 of that is just gone. That’s money that could’ve been gone elsewhere, like an investment.
This is one area where Destin2930 reported “drastically” cutting back.
“I order a monthly box from the local food bank for $20.50 a month and buy all my other necessities from Aldi’s or Dollar Tree,” they shared. “I have a strict $175 a week grocery budget that I have been sticking to for the past 6 or 7 months.”
That $175 per week is $9,100 annually, much less than the typical person’s spending.
'I Earned This' Purchases
If you’re prone to rewarding yourself through shopping, you could be hurting your ability to rebuild financially. For Destin2930, part of the journey to build up again was getting rid of those “I earned this” purchases.
These are small (and sometimes large) rewards for something you accomplished. Maybe you got through a tough week at work, so you go out to dinner. Or maybe you buy an extra pair of shoes or a new phone after earning a promotion.
Whatever the case, these $5, $10 or $100 purchases are more financially draining than you’d think. And when you tack on the big-ticket items, like that phone, you’re making it much harder on yourself to save.
Splurges on Retail Credit Cards
You know when you go to any major retailer, be it Macy’s or Belk, and they offer a discount for signing up for their retail credit card? You’re getting great savings during checkout, but you’re also running the risk of racking up that credit card or, worse, falling behind on payments.
Redditor “ahj3939” posted that it’s okay to cut up useless Macy’s store cards. But you can take this one step further and do the same for other retail cards. That way, once you’ve paid them off, you won’t be tempted to use them again.
To help Americans navigate the added cost of summer, MoneyLion is giving away $1,000 every day through July 4. Enter the Summer Break Giveaway here (No pur. nec. Ends 7/4/26. See Official Rules at mlion.info/summerbreakofficialrules)
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
More From MoneyLion: