Living My Best Life on a Budget

     I've been watching YouTube videos by this spunky young British girl, Sophie, who starts every video with two peace signs up and says, "living my best life on a budget". Isn't that what so many of us are trying to do? We all have different means, different wants, and different priorities, but I doubt any of us have enough freedom to spend without the thought to maximize our dollar. With the realization that at anytime in 2020 DH could be without  a job, I'm looking at each area of our budget and trying to see where we can pinch a bit more without sacrificing our best life. 

     I feel like I am the queen of mini challenges. My grocery challenges keep me from loading up on stuff that might end up being pitched in the garbage. My no new clothes  challenge for 2020 was mostly successful, other than a few blips like a new to me denim skirt and a t-shirt, but I'm staying under my $60 target. There's some things in the budget that are hard to  get lower. I have to drive to work and we are all at the mercy of the oil companies. We have property taxes and utilities, college tuition, household and groceries. Still, we can look for the lower costs without sacrificing value. I can keep my heat low and put a sweater on, and in the summer, raise the air conditioner temp, or try to maximize cool breezes. I can keep filling up the gas tank with discount coupons, even  as little as five cents lower makes a difference. I can make sure to maximize my trips in the car so I'm not burning gas needlessly. Here's some areas that I hope to reduce overall spending in 2020 with an aim to  knock $100 a month/$1,200 annually off our average cash flow.

• Car gasoline-use coupons, cut out enough extra trips to reduce by 40 miles a month, or 10% of a tank. This would save $74 for the year
• Gas and electric-lower thermostat to 65, air conditioner up to 75. We are pretty wasteful. Knocking just 10% off our costs would yield $170 a year.
• Gift Giving-Make a master list for the full year so as I find items that might be good gifts, I can consult my list. I also can leave the item behind if not  appropriate for anyone instead of buying it because of the "good deal" mentality. Even just lowering my per person budget by $2-$10, we could decrease spending by $100 or more.
• Entertainment and meals out- We just simply need to decrease both of these and think of better ways to be entertained. We certainly have enough streaming options, so movies out should be rare. This is not about being anti-social, but about finding interesting ways that do not cost a lot, to spend our free time. Saving $75 from our current $200 plus a month average in both categories would be a hefty cash flow boost of $900.
• Continue to challenge myself and my wardrobe. Sure, I can't be as low as $60 again, but even if I tripled it, and worked with DH to keep his purchases to under $400 (mostly on shoes), we can get by on less than $600 a year. 
• Plug the holes on stupid spending. These include late fees at the library, not taking the time to turn in parking receipts and mileage (a huge pain in the but but it adds up), and vending machine snacks. 

     I'll be more successful in some areas than others. If DH's work prospects change, at least I'll have a start on pinching pennies a bit tighter with a little built in cushion perhaps. And if we skate through another year, I'll just be honing my  thrifty skills that much better. What does your 2020 look like? Are you going to challenge yourself to reduce spending in any area of your budget?

I'm editing this to inlcude a link to one of Sophie's videos. I find her personable, and with a good sense of self. I hope she keeps these qualities as it seems like once some of the YouTubers rise to a certain bit of notariety, they get quite flaky and forget why they started  creating content to begin with and get quite self absorbed. She reminds me in bts of both of my daughters and I can see a bit of my in her sidekick boyfriend helping with the testing out of proucts.