Broke-ish to Functioning: Step 3
Step 3: Cut Out Your Bullshit
Start here if you haven't read the Introduction
Yep. We’re going there.
If you are negative every single month, this is the part where we have to look at the stuff that is making the problem worse.
Not to make yourself miserable.
Not to never have fun again.
But because if the numbers are not working, something has to change.
Start With the Obvious Stuff
If you are negative every month, but you are eating out three to five times a week, that is probably one of the first places to look.
Same with daily coffee runs.
Same with random convenience spending.
Same with subscriptions you forgot you even had.
This is not about cutting every tiny joy out of your life.
It is about asking:
Is this helping me get where I’m trying to go, or is it keeping me stuck?
Look at Your Subscriptions
Pull up your bank account and look at every subscription coming out each month.
Ask yourself:
Do I actually use this?
Could I pause it for three to six months?
Do I have another service that basically does the same thing?
Am I paying for this because I use it, or because I forgot to cancel it?
And listen, I’m saying this as someone who has had way too many streaming services at the same time.
Netflix. Hulu. Peacock. Paramount. Disney. Spotify. Whatever else quietly snuck its way onto the card.
At some point we have to ask:
Are we spending more on streaming than we used to spend on cable?
And if so… maybe 2008 had a point.
Pick the services you actually use.
Pause the rest.
You can always turn them back on later.
The goal is not to never watch TV again.
The goal is to stop paying for five different versions of the same thing while telling yourself there is “no money left.”
Look at the Everyday Convenience Spending
Now let’s talk coffee.
If you buy coffee every morning on the way to work, do the math.
Even a $6 coffee five days a week is about $120 a month.
That is $1,440 a year.
Would it make sense to spend $40 or $60 once on a decent coffee maker and start making it at home?
Grab some K-Cups.
Buy coffee grounds.
Get a creamer you actually like.
Make it easy enough that you will actually do it.
This is where a one-time purchase can save you money over and over again.
I absolutely adore my Ninja coffee maker, and it is one of the best purchases I've made.
I make coffee at home every single day, my husband makes coffee at least 3x a week. Does he still buy coffee, yes but not 7 days a week.
Eating Out Is Another Big One
You do not have to swear off restaurants forever.
But if money is tight, eating out three, four, or five times a week is going to hit your budget hard.
Start small.
Maybe you go from four times a week to one.
Maybe Friday night is still takeout night.
Maybe you keep one coffee run a week instead of five.
You are not trying to become a financial monk.
You are trying to create room in your budget.
Its about creating room to breathe, not putting yourself in prison.
Find Your Temporary Sacrifices
This part does not have to be permanent.
That matters.
Maybe you pause two streaming services for six months.
Maybe you stop buying lunch at work for three months.
Maybe you cut back on Amazon orders. ( my biggest problem: is amazon prime helping me or making it worse )
Maybe you skip the daily coffee run until you build up your savings.
You are creating a temporary season of getting your finances under control.
That is different from punishment.
You are making room for the version of your life you are trying to build.
Your Step 3 Goal
Go through your spending and find at least three things you can cut, pause, reduce, or replace.
Then take that money and give it a job.
Put it toward savings Step 1 or put it toward getting yourself out of the negative.
Because cutting $10 here and $20 there does not feel exciting.
But when you find $100, $200, or even $300 a month in stuff you do not really care about?
Now we are moving.
Cut the bullshit. Keep the stuff you actually value. Use the difference to get yourself functioning.
That is Step 3.
Your turn:
What is one expense you know you could cut or pause right now?
Drop it in the comments.
No judgment.
We are all finding our own bullshit.
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