Four Things Not to Buy and Save Money

Want to save money?  Consider cutting back on things that are nice to have but aren't necessities.  Here are four things that we've put in the non-necessity category:

• Newspaper or magazine subscriptions.  We do not have a subscription to the local newspaper.  We do not have any subscriptions to magazines. In most cases, I can read the articles I want on the Internet.   I do have one subscription to The Wall Street Journal, which we pay for with airline miles.   Otherwise, we wouldn't have any periodicals delivered to our home.
• Cable or satellite TV.  Why pay for something I can get for free?   I am happy with broadcast TV, which I can get through our HD receiver adapter.  Another option is Internet TV, but I haven't tried that yet.  I don't miss the programs that I can only get on cable or satellite TV.
• Gym membership.  Before retiring, we never had a gym membership.  We finally joined by taking advantage of a great deal my company had for retirees at the company gym: no initiation fee, no contracts and a monthly charge of  $38 for two of us.   However, after a couple years, we decided to drop the membership and save the money. 
• Cell phone contracts.  I don't have a cell phone and my spouse uses a pre-paid Virgin mobile plan.  I guess I am a technology Neanderthal.  I prefer to be not connected when I'm away from the house and  our phone. 

Not buying the same four items may not work for everyone, but I'm pretty sure that most people have at least one item that is nice to have but not a necessity.

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This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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