Category Archives: Saving

Another Year Of Disneyland (or No More Ink Money)

Posted on February 5, 2016 | 1 comment

I just renewed my Disneyland pass for another year! I’m so happy because I think you all know how much I love Disneyland. And because I have a double grandfathered pass (my pass level is only available if you are a renewal now and I have the parking add-on that doesn’t exist anymore), I have to make sure I renew before the pass expires each year. I don’t mind having to do that each year, but I do make sure to get to Disneyland before the expiration date because of this.

I knew my pass was expiring soon, but I didn’t have a Disneyland day planned before the expiration date. And since paying for my pass is complicated (more on that in a minute), I can’t renew over the phone. So on Monday after my workout, I drove down to Disneyland with the only purpose to renew the pass.

I’m glad that the drive was super easy this time. I was on the tram from the parking lot to the parks in under an hour after leaving my house. It was so empty at Disneyland that I was a bit sad that I really didn’t have time to stay and go on rides (I had errands to do at home that afternoon).

Once I got to the ticket counter, it was time to deal with the complications of paying for my pass. Because I recycle ink for my mom, I was able to get a bunch of Visa gift cards and Disney gift cards from Staples. I also had gotten some gift cards for my birthday from friends. All together, my parking add-on was totally paid for by the cards plus about $50 of my pass. It’s a bit weird to pay this way because the cast member helping me has to set up the payments to be as if it was on a payment plan so they don’t accidentally charge one of the Visa gift cards the full amount of the pass (since they are each only worth about $25). It took a little bit of time, but I got everything taken care of and I was on my way.

I was super tempted to go into the parks because of how ridiculously empty it was, but I figured that if I did that, I would stay there too long. So I just took a photo at the gates and headed back toward the parking lot tram.

Disneyland

I made a stop at the Disney store since I never really go in there and of course I got distracted by all the really awesome Disney stuff. There were some kitchen things I was super tempted to buy, but I didn’t have the money to spend $60 on something. Then, I was intrigued by the dog toys and found the perfect thing to get for Tucker!

Disney Dog Ties

They only had the ties in XS/S, but I saw that all the girl dog things also came in M/L (which was the size Tucker needs), so I grabbed the ties and brought them to the register to have them order the larger size for me (Disney is usually awesome like that). Sadly, they only make the boy dog things in XS/S and there is no way that our 70 pound dog could fit in something that tiny. So I left Disneyland empty-handed (well, I guess I did have my renewed pass to bring home with me).

While I’m super excited for another full year of Disneyland adventures, I’m a bit sad because this looks like it will be the last year I can use my ink recycling money to help pay for my pass. You used to be able to use Staples Rewards for gift cards online (but not in stores), so that’s how I got my gift cards. But sometime recently they changed the rules (or started enforcing rules) and you can no longer get gift cards with Staples Rewards money. I understand the reasoning behind it now that I’ve done some research on how gift cards sold from third-party retailers work, but it still stinks for me.

Having a few hundred dollars in gift cards really helps to make my pass affordable. I have no plan on letting my pass expire in a year. There are other options for me to pay for my pass. I can use the Disneyland payment plan which doesn’t have interest and can be paid off in advance if you have the money. Or I can figure out other ways to save for it (or just ask for only Disney gift cards for my birthday or Hanukkah). I’ve got a year to figure it out.

But I can’t let the end of the ink money bring me down. I’ve got an entire year to make more Disneyland memories and I have a feeling that my park adventures are going to keep getting more and more amazing!

1 Comment

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Saving, Shopping

Tagged Disneyland, gift card, savings, theme park

My 2016 Goals (or I’ve Got Some Big Ideas This Year)

Posted on January 1, 2016 | 2 comments

Happy New Year! I hope that you all got to spend New Years Eve last night with people you love and had a great time (and hopefully not feeling it too much today)! As I’ve done the past few years, I’m sharing what my goals are for this year and what I hope to accomplish.

First is my big workout goal. I want to do 180 workouts in 2016. It’s only 5 more workouts this year than I did last year, but I wanted to make the goal not too much of a stretch. I’d love to pass this goal and do closer to 190, but I also know that life can get in the way and I don’t want to stress out about reaching my goal like I did in 2015. I think it’s very doable and I’ll be tracking my workouts using the same app I did last year (it made this very easy for me). So hopefully in a year I’ll be telling you all how I got this done!

My next goal is to have a new PR for my 5K. This one is going to be difficult for me because I’m still dealing with calf pain, but I think that maybe I can do it. Right now, I have 2 5Ks that I’m planning on doing (the same ones as last year) but I might add another one in there. So there aren’t a ton of opportunities to get a PR, but I will have a ton of time on the treadmill at Orangetheory to work on my speed training. I still have an ultimate PR goal for my 5K (15 minute miles) so I can feel comfortable doing a Disney race, but I know that this goal is very possibly a few years away.

Next on the list is a money goal. Or more like money goals (but I’m combining it into one goal). I want to get my debt down farther, budget better, and even maybe start having more savings than just what I’m saving for my taxes (as a 1099 employee, I will probably owe a lot in taxes). This is not an easy goal. Money is tight and while I wouldn’t say that I have a spending problem, it’s hard to not spend like some of my friends do at times. And those friends sometimes make 4 or 5 times what I make. I’ve been using You Need A Budget for a budgeting app and I think I’ve gotten budgeting close to what I want it to be. However, YNAB just launched a new version and it’s a subscription payment model. I can still use the old version and not have to spend money on the app, but I’m also looking into new apps to use because I don’t want to spend $50/year on a budgeting app when that money could go to something better. I do have an amount in mind as far as reducing my debt goes, but that’s something that I’m going to keep to myself for now.

Next is a fun one. I want to travel more and find more ways to spend time with my friends. While I’m ok with saying no to going to parties and things, I like going on adventures and fun outings. So I want to work on figuring out adventures to go on with my friends so that we can have more fun. And for traveling, I’ve got one trip planned for February with my mom and I’m hoping to do a trip with my sister-in-law in March or April. So that’s a step in the right direction.

I’d also like to do another acting class this year. I think it will probably be the next level at UCB, but I’m open to acting classes that fit into my schedule and my budget. While it’s important for me to keep working on my acting skills, I want to be in another class for other reasons. It’s great meeting new actors, it makes me happy because I get an opportunity to act, and I feel like I’m making progress in my career even if I’m not auditioning. So I feel like this is important for me to do and I feel pretty confident that I’ll be able to get this done.

And finally, I want to be either in recovery from my eating disorder or on my way to recovery. I’m starting to look at my eating disorder as something to research and educate myself on instead of an emotional thing. I’ve been doing reading, listening to podcasts, and using apps for my eating disorder over the past week and I’ve already felt a difference. It’s still a battle that I lose sometimes, but I’m feeling much better about how I’m approaching things this time. And hopefully in a year I will be posting that I’m either in recovery or I’m getting very close to recovery. That would be such a wonderful thing I could accomplish in this year and if it happens I know that it will change my life.

So that’s it for my goals for this year! I think that I’ve got some good plans in mind. And while they won’t be easy to get done, they are not completely out of my reach. I’d love to hear some of the goals that you have for the coming year and hopefully we can keep each other on track!

Happy 2016!

2 Comments

Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health, Saving, Tough Stuff, Travel

Tagged 2016, 5K, acting, binge eating, eating disorder, friends, goals, New Years, Orangetheory, plan, resolutions, travel, UCB, workout

Bulu Box (or Testing Out A Subscription Box)

Posted on August 26, 2015 | 1 comment

I haven’t really been a part of the subscription boxes bandwagon yet. I did have my subscription to Gwynnie Bee, but that was a little bit different from what subscription boxes are like. So many of my friends do subscribe to these boxes, and they all seem to love it. But for me, the financial issue has always come up. I don’t want to pay $30 a month if I’m not gonna like everything that’s in the box.

But I was recently given the opportunity to test out Bulu Box. Bulu Box is a subscription service for health products. You can get things like vitamins, supplements, and other things to help you live a healthy life. Since I’m working on my health and fitness so hard, I really wanted to see what products were out there that could support me in my journey.

What I love about Bulu Box is the price. I think this is the cheapest subscription box out there. It’s only $10 a month and you typically get between 4-5 sample products in each box. I think that most other subscription boxes are in the $30 range.

In my sample box, I got six different products (one of these products was a bonus product). I received a protein powder, a fueling formula, a fiber supplement, an anti-itch cream, a snack bar, and a toothbrush. Unfortunately for me, some of these products I knew I wasn’t going to use. I’m very particular with protein powders so I was a little cautious to try this one. It’s made with cricket protein, but I found it to be pretty yummy! I just am not sure if I will use it regularly since I don’t normally do protein drinks (I think it’s a mental block after doing the RFO diet for so long). And I wasn’t able to try the fueling formula because of some of the ingredients in it, but my other friends who have tried it have enjoyed it.

I did love the anti-itch cream. I used it on a recent sunburn and it did such a great job helping the itch and sting of a sunburn go away. I also tried it on a spider bite that I got the other day and felt that it did the trick for that as well. I think that I’m totally going to get that in the full size and have it in my medicine cabinet for future sunburns, bug bites, and scratches.

Even though some of these products in the sample box are for things that I’m not gonna be able to use, I did love the idea of what they included in the box. There was a great variety and if you aren’t as picky as me I’m sure that you’ll love all the products! And if there is a sample that you love, you can purchased them in the full-size on their online shop. If you’re a subscriber for Bulu Box, you have the opportunity take a survey about the samples in your box and get rewards points that can be used toward the full-size products. That is something that seems great to me.

And I was given a promo code to share with all of you! If you would like to try Bulu Box for yourself, I can get you 50% off a 3 month subscription. You just need to enter the promo code SWEATPINK to get your discount!

Have any of you tried Bulu Box or another subscription box service in the past that you’ve loved? I’d love to hear your stories since I’m a subscription box newbie!

1 Comment

Posted in Beauty, Fitness, Fun Stuff, Saving, Shopping

Tagged fitness, food, health issues

Working on Budgeting (or Spending Money To Save Money)

Posted on July 15, 2015 | 4 comments

I’ve been trying to find a way to help make paying my credit card debt easier. And at the same time, I’ve been working on figuring out the best way to create a budget.

I’ve been able to make a really basic budget by listing all the expenses that I know that I have every month (rent, utilities, online subscriptions). So I know what the minimum I need to make each month in order to survive (I’m almost there). But knowing how much money I need to make to pay essential bills doesn’t really help me for budgeting things that change from month to month like groceries, shopping, gas, and other expenses. Those seem really tough for me to budget for because I try my best to set aside a certain amount for it but things come up and then my entire budget falls apart. My system doesn’t allow for flexibility and unexpected expenses.

And I’ve tried lots of budgeting ideas and systems in the past. The big problem that I’ve found with almost all systems is that they were designed for someone with steady income. That’s not something that I have. While my box office job is pretty steady with my weekly pay (that would only change if I’m missing lots of hours that I can’t make up), my research job and babysitting work is not as stable. So I needed to figure out how freelancers budget (even though I’m not a freelancer).

I was searching around online and happened to come across You Need A Budget. This is totally going to sound like I’m being paid to say all this, but I swear that this is all my opinion and I’m not getting anything out of it (unless YNAB would like to give me a copy of the software for free!).

I’m in the middle of a free trial, but so far I’m loving this budgeting system. It really works for someone who has more random income. Basically every single purchase and deposit is recorded. You set aside how much you’d like to spend in categories like bill, savings, debt, and anything else you want and then you put in how much you have spent of each one. The idea is that while you may start out by using this month’s pay to pay this month’s bills, eventually the money you make one month will be going toward the bills you will have in the future (which will end the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle).

This might not really be helping me pay down my credit card debt, but it is helping me work on a budget and figure out where I can spend money that makes sense. And hopefully one day I can start working toward putting money away for the future and other things like vacations. But for now, the main plan for me is to figure out a realistic budget and to see if there is more money that I can be putting toward my debt and not toward things that really aren’t needed.

Like I said, right now, I’m doing a free trial of this system. But I’m pretty sure that I’ll be paying for it when my trial ends (I think it’s about $60). But I’d love to hear from any of you who also use You Need A Budget so I can figure out more tricks and tips to maximize the system and really get serious about figuring out my money situation.

Update: Since posting this blog, I have decided to spend the money to keep the YNAB software after the free trial. It’s really awesome. If you want to buy it, you can use this link for 10% off!

4 Comments

Posted in Saving, Shopping, Tough Stuff

Tagged bills, budget, debt, job

Work Time Family Visit (or Already Preparing To Renew My Disneyland Pass)

Posted on April 24, 2015 | Comments Off

My parents have been in San Diego again recently helping my grandma. They drove back yesterday. And since my house is on the way, they stopped by.

They usually don’t stop when they are doing that drive. Their preferred method of driving down goes around LA, so it would be tough for them to make the detour. But this time, there was a reason they drove through LA.

First of all, my mom still had the wine that I bought in Napa. I couldn’t fly it back with me (since I only had a carry on), so the plan was always for my mom to drive it down for me. I was originally going to try to meet them in San Diego while there were down this time, but that didn’t quite work out.

Also, I had gotten my dad his Hanukkah present insanely early this year. I knew exactly what I wanted to get him in January, so I didn’t think I would want to wait until Thanksgiving to give it to him. And I knew that he would want to use it, so their detour to my house was also for my dad to get a gift.

And as always, I had a few things I wanted to fix in my house and my dad is a pretty awesome handyman.

So yesterday during my work shift, my parents (and dog) came over for about 45 minutes. Fortunately, my job was pretty quiet while they were here so I could focus on them.

The projects in my house were pretty simple. There was a drawer that was broken that needed a new screw and my toilet paper holder was falling out of the wall. Both of those things were done within minutes.

Then it was time for me to give my dad his Hanukkah present. I had been giving him hints for a while, but he had no idea that I got him a TRX Strap system! My dad had used TRX straps when he worked out with me at Orangetheory before, but the gym that my parents belong to don’t have straps that can be used without an appointment with a personal trainer. So now he has his own set of straps that he can use at the house (my mom has already said that she wants to use them too).

But one of the coolest things was something my parents brought me.

They brought me ink to recycle! As I mentioned before, I use the money I get from recycling ink to help pay for my Disneyland pass! This will definitely help me when I renew my pass next year. And I’m sure I’ll get more ink from my parents over the year as well (my mom just saves them all for me).

While this visit was only 45 minutes, we really did get a lot done. And since I had just seen my parents a few weeks ago, there wasn’t too much to catch up on (plus, I talk to my mom pretty much every day on the phone). I’ll probably see them again in a few weeks when they come back down to San Diego too.

Even though this visit was super quick, I’m so glad that my parents were able to stop by. Any distractions during my work day are appreciated and this was a really nice distraction.

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Posted in Family, Fun Stuff, Saving

Tagged Disneyland, family, job, savings, visit, work

Speedy Shoes (or Props To Zappos For Saving My Workout)

Posted on January 21, 2015 | Comments Off

When my shoes died during my workout last week, my first thought was that I needed to get my new shoes before my workout on Monday. I have certain shoes by Merrell that I love and I know that they are always available on Zappos.

I’ve been a big fan of Zappos for a while. My very first order with them went pretty badly (the shoes were lost and never found). But their customer service was so amazing! They sent new shoes to me overnight and upgrading my Zappos membership to VIP status for life! Any company that goes that above and beyond is awesome in my book.

By the time I was able to order new shoes, it was about 7pm on Friday. And with Monday being a holiday, I had no idea if my free next business day shipping would get my shoes to me on time.

I ended up contacting them directly to see if there was anything else I could do (or pay) to get them to me by Monday. The representative I spoke to said that there wasn’t really much that could be done. The next day guarantee is only for orders placed by 1pm. But they were looking at where my shoes were coming from and where they were being delivered and thought that there was a chance I would get the shoes on Monday (I didn’t know that UPS delivered on holidays).

When I got my shipping tracking information, it said that the shoes were supposed to arrive Monday by 3pm. I have to leave for my workouts by 3:30pm, so it was going to cut it close.

All day on Monday I was on high alert. And around 1pm, the UPS guy came to my door and dropped this off!

I put the shoes on right away to try to break them in a little before my workout. And while they weren’t super comfortable right away, they were so much better to wear than the broken shoes.

Yes, this entire post is about how much I love Zappos. But I’ve learned that when you find companies that are awesome, you really want to share it with the world.

So thank you Zappos for rushing my shoes to me so my workout wouldn’t be affected by busted shoes. Now I just need to order a backup pair of shoes so when these break I can have new ones waiting for me in my closet.

Comments Off on Speedy Shoes (or Props To Zappos For Saving My Workout)

Posted in Fun Stuff, Health, Saving, Shopping

Tagged customer service, shoes, workout

Starting The Year With A Lot Of Transformation (or Who Will I Be By Next Year?)

Posted on January 15, 2015 | 4 comments

I’ve been doing a lot of transformational work in the beginning of this year. I wasn’t expecting this all to happen at the beginning of the year (that’s a little cliché for me), but the timing of it all just happened to all be in January.

The first transformational thing I have been working on is increasing my workout days. This was something that was planned in my goals for 2015. Now I’m just making sure that I’m doing what I set out to do. I’m tracking all my workouts in a simple calendar checklist app, and I’m on pace to meet my monthly goal right now (it’s way too easy to think that I’m on pace to meet my yearly goal).

The only minor setback I’ve encountered is that there are so many people who want to go to Orangetheory now that if I don’t set up my classes over a week in advance, I run the risk of being put on the waitlist! That happened to me for this Saturday. I wanted to add the noon workout to my schedule and asked if I could get in that class when I was working out on Monday. The class was booked and there was only 1 spot left on the waitlist! I’m still on the waitlist now and hopefully I can get into the class. If not, I’ll have to add another workout to next week.

I’m also starting another Orangetheory Weight Loss Challenge this week. It starts on Friday and this time, it’s a national weight loss challenge so there will be people from all the Orangetheorys around the country participating. There is a lot of money for the winners, but I’m just going into it thinking of it as a personal challenge. I looked at how much weight some of the past winners have lost and for me to equal that I would have to lose weight at a very unhealthy rate for me. Some of the winners had lost over 25% of their starting weight! That’s just not realistic for me.

Then, continuing on my cooking trend, I’ve got my 4 week cleanse coming up. I just got the materials for it and while most of it seems very simple for me to do (lots of fruits and veggies), part of the cleanse is to spend the 4 weeks cutting out dairy, meat, and processed food like bread. I can probably cut dairy without missing it at all. But I’ve gotten very used to having peanut butter on toast for breakfasts and having chicken or pork with my dinner. Fortunately, the cleanse comes with a bunch of recipe ideas so I will be taking advantage of those (and posting my favorites on here!).

Then yesterday, I saw a bunch of my friends posting on various social media sites about the Money Love Challenge. I checked it out and within minutes of reading what it is all about, I signed up. It’s a free 21 day challenge (it started yesterday so it’s not too late to sign up) to help get in control of your financial situation.

This is something that I totally need in my life. Every year I say that I’m going to get rid of more and more of my credit card debt. While I’ve brought it down, it’s not nearly as low as I’d like it to be already. And I want to see how much I can bring it down in 2015. Hopefully by doing this challenge, I will be inspired to find ways to accomplish that goal.

This is a lot of change at one time, but all of these things pretty much came organically to me and I chose to do them. I’m excited to see what the next few weeks and months bring to me!

4 Comments

Posted in Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Saving, Tough Stuff, Weight Loss

Tagged cooking, credit card, debt, food, money, transformation, weight loss

First Time Bulk Cooking (or Making My Kitchen Smell Yummy!)

Posted on December 11, 2014 | 3 comments

Inspired by my cooking confidence that I gained while making the salmon dish, I decided to try something else new.

Bulk cooking.

I looked up a lot of ideas on Pinterest and various websites to find some basic things that should be easy enough for me to do. I decided on one basic protein (chicken breasts) and a couple of vegetables. I hadn’t completely decided on the vegetables prior to going to Trader Joes because I wanted to see what I would find and if anything inspired me.

I ended up buying the chicken breasts as well as broccoli, green beans, red onions, red peppers, and sweet potatoes. I also got some baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and hummus to have as snacks.

It was one of my more expensive shopping trips, but I was buying food for the week. Plus I usually don’t buy meat (at least not meat I have to prepare) so that was a bit more expensive. But considering that this should be my only shopping trip for the week and that I’m not eating take out or delivery this week, it actually is less than I would usually spend.

Before I knew it, my kitchen was looking like this.

I cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise and put a little olive oil and some Trader Joes seasoning on them. Then they baked until the insides weren’t pink anymore (about 35 minutes). The sweet potatoes went in the same time that the chicken went in, but they ended up taking a little over 2 hours to bake (starting at 400 and then ending at 450). The broccoli, onions, and green beans went in when the chicken was done. I did learn my lesson with the green beans that I overcrowded them and they steamed more than they baked, but they were still yummy. And the onions were perfectly caramelized!

Overall, I think my first try at bulk cooking went really well. My timing of things was a bit off, but that’s to be expected when you aren’t a big cooker.

All the food went into storage containers to cool before going into my fridge.

With everything in the fridge, it looked more crowded than it usually is, but since it’s just me at my house, that’s fine.

I made my first reheated bulk dinner the next day after a workout. I put everything on a plate and microwaved it (I’ve since learned that I need to smash up the sweet potato otherwise it doesn’t heat all the way through). My first plate looked beautiful and was very yummy.

I’m not sure if I’m going to bulk cook every week. I’m going to see how this entire week plays out. In a typically week, I can cook on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays so I’m toying with the idea of doing some bulk cooking but then cooking a recipe on those days and having leftovers on the day between cooking days.

Either way, this is a major step for me. I don’t know why I’ve been holding back on cooking for so long. While it’s a bit tough considering how small my kitchen is, it’s not impossible. And now I’m eating much healthier (and much more food since everything is lower in calories than frozen dinners). Hopefully I can make this trend continue just like my workouts have been.

3 Comments

Posted in Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Saving, Shopping, Weight Loss

Tagged bulk cooking, cooking, health issues, meal planning, meals, recipe

Testing Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak)

Posted on November 4, 2014 | Comments Off

FTC Disclosure: I was given a free sample of the Waiakea water in exchange for my review. All opinions are of my own and were not influenced by the free product.

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve had soda in my life. There have been a few times I’ve had a sip (for example when some Sprite was in a punch that I drank at a baby shower), but my last intentional soda was in January 2013.

Considering how much Diet Coke I drank every day, I can’t believe that I was finally able to kick an unhealthy habit like this. I’ve also pretty much cut back on the flavored sparkling water I loved so much. I sometimes will get one at the store, but I probably average one bottle a month (if that).

So I’m pretty much only drinking water these days (with the exception of the occasional cocktail or glass of wine). So when Waiakea Volcanic water offered to send me some samples of their bottled water, I said yes!

I’m not usually a bottled water drinker. I have a water filter at home and I think that it is much cheaper to drink filtered from home water (and I don’t have to carry heavy water bottles home). But for a splurge or when I’m out and about and getting thirsty, I get some nice bottled water.

I have a few brands of bottled water that I love (and yes, they do taste different to me), but Waiakea was a new brand to me and I was very curious what it would taste like.

And I have to tell you that it was very yummy bottled water! It was really crisp and fresh tasting and didn’t have any of that gross plastic taste that so many bottled waters have.

I wish that the bottles came in a sports top option (I like having those for when I’m drinking bottled water in my car), but that is not a big deal. I now know that when I’m getting bottled water when I’m thirsty that this is a brand I will be on the lookout for.

And as a bonus, Waiakea gave me a promo code to share with you all! If you would like to try their water for yourself, they have an online store so you can have it shipped right to your door (and not have to carry heavy bottles around a grocery store). You can go to this website and place your order. Then use the promo code BOMBSHELL20 for 20% off any orders that you place!

I know that reviewing water might not sound so exciting, but for someone like me who is a water drinking fanatic, knowing that there are more great options for bottled water makes me so happy!

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Posted in Food, Fun Stuff, Saving

Tagged discounts, Hawaii, soda, water

Cutting Back (or Unsubscribing Both Virtual And Actual Things)

Posted on October 1, 2014 | 4 comments

I’ve been working on cutting back again. That’s what you have to do when money isn’t coming in the way it used to.

I can’t really drop much more of my cable without getting rid of almost all the channels, so cutting back there isn’t an option. I’ve seriously cut back on delivery food and ordering books for my Kindle. The most recent thing I’ve been cutting back on are subscriptions.

First to go were online subscriptions. There are so many emails I get in a day. Many of them I need to get (casting notices, work information), but there are at least 15 emails a day that are unnecessary. I know there are online services you can use to unsubscribe to them, but what I’ve been doing is unsubscribe to them as they come in.

I probably spend 5 minutes each day getting rid of more and more email lists. The ones that were easiest to let go of were shopping related one. I don’t need to see what sales are going on or what Groupon or Living Social has to offer. I can’t buy any of those things right now.

Next on the unsubscribe list for emails were email newsletters from friends who put me on their email subscription list. I do have a small problem with people subscribing me to their emails without me opting in. But I’ve always stayed on the list because I didn’t want to offend anyone. But really, if we are friends on Facebook, I don’t need your email newsletters. I see what is going on. So I’ve unsubscribed to dozens of those (5 alone yesterday).

After tackling email subscriptions, it was time to move on to my magazines. I love magazines. And there are plenty that I am going to keep, but I need to get rid of a bunch of them.

And I needed to get rid of them not just because of the extra cost, but these magazines were making me feel less. I’m talking mainly about the beauty/fashion and fitness magazines. While I do enjoy the beauty/fashion ones and the advice that they have, I can see that online. And it just makes me depressed that none of the clothing that they recommend comes in my size.

And the fitness magazines are just the same pieces of advice over and over again. I know how to lose weight. I’ve done it.

If you find me a magazine all about maintaining a weight loss, that I would consider subscribing to.

The magazines that I plan on keeping are People (which I think everyone pretty much gets), Los Angeles magazine, The Hollywood Reporter (which somehow I get for free), the SAG-AFTRA magazine (free with my union membership), and Cooking Light (I actually do enjoy seeing what recipes they have each month).

While that still is a few magazines, only 3 of them are ones I pay for. And I think that the ones that I’ve selected to keep all are positives in my life (maybe not People but everyone needs a fun magazine to bring to the beach or airport).

This has been an interesting decluttering experiment so far. I haven’t missed anything that I’ve gotten rid of. And once I’m used to this, I might consider cutting back some more.

4 Comments

Posted in Fun Stuff, Saving, Tough Stuff

Tagged clutter, cutting back

Category Archives: Saving

Another Year Of Disneyland (or No More Ink Money)

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Bulu Box (or Testing Out A Subscription Box)

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Working on Budgeting (or Spending Money To Save Money)

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Testing Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak)

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