I recently read this article about items we think we need, but can {probably} live without. According to the article, people spend hundreds of dollars on things they don't need. The items are:
5. Bottled Beverages
4. Extra Food
3. Diet Products
2.Vitamins
1. Expensive Cosmetics and Toiletries
That was enough to get me thinking about how my family uses the items on that list, and what we can do to eliminate them from our lives. And stop being so financially wasteful!
5. Bottled Beverages – The Texan loves bottled water {gasp!} and Hansen’s Diet Tangerine Lime soda. Thankfully, I won a WaterGeeks Stainless Steel Filtered water bottle through a Facebook contest. I chose an Orange bottle with a black top, I’ll be gifting that to The Texan when it arrives. My favorite beverage non-alcoholic beverage is Seltzer water. Any flavor, except lemon. I’m thinking of purchasing the Soda Stream machine as it uses ordinary tap water, but I wonder about the ingredients in their flavorings. Guess I’ll be researching that in the coming days!
4. Extra Food – This was a huge problem for us when I was a work-outside-the-home mom. I was rushing through the markets grabbing whatever looked good, yet we rarely had the ingredients to prepare any {tasty} meals. We tossed more than half of the produce that we purchased. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom {yippie!}, and I am actively meal planning, our grocery bill has been reduced slightly AND we’re throwing away much less food. That makes me feel so good, so good! To save more, this year I’m going to try a {small} garden to grow lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and some herbs.
3. Diet Products – We don’t buy those. Cha-ching! Saving money and I didn’t even know it!
2. Vitamins – I am a believer in vitamins and supplements. I don’t know why. We eat a very balanced diet, yet I feel so much better after popping a vitamin each day. I purchase ours at Trader Joe’s and feel like I’m getting a good deal, and those don’t upset my stomach like other main stream brands. {Isn’t that a sign that your body doesn’t need the vitamins?} Any how, Score one for the marketers of the world. I’m not giving up my vitamins!
1. Expensive Cosmetics and Toiletries – Since switching to Ava Anderson Non-Toxic products, my skin is clearer, hair is shinier and my wallet is {slightly} fatter. I used to purchase brand name items that cost far more, because those products are marketed more they cost more. Ava Anderson offers a complete, high-quality line of personal care products without harmful chemicals, that won’t break the bank! Our entire family uses the products, which means no separate body wash for The Texan, no separate shampoo for The Boy. Oh, and I use the Toner as deodorant, don’t worry, I don’t share that with The Texan!
How does your family compare to this list? Are you spending money on items you don’t really need? What will you do to eliminate that waste from your life?
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