Are Modern Necessities Necessary?

Advertising Disclosure: When you buy something by clicking links on our site, we may earn a small commission, but it never affects the products or services we recommend.

Image Not Available

Looking for simple ways to save money? Cut out these six unnecessary necessities from your life and save hundreds each year.

Consider bottled water: At 30 cents per bottle (about as cheap as you can find it) you’re paying about $110 a year for less than $1 worth of water.

$5 coffee can be made at home for around 5 cents.

Cut the cable tv, especially the premium channels if you subscribe, and you can save as much as $800 a year.

Still buying books? Head to the public library, where they’re free. But the library also has DVDs, so that Blockbuster membership can go, too.

Private schools are considered necessary by many parents, in order to give their children the best education possible. Is that really true? Perhaps, but consider this: of the past 10 U.S. Presidents, only 3 (Kennedy and both Bush’s) went to private school.

Many people pay lawn services to mow their grass, then spend hundreds of dollars a year to get their exercise at a health club instead. Fact: mowing your own lawn burns hundreds of calories per hour. (How many will you burn?)

For more ways to save, check out our article on 205 Ways to Save Money.

Get smarter with your money!

Want the best money-news and tips to help you make more and spend less? Then sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter to receive daily updates of personal finance news and advice, delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our free newsletter today.