What are you cutting back on?

What are you cutting back on to make it to the end of the month?

  • Restaurants/Take-aways

    Votes: 207 68.5%

  • Entertainment subscriptions (Netflix, Showmax, etc.)

    Votes: 85 28.1%

  • Travel/Weekends away

    Votes: 181 59.9%

  • Alcohol

    Votes: 120 39.7%

  • DStv

    Votes: 106 35.1%

  • Expensive cellphone contracts

    Votes: 133 44.0%

  • Medical aid

    Votes: 43 14.2%

  • Life and disability cover

    Votes: 43 14.2%

  • Hobbies

    Votes: 118 39.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 77 25.5%
  • Total voters
    302
rvZA said:
2020/2021

- Driving a lot less. Doing grocery shopping once or twice a week instead of once a day.
- Kids enrolled in online schooling. Saved double on school fees.
- Spending less on food. No more two pieces of chicken or chops for everyone.
- Cancelling all online subscriptions such as AppleTV, Netflix, Amazon, etc. Downloading all movies and series online.
- Cancelled life insurance policies and also RA's.
- No more cinemas or weekend outings or holidays.
- No more restaurants or take-aways.

2022

- Stopped repayments on all bank loans, overdraft and credit card debt.
- Stopped all repayments on cellphone contracts. Replaced devices and now on prepaid.
- Stopped repayments on clothing credit accounts.
- Replaced all outside lights with solar lights.
- Cancelled medical aid. Now only on Netcare trauma insurance.
- Disabled all lights in all rooms in the house, with exception of the kitchen, bathroom and living room. Only use bed lamps with energy efficient bulbs.
- Disabled the oven. Only using the stove top.
- Installed two solar geysers.
- Cancelled ADT private security

Not sure what 2023 will hold in store. Will just sit back and see.
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Is it that bad in Panama?
 
Have cut back on hobbies, holidays, insurance, and wherever else we can save a dime. Every year feels tighter.
 
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I have cut back on spending time in SA which in return has given me an amazing quality of life and cost of living is super low.
 
Nothing. Spending a lot on renovations for the house, booked two holidays, bought quite a bit of new clothese and furniture.

We just had 2 years of working from home and lock downs, so we have quite a bit of money saved up.
 
Cut back on fuel, including commuting- I only go in to the office when absolutely necessary.
Cut back on my home brewing hobby / alcohol.
No take aways- not that we really did it anyway.
No more restaurants, which we did on the regular as my in-laws like get togethers with the extended family. Also no more Sunday breakfast run bike rides.
Jacuzzi has only been used twice since we moved in (came with the house) - too expensive.
Used every last cent to flatten loans wherever possible (credit card, retail clothing)
Prepaid cell phone- 5 years old.
Cancelled gym membership.
 
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TEXTILE GUY said:
As the dollar gets stronger - with the US Fed increasing rates, the ZAR is worthless.
This cant be helping SA much :(
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Unless you earn dollars. Every time a local politician opens their mouth and makes a bad decision, literally I get paid for it.

Still suck for the collective though.
 
s0lar said:
Unless you earn dollars. Every time a local politician opens their mouth and makes a bad decision, literally I get paid for it.

Still suck for the collective though.
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The majority of my income is Dollars, including rental income from the US - and that is probably what saved me from a bigger fall. I am lucky if I earn R8k locally a month. Nonetheless, SA is a tough country to live in if you are not an AA candidate, a BEE crony or politically connected. It is extremely expensive and living costs are out of this world compared to countries like the US, UK, any European country. Those countries only become extremely expensive if you have to go there with Rands.
 
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