I have a Starbucks addiction. When people mention the words, The Struggle is Real, Starbucks immediately pops into my mind.
Daily, I want and most of the time get, a Venti Skinny Iced Mocha. That comes to $5.74 daily for an addiction I need to conquer.
Truth is, I don’t plan on taking care of my one true love anytime soon. But, we are trying to be debt free, so I am trying to save every dollar possible. Cutting this out could save some money, but it may not save my sanity. Although, as of this posting, I have not stepped into a Starbucks or gone through the drive through in 72 hours {hold me}.
One of the easiest ways I’ve found to save money is by buying gift cards for places I am shopping online, or in person. I have been doing this for well over a year, and I’ve never had an issue at Cardpool.com. Honestly, it’s one of the easiest things I’ve done to save money because most of the time the cards are electronic and I can print them out or use the handy app to use them almost immediately in the store.
How do I use them? If we are headed to the movies, and I know the tickets, and popcorn will be $40, then I buy an AMC Theater (or two) gift cards and pay $31.80 for the cards and use them immediately saving $8.20 (20.5% savings).
If we head to lunch at say Applebees, there is a 22.5% savings on those right now. Need to buy a gift at Bed, Bath & Beyond, purchase a gift card and save 8% or looking to do some home improvements, purchase a Home Depot card at 6% discount, or a Lowes at a discount of 9%. There are also cards for popular gas stations, grocery stores, and retailers.
Saving the extra through using gift cards allows us to have fun and stretch the budget while working to pay down our debt. Small victories make for large gains when every dollar counts towards debt reduction!
