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🤓 Budget Hacks
5 Tips that could save you $100+ per month!
Zak Graves
August 31, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
Finances + Continuous Improvement (LEAN)
Your budget is not doomed to be what it is… or worse, as each year passes by. You might have the best plan or solutions for this moment in time, but continuous improvement is about there being solutions/advancements just right around the corner!
You might benefit from reading through our past issues on LEAN. But to quickly apply the concept to finances: We’re looking to spend our finances on what provides value, and in so doing we want to eliminate waste.
You shouldn’t be paying for something you don’t use.
Groceries that spoil in the fridge.
Too many subscriptions.
More-expensive-than-needed services.
You should pay the best price for what you do need.
There could be many tips… for this issue we’re limiting it to 5
If you have a cool one that I didn’t mention, send it my way with a reply!
Also, the biggest alteration you might make to your finances is knowing the 3 Zones of Cashflow, and how to maximize them. If you haven’t read that issue of T-P check it out and snag some free cash along the way 😎🤙🏼
🔁 Subscribe & Save
You notice with Amazon that you’ll get a discount for subscribing, and there is no penalty for skipping or changing the delivery schedule. Pick things that are incredibly routine in usage (supplements, detergents, etc.) and put those on subscription.
If your usage doesn’t fit nicely in the subscription window, then still collect that refill until you finally have enough to skip a whole delivery. You’ll keep the discount and help the budget, while benefitting from the convenience.
Ex: You use 75% of a detergent container per month. Every 3 months you’ll skip a delivery (since the 25% extra builds up to the 75% that you’ll need for a given month).
🦊 Cheap & Excellent Cell Service
I was tired of my large monthly bill and went deep on researching the best cellular provider. Here are my steps and final conclusion:
Compare major carriers with REAL USER data to see which ACTUALLY had the best coverage (I looked for #1, while focusing on where I used my phone regularly).
T-Mobile was the winner for me!
Adjust cell service habits to prioritize preparing for outings by having content downloaded (podcasts, music, audio books, etc.).
Check how much data is used in a given month.
2 Part Process (Start of Month and End of Month)
Settings → Cellular → Scroll to Bottom: Reset Statistics
Use service for a month / Adjust other settings as needed
Go back to Settings: Cellular → Scroll to Middle: Cellular Data: Current Period
I found that I used about 3-5 Gigs!
I Picked Mint Mobile (they use T-Mobile towers) for some sweet savings!
$15 a month! The service has been great. You can even transition your phone service and transfer your phone number, all from following the steps they give you online.
If you come to the same conclusion, then use my referral code (a great way to support me for free)!
🤝🏼 Negotiate with Service Providers
When service providers raise your costs, find what competitors are offering and use it as leverage. Call customer services and mention that you’ve been a loyal customer and wish to continue so long as the cost makes sense.
Usually they’ll offer right at their competitor’s costs, but if they don’t, use the specific information you have. “I would love to still stay, but what I’m hearing is that I’d be better off if I transitioned my service to __, who is offering __. I don’t prefer that, I certainly would like to stay if you could match. Is that possible?”
Either they match or you walk. I’ve found that companies usually want to keep their customers.
🍽️ Meal Plans & Grocery Analysis
When you have a planned menu you gain several benefits:
Planned in your schedule (1 Week Menu or 2 Week Menu [my preferred to make sure things feel fresh]).
Groceries run out when you need them to (the last bit of milk is used right as you need some more… give or take… the point is, no spoilage!)
Easier to stay in budget on groceries and avoid unnecessary eating out.
You can swap out menus throughout the year for fun or seasonality.
You now have a baseline that you can run cost analysis on!
Once you’ve found your preferred ingredients, run analyses on the various grocers you might use. Find the best deals!
📚 Audible Hack
For those who love growing through reading, you can gain the benefit of Audible without paying full cost! To do this hack you will need to have HAD a subscription. So start one and then cancel.
When you stay unsubscribed, you’ll eventually start getting discount offers (these appear on the app home screen).
Wait until you get 3 Months for 99¢.
While subscribed, snag books with your 1 credit per month, but DON’T READ THEM.
Instead, read other books you desire that are on their free catalogue for subscribers
When the 3 months comes to a close, cancel the subscription (make sure you’ve used your credits or you’ll lose them).
The books you got with credits are YOURS, you can now read them without an active subscription, and you’ve saved them for this season when you can’t access the free library.
Using this method I’ve effectively gotten Audible for a year, for the past two years, for under $6 per year.
