How to cut spending without suffering

In a nutshell

Cutting spending does not have to hurt. Instead of trimming a little from everything, look first at your three biggest variable expenses and at subscriptions you forgot about. Then pick small cuts you can keep up. A R$ 100 monthly cut looks small, but in 12 months it becomes R$ 1,200.

Where to look first

• Your 3 biggest variable expenses. A variable expense is one that changes from month to month, such as groceries, food delivery and transport. The biggest ones tend to hide the biggest savings. Changing a R$ 30 expense saves little; changing a R$ 400 one saves much more.
• Forgotten subscriptions. Video, music, apps and clubs charge your card every month. Many people pay for something they have not used in months.
• Repeated spending you do not notice. The same snack, the same ride-hailing trip, the same impulse buy. Repeated 20 times a month, it adds up.

Fixed costs, like rent, can also go down, but they need bigger changes. Leave them for later.

Example

Rita and Paulo, a couple in Brazil, looked at last month's spending (R$ is the Brazilian real). Their three biggest variable expenses were:

• Groceries: R$ 1,200
• Food delivery: R$ 400
• Ride-hailing: R$ 300

Together, that is R$ 1,200 + R$ 400 + R$ 300 = R$ 1,900.

Groceries are a need, so they decided not to touch them for now. For delivery, they agreed to order one time less per week, which brought it from R$ 400 down to R$ 300. Cut: R$ 100 a month.

Then they read the card statement and found three video services: R$ 40, R$ 30 and R$ 25, a total of R$ 95. They only used the R$ 30 one. They cancelled the other two: R$ 40 + R$ 25 = R$ 65 a month.

Savings per month: R$ 100 + R$ 65 = R$ 165.

In 12 months: R$ 165 × 12 = R$ 1,980.

With two small changes, the couple stops spending almost R$ 2,000 in a year, as long as they keep the cuts.

Step by step

1. Take last month's spending and pick out the variable expenses.
2. Mark the three biggest.
3. In Meu Gasto, open Ask and ask "where do I spend the most?" or "how much did I spend on groceries?". It shows the numbers based on what you recorded.
4. Read your last card statement line by line and mark every monthly charge. Consider cancelling any you did not use last month.
5. Pick one small cut for one of the three biggest expenses, such as R$ 50 or R$ 100 a month.
6. Multiply the cut by 12 to see the yearly amount and decide where that money will go, such as a goal or an emergency fund.
7. At the end of the month, check whether the cut happened. If it did, pick the next one.

Common mistakes

• Cutting a little from everything. Scattered cuts are tiring and save little. Focus on the biggest expenses.
• Cutting what brings joy and keeping what you do not miss. Start with what you do not even notice, like unused subscriptions. Keep the small pleasure that is worth it.
• Goals that are too big. A big cut all at once, like R$ 500, is usually hard to keep up. Start with an amount you can keep without strain.
• Not giving the savings a destination. Money saved without a purpose disappears into other spending. Set it aside on payday.
• Not checking. Without looking at the numbers at month's end, you do not know whether the cut worked.