Looking for things to stop buying to save money? Fortunately, it’s easy to save extra cash at home by stop spending money on things you don’t need to buy!

Like most consumers, you might be purchasing unnecessary items that you don’t need in your house or apartment. In this post, I’ve listed everyday household products and items to stop buying to save money, as well as, their frugal alternative.

Many single use, disposable products cost cheaper to start, but end up costing more money in the long run. Not only will replacing these items save some extra money in your pocket, but will also help reduce plastic and waste from our environment.

If you are interested in purchasing affordable eco friendly products to use at home, I wrote a post! Not only are they great for the environment, but will help you save money on one use household items.

Without further ado, here’s 13 things I stopped buying to save money!

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Things To Stop Buying To Save Money

Before we begin, I want to mention that you don’t need to completely avoid buying these things forever. I recommend simply limiting these purchases to help you save money every month.

1. Single Use Paper Plates And Plastic Utensils

Here’s some things to stop buying to save money: paper plates and plastic utensils. Disposable plates and utensils are easy to use (no need to clean dishes!), but cost extra money each week to replace and are super wasteful.

These are definitely unnecessary products you don’t need to buy at home. Instead, get a simple affordable dinnerware set (like the one below) to reuse over and over again. Yes, you will need to do dishes afterwards, but you don’t need to keep going back to the store for more.

This wheat straw dinnerware set from Coolleya is the perfect budget eco friendly dinnerware to use at home. It is eco friendly, adorable, unbreakable, and excellent for families. Best of all, these are easy to clean and are both dishwasher and microwave safe!

2. Coffee Shop Teas And Coffee (like Starbucks)

Do you get daily drinks from Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts? Consider making teas and coffees at home for a fraction of the cost! Although delicious and convenient, coffee shop beverages tend to cost more than homemade ones.

To save money, stop buying coffee shop teas and coffees. I recommend purchasing a coffee maker or a tea bag box instead.

If you love posts related to teas, I also wrote: the best teas to replace coffee, the best masala chai tea bags to brew at home, and delicious sweet matcha powders to replace your Starbucks Matcha Lattes.

3. Paper Napkins

Do you use paper napkins every meal? Disposable napkins are of the few things I stopped buying to save money. Not only can they get expensive to purchase overtime, but they also create unnecessary waste.

Rather than one use paper napkins, consider purchasing reusable ones like the ones below. Cloth napkins are easy to use AND clean! Simply throw them in the laundry to get fresh napkins every week!

Cloth napkins make any meal seem like a special occasion. I recommend purchasing a durable napkin set like this one. These napkins are machine washable and can be used over and over again without losing their quality.

4. Plastic Water Bottles

If you buy packs of bottled water to drink at home, consider getting a Brita Filter instead. Did you know that most plastics end up in the ocean, causing serious problems for marine life?

You don’t need bottled water to drink filtered water at home. I recommend filtering your own water with a Brita. Brita’s are easy to use and you don’t get that awful plastic-taste you often get with bottled water.

Not only will you save money on bottled water, but also reduce plastic consumption. Stop buying things you don’t need and avoid bottled water. If you need water on the go, get a reusable water bottle and fill it up before you leave your house or apartment.

Brita’s are durable and easy to use. All you need to do is replace the filter when the water no longer tastes fresh. For people who don’t have space, I recommend getting a compact Brita like this one (this is the one I have!). Fun fact: I’ve been using the same Brita I’ve had since college.

Brita’s come in multiple sizes. If you have a large family or multiple roommates, you can pick a larger pitcher so you don’t have to constantly replace the water every use.

5. Books

Books provide entertainment, knowledge, and a way to pass the time. If you can’t live without books, don’t worry, you can still read books without spending a great deal of money!

Instead of purchasing new physical copies of books, why not borrow from a local library? You can also lend ebooks and audiobooks from your library using free apps like Libby. This is such an easy way to read books for free!

What if your library doesn’t have the books you want to read? If you read several Kindle ebooks every month, I recommend checking out Kindle Unlimited to read unlimited ebooks for a small fee every month. Get a reader discount here!

Prefer audiobooks instead? Try Audible Premium Plus and get up to two free audiobooks here.

6. New Liquid Hand Soaps

Here’s some more common things to stop buying to save money: new liquid hand soaps. If you have a large family or multiple roommates, you’ll know how quickly liquid hand soaps need to be replaced. Instead of liquid soaps, I highly recommend using a bar soap instead. Not only are they better for the environment (no plastic waste!), but they also last MUCH longer than traditional liquid soap.

If you strongly prefer liquid hand soap, instead of replacing new containers of hand soap why not purchase refills instead? You don’t need to buy a new container of hand soap every time it runs out! Although it won’t cut down plastic use, it’ll definitely help you save some extra bucks every month!

I’m a huge fan of Mrs. Meyer’s products (their scents are heavenly!). Most liquid hand soaps have refills available like this brand does. I recommend checking out for refills from your preferred brand on Amazon or at your local grocery store!

7. Small Trash Bag Liners

Got some small trash cans at home? Instead of purchasing small trash bag liners, I recommend reusing grocery bags as liners. If you have extra grocery bags lying around at home, why not use them? Of course grocery bags don’t look as fancy as liners, but they will hold your trash and save you a couple bucks every month.

8. Delivery/Take Out/Restaurant Food

During times like these, supporting small businesses and local restaurants are important. However, if you are looking for a quick way to save a great deal of money every week, cut down on delivery, take out, and restaurant food.

Making meals at home is an effective way to save extra cash every week. You don’t need to completely eliminate restaurant food from your diet, but even replacing one eating-out meal with a home-cooked one will save you several bucks.

Think about all the delivery, tips, and/or additional fees you’ve saved on! This is definitely one of the most expensive things I stopped buying to save money.

9. Snacks And Drinks

One huge rule when grocery shopping is to never shop when hungry. Although snacks and drinks will satisfy our cravings, these additional items can add up in our weekly grocery spending.

When grocery shopping, I highly recommend planning out meals and a shopping list in advance. This will prevent you from overbuying foods you don’t need and reduce food waste. It’ll also save you additional trips to the grocery store if you forget something!

Have a weekly budget for grocery shopping. If you go under your budget for foods that week, you can use the leftover money on snacks and drinks! Always shop for the essentials first!

10. ZipLock Bags

ZipLock bags (and sandwich/freezer bags in general) are essential kitchen products. Although helpful, ZipLock bags are normally one-use items and create unnecessary plastic waste every week. This is one of the few things to stop buying to save money.

If you use ZipLock bags a few times a week, it’s time to stop. You don’t need to buy them over and over again. Swap ZipLock bags with reusable sandwich/freezer bags like the ones below.

Instead of ZipLock Bags, try out a durable reusable storage bag like these ones! These bags are easy to clean, are leak proof, and can used in the freezer. This is also a great way to cut down on plastic every week!

11. Paper Towels

If you use paper towels to clean kitchen-related spills and messes, you don’t need to use or buy them anymore! Not only are they wasteful, but you can totally use a pack of microfiber cleaning cloths instead.

Microfiber cloths are gentle on all surfaces and won’t scratch your items while cleaning. They will also absorb spills like normal paper towels do. I recommend buying a pack of budget microfiber cloths (like the one below) to use at home.

I personally use a pack of microfiber cloths to clean at home. They are great to use on glass and windows, and don’t leave smudges behind. To clean them, simply throw them in the laundry!

12. New Clothes

Do you buy new clothes every month? Unless you need to replace a specific clothing item, you likely don’t need to buy new clothes, shoes, or accessories every month. Limiting how much you spend on new clothes is a great way to cut back on spending on things you don’t need to buy.

If you love fashion and frequently spend money every month to purchase new clothes, I recommend shopping for deals in clothing stores. One easy way to save a great deal of money is to shop at second hand or thrift stores. Also, consider selling clothes you no longer use for extra cash.

Although fast fashion is cheap, I don’t recommend it for people looking to save money. The pieces are often made cheaply and will not last. To cut down on the price of the product, workers are often underpaid and mistreated. Instead, spend money on quality pieces you plan to wear over and over.

13. Gym Membership

Lastly, here’s my last item on my list of things I stopped buying to save money. Unless you need to use the specific equipment at your gym, you don’t need a gym membership to stay in shape. There are so many equipment-free workout videos on Youtube to help you workout at home.

Conclusion: Things To Stop Buying To Save Money

In this post, I’ve listed only 13 examples of things to stop buying to save money. Although this list is short, there are so many more things you can cut off out from your life to save extra cash every week/month!

One easy way to decide if you are buying an unnecessary item is thinking about whether that item is something you need or want. I recommend allocating a budget towards things you “want” to prevent overbuying.

I also recommend replacing single use items at home with reusable ones. Not only is this great for the environment, but also for your wallet! You can find many budget reusable products on sites like Amazon. Save money and stop buying things you don’t need to buy over and over again!