There's a popular series of books called Eat This, Not That which advocates making small dietary changes without depriving oneself. (For example, instead of the fried chicken patty sandwich, eat a grilled chicken sandwich. And so forth.)
I'm going with the budgetary version of this. There are a lot of popular paid products and services that many of us use regularly which can be found more cheaply elsewhere.
1. Use Hoopla Digital (free), not Audible ($14.95 per month)
Do you love listening to audiobooks? Do you have a library card? Do you hate paying for things? Hoopla Digital is a free alternative to Audible. In partnership with your local library, you can check out audiobooks (and videos, music, and ebooks) for a period of three weeks at a time. If you're not done, you can check it out again. No late fees, and no waiting. You can either stream on your computer, or you can download the mobile app and save the books to your device. When I have long drives through the middle of nowhere to go to court hearings, I download audiobooks to my phone and listen through my car's stereo. The books are regular bestsellers, too, not just old-timey classics in the public domain. (If you want old books, LibriVox is a good source of free audiobooks.) Overdrive is another library-based audiobook option, but I like Hoopla better because there's no waiting and because the app is more user-friendly.
2. Use generic over the counter medicines, not name-brand
Do you know what the difference is between Advil and drugstore-brand ibuprofen? Or between Tylenol and drugstore-brand acetaminophen? About $5. The active ingredients are identical. It's all regulated by the FDA, so you can be confident that you're getting the same medicine for a fraction of the price. I'm allergic to the whole planet, and when I get hives, I reach for my dye-free Wal-dryl from Walgreens to take care of the problem. It works just as well as the hot pink overpriced Benadryl.
3. Use AmazonSmile, not Amazon.com
This one isn't going to save you any money, but if you're shopping at Amazon anyway, shop at AmazonSmile instead. It's the same Amazon store with the same prices and your same account, but Amazon will donate a portion of your sales to a charity of your choice. There are the usual big name charities as well as small local charities. Find a cause that you care about and let your purchases do some good. You can change your charity from time to time if you want to. I started out supporting a large national disaster-relief charity, then I switched to a national digital rights organization, and now I'm supporting a local drug rehab facility in my neighborhood.
