Soul Peak

1. Moving Saved me $1,000 a month

Like most people, housing is my biggest budget line. In 2024, my husband and I moved from a 100 year old studio apartment into a newly upgraded 2 bedroom home. With the extra space, convenience, and luxury came the extra price tag to go with it. 32% of our income was going towards rent and while that wasn’t terrible, I wondered how much money we could be saving, investing, and giving if our housing expense was lower. 

After much thought and consideration, at the end of 2025 we decided to move into a 2 bedroom condo and are now saving $1,000 a month in rent alone! We are very happy with our decision and like this home better in a lot of ways. Now, only 24% of our income is going towards rent and we feel a lot more comfortable with this 🙂

2. Utilize the Library’s Resources

I feel like public libraries are so underrated! Any chance I get to tell someone about all the cool resources they offer, I do 😉 You can rent books & movies, print things out & make copies, and some libraries even offer California State Park Passes that you can check out- all for free! If you haven’t checked out your local library lately, I encourage you to do so. You can thank me later.

3. Cooking at Home

I love me a good restaurant but I’m always so surprised at how quickly eating out adds up at the end of the month. Confession, in 2025 I had a goal to eat out less and I think I actually ended up eating out more. So this year I am being EXTRA intentional with this budget line by cooking at home more. Thankfully my husband is also on board with this and he is an incredible cook so I’m hopeful that we will be better at eating more home cooked meals this year. If you need some quick and easy ideas, you can check out my post “Is Eating Out Eating Your Budget?” for some Inspo😊

4. Not Renewing my Disney Pass

Disneyland has been fun and all but when I first got my pass, I didn’t realize how much money I would spend each time I would go to the park. Parking alone can be up to $30 and you know I’m getting some cookies from Harbour Galley or some other sweet treat while I’m there. I had a lot of fun going to Disney with my family and friends and enjoyed having the annual pass very much– but in 2026, I’m saying goodbye to Mickey and hello to putting that $130+ somewhere else.

5. Tracking Every Expense

It’s no surprise that budgeting is on this list but it’s such a practical way to make sure I’m living below my means. Budgeting has been the best and easiest way to ensure I save money every month.

Tell me, how are you planning on saving money in 2026?