Five random ways to save some cash without breaking up with your barista

Not since former treasurer Joe Hockey unhelpfully suggested Aussie Battlers “get a good job” to combat the rising house prices and futurist Bernard Salt suggested millennials cut back on smashed avo brunches, have we seen such an extensive parade of politicians and pundits pontificating on prices.

Terms like ‘rental stress, ‘food insecurity’, ‘unaffordability’ and the catch-all ‘cost-of-living crisis’ are arguably overused by the media, but reflect the blunt fact that life in 2025 is bloody expensive.

We’ve all been told that we should be sticking to a budget, turning off the lights, growing our own vegetables, quitting the cafe or cutting our own hair, but are there other simpler things we can do to save a quid or two in these tight economic times?

Here are five adjustments I’ll be trialling in 2025 while I can still afford a few small luxuries.

Do you still use that app?

Auto-renewal options can be convenient, but they can also lead to financial death by a thousand cuts.

It wasn’t until I was slugged with a $105 automatic deduction in the week before Christmas that I remembered I’d forgotten to unsubscribe from that kids app I downloaded during the pandemic.

Ouch! The financial kick-in-the-guts at the costliest time of the year motivated me to overcome my apathy (app-athy?) and finally take stock of all the apps leaching my accounts.

A few dollars here and there for news apps, games, fitness and even accounting apps can add up to a huge and unnecessary burden.

The solution is to sit down one evening, and, instead of scrolling through socials and endless nonsense, take a look at the dozens of random apps that have colonised the phone.

Think about what you use and remember to unsubscribe from any paid subscriptions before you delete them from your device!

Don’t horde streaming platforms

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Stan, Paramount+, Disney and Binge offer an overwhelming smorgasbord of entertainment, but realistically, how much can you watch in any given month? Chances are that you spend more time doom-scrolling on YouTube and free social media platforms anyway!

Netflix alone offers more than four years of consecutive viewing at any given time and, when you add up the thousands of hours of free offerings from traditional TV providers like SBS On Demand, ABC iview and 9Now, you could quite literally binge-watch content 24/7 until you die for less than you pay now!

Dropping a streaming app or two can feel like choosing a favourite child, but there’s no point hoarding shows you won’t be watching in the near future. And unlike parenting, you can unsubscribe for a while and the service will still be there, begging for your business when you’ve got the time, money and inclination to return.

The trick is to make sure you cancel one streaming service before you reactivate the other.

Don’t necessarily give up on barista-made coffee

I love drinking good coffee and I start my working day with a home-brew followed by a mid-morning walk to pick up a large flat white made to perfection by my favourite local barista.

But as my wife often reminds me, my $7 morning coffee adds up to more than $1600 per year which could otherwise be used to pay for school shoes from Kindergarten to Year 12.

With the price of coffee reaching record highs, many latte-sipping Aussies are investing in better machines to brew their own, but I would caution against breaking up with your barista.

Coffee shops are an important part of the economy, bringing life to our streets, employing locals and providing a comfortable place to catch up beyond the pubs and clubs. I would be loath to make any suggestion that would impact the viability of these cheery community hubs that are already doing it tough.

Instead of dropping that glorious early morning cup, I’ve settled for a compromise and hope to save a dollar or two every day by downsizing my order.

Buy secondhand and keep the money local

Supporting your local economy is important and is an investment in the ongoing viability of the community. But if times are tough, op-shops and online marketplaces can be a great way to recycle goods and keep the cash circulating locally.

Before you take a bargain-priced gamble on Temu or Kogan, take a look at the nearby buy-swap-and-sell listings or localise your Facebook Marketplace search.

An added bonus is that you can usually arrange a pick-up ASAP and avoid the long and uncertain wait from overseas bargain sites.

Spend real money

Finally, if you’re struggling to rein in your impulsive spending and can’t seem to keep the dollars from draining away, try a return to good old-fashioned cash money.

For me, it is far too easy to tap-and-go until my card is declined and it’s difficult to appreciate the real hard-won value of those digital dollars that magically move about electronically.

Paying for a Coke with a $10 note and getting back a small handful of coins can be a wake-up call and the process of going to the ATM for a top-up of the wallet is a handy reminder of just how quickly it can slip through your fingers.