Small expenses add up: how to stop overspending and still enjoy life

What these small expenses are

These are the small, frequent purchases you make almost without thinking. In Spanish they're called “gastos hormiga” (“ant expenses”): each one is tiny, but like a line of ants, together they carry off more than you'd expect. Some common examples:

• Coffee, a pastry or a snack on the go
• Sodas, candy and chips
• Food delivery and delivery fees
• Subscriptions you no longer use
• Phone data add-ons and in-app purchases
• ATM fees and transfer fees

How much they add up to: an example

For example, $10 a day seems like very little. But over 30 days that's $300, and over 12 months, $3,600. With a take-home pay of $3,000, that's more than a full month's paycheck in a year.

It doesn't mean those $10 are badly spent. It means it's worth deciding whether you want them there or somewhere else.

How to spot them

Small expenses hide in your routine, so the first step is to look at them head-on, without judging yourself:

• Write everything down for two weeks, even the smallest things.
• At the end, mark what repeats and add it up.
• Ask yourself in each case: do I enjoy it, or is it just habit?

How to cut back without guilt

The idea isn't to ban everything but to choose. If you cut the small expenses in the example in half, you free up $150 a month: $1,800 a year. Some ideas that tend to work:

• Keep the small treats you enjoy most and cut the ones you buy on autopilot.
• Set a weekly amount for small treats, for example $35, about half of what the example adds up to in a week; when it runs out, you wait until the next week.
• Review your subscriptions once a month and cancel the ones you didn't use.
• Some days, bring water or a snack from home.
• Whatever you free up, move it to your savings right away so it doesn't just melt away.