I love September. It’s the beginning of Fall and with that comes cooler weather. Living in Florida, I take whatever I can get.

The end of September also means that I have another monthly update of savings. My savings include actual savings of services we’ve cut back on and not doing certain activities that we originally thought were a good idea but then we decided to do something less expensive and equally, if not, more fun.

August saw savings of $639.01 and I have a feeling that September will be even better!

Let’s see how much we saved last month, shall we?

• Savings from switching my wife from domestic partner to spouse on my health insurance in August: $143.08
• Calling our health insurance provider to straighten some things out on our latest claim: $150.00
• Switching car insurance providers: $205.00
• Getting rid of some cable features, Pandora, and WWE Network: $54.35
• Savings from not committing to play soccer this upcoming season: at least $200
• Deciding not to go to a really bad ass concert that’s in town in December: $320
• Carpooling to work with my wife: $20
• Not going to Ikea because we were bored: at least $50
• Not going to the Comedy Club: $30
• Not spending the day in Sarasota: $75
• Not being able to rent bicycles because of the weather and going for a walk instead: $20
• Not buying lunch/snacks/going out for dinner/splurging at the grocery store: $150
• Not going to the Tampa Bay Rowdies game for my birthday: $45

Total Savings for September: $1,462.43

Plus Total Savings for August: $639.01

Grand Total of Savings: $2,101.44

September sure was a good month for savings!

There were some low points to the month, however. Our roof decided to start leaking again after it was supposedly fixed, our bathroom sink decided to leak and my dad was luckily able to somewhat fix it, and we spent 7 lovely hours in the Emergency Room with my wife. (She’s better now if you’re wondering.) We don’t have the bill yet but I’m sure it’ll be greatttttttt.

We ate out a lot more than we usually do. Somewhat because my wife was feeling under the weather and I’d burn the house down if I tried to make dinner. (True story: I burned taco shells once.) Mostly because we were lazy. Things can only go up from here.

We also decided to treat ourselves and the family and us are going to spend a couple days in Orlando in November. It was a somewhat unexpected expense but I can’t remember the last time I went on vacation with my parents and it’ll be nice to get away with them and my wife. Treat yo’ self!

Tracking our actual savings and savings from “things we decided not to do/purchase” has helped me consciously think about my purchases….do I really want to buy lunch or should I just eat what we already spent money on and took the time to cook last night which will save money which will allow me to retire earlier…whenever that might be?

See, it’s easier to make decisions like that when it’s in that context.

The old me would have just said “screw it,” and drove my happy ass to the nearest fast food joint and drop $7 on a meal of processed food without even thinking twice.

The new me would rather think about quitting my day job sooner.

Every dollar I save is a dollar that I won’t have to work for in the future. That’s more than enough incentive for me!

That’s it for September! I’m looking forward to what October brings us.

How’d you do with saving money in September?