Trimming fat from your household budget

I have NO idea what I spent money on pre-Covid but since last March my bank account just keeps growing. About the only things that stopped were going for coffee with a coworker every morning ($2/day) and dining out once a week (roughly $60 every two weeks, we take turns paying).

The big money wasters I see around me:

• Takeout coffee (and sometimes breakfast) every day.
• Debt. I would never finance a vehicle and most of mine have been used. The two new vehicles I've bought were paid outright. To me, the only acceptable debt has been student loan and mortgage (have neither currently).
• Constant reliance on restaurant meals. Much cheaper to bring lunch to work.
• All the entertainment subscriptions to radio and streaming services. I only listen to radio in the vehicle and I quite like our local station, sometimes I learn things about community events. When they run incessant commercials or play something I don't like, I flip over to the USB. I've got a low end cable package with channels that I actually watch, not that I spend a lot of time in front of the TV.

We have a car payment, but no personal phone services - just what work provides - or mortgage (house is paid off), and some recreational/hobby stuff we engage in regularly that is expensive. Cut out horseback riding, dog sport, and my spouses gaming stuff and we could save a lot of money/have it back in the budget for other things really fast.

I suppose from a purely financial pov it's a total waste, but the truth is... From a quality of life perspective it's well worth it - as long as we can afford it. If we couldn't afford it/needed to save or had a big expense come up though, that's what would go.

I've been spending like I got it, lately, on Christmas. I'd done online surveys to earn amazon gift cards and it was up to $600. That's gone. Plus I've been getting a little extra for taking care of my elderly neighbor, not much but enough for a few extras. And after the holidays I'm going to be searching for a PT job. I get very little in social security and will get even less when dh retires because we'll lose our health insurance.

Now, for places where I know we could cut dramatically but it'd be mostly effort on my dh's part. Cable, cigarettes, lottery tickets and soda. That's all on him. And there'll be no changing it I'm afraid.

Our cars are paid(I could definitely sell mine when he retires), our house is paid. We really have no outstanding bills except the usual utilities, taxes, etc.

I hardly ever do anything or go anywhere that costs much. As someone else mentioned, most of what I buy comes from places like Salvation Army, yard sales. There's the library for books. Any books I pick up at yard sales, etc., I can bring them to a local bookstore who'll give me store credit for any she buys from me.

I'm a cheap date but money still sifts through our fingers.

This is a little more abstract, but being content/grateful is very helpful if you can do it. I often find myself comparing my car, house, things, to that of other people, and for some reason the comparison is never kind to me. I never think about how fortunate I am to have a house or a reliable vehicle, etc., its always "I wish I had a house like Bill, or a Truck like John." The reality is that I have a lot more than a lot of people but I am still very discontent. I have clothes to wear, food to eat, a house, a car, I really shouldn't want any more but I do.

Before buying things I don't actually need I ask myself if this will make me happy/happier, and if it will add true value to my life. More often than not the answer is no, I wish I could say I often choose not to buy the item, but that is rarely the case, at least for now.