An Equestrian’s Money-Saving Tips

“I would very much like to be excused from this narrative.” – Me towards Adulting.

Saving money as a horse owner can be difficult when you might as well be setting hundreds of dollars on fire each month to pay for a giant four-legged animal that spends its day eating and getting covered in dirt. While I’ve got no leads on finding a much-desired money tree, I have found a few ways to save up my pennies so I can eventually spend them on some breeches.

Digit

This was the first money-saving app I ever used and it has saved my butt more than once. Digit connects to your bank account, analyzes your income and spending, and calculates an amount of money that is automatically saved into your Digit account each day. While something taking money out of your account sounds scary, it is super easy to use and gives you the control to pause savings or transfer your savings back into your account. You can also set it to save toward a certain goal or bill each month.

This app has been a life saver for me. Mine typically saves around $5-$10 a day (though some days it gets greedy and will pull out a big chunk), and in seven months it saved me around $850! While I put that money toward my new Jeep, that easily could’ve been a few new pairs of breeches. A few months later when said Jeep decided to break down, the money Digit had saved was my emergency fund to get it fixed.

DollarBird

DollarBird is my favorite app for forecasting my bank balance. I love it and check it at least once a day. It is basically a calendar that you enter your monthly income and expenses into so it can determine how much money you have at the end of each day. This is great for seeing if you will have enough cash for that horse show at the end of next month or if you can afford to splurge at the tack shop sale that was just announced.

Gas Savings

Unless you’re lucky enough to have your horses in your backyard, you know the struggle of constant visits to the gas station because of your daily barn trips. Thankfully, many gas stations has started offering rewards programs! I am lucky enough to live around the corner from a Cumberland Farms, so I have their SmartPay app that saves me 10¢ a gallon and gives a few random freebies from the store each month. Though 10¢ is far from a new bridle, if you drive a lot like I do, it adds up. Plus, I love being able to pay right through the app and not having to take my wallet out when I am in a hurry.

Budgeting

This is the easiest way to save money and the last thing most people want to do. I can admit that just the term “budget” sounds awful, but this has been a great way for me to realize how much money I have coming in each month, how much I spend on bills, and how much I have leftover (aka how much disappears due to horsey each month). I use good ol’ Excel to categorize all of my monthly income and expenses, including all of the little things I spend on, like my Spotify subscription and Ax’s monthly SmartPaks! I find it easier to stick to how much I spend when I know I have only designated a certain amount for it—aka, I didn’t budget for that jar of queso, no matter how much I want it.

Soon enough that new saddle will be yours!

-TC