For 2026, I'm pulling our budget from broad, impersonal advertising like billboards. I've found that sponsoring my daughters' local sports teams or a neighborhood event builds more genuine trust here in Myrtle Beach than any static advertisement ever could. It allows us to reinvest in the community we serve, which is the core of our business and my personal values.
We are cutting down on Shopify tools and software that we don't use or rarely use. The main reason for that is that for some clients we needed apps, services, etc from selected tools, and now that we have finished the work with those clients, the apps are just not used.
We are a Mom-and-Pop guesthouse in Cozumel, Mexico. We have studied SEO and now try to do everything ourselves. SEO is crazy expensive, just like Google advertising. Backlinks are essential to all websites, but those SEO teams charge hundreds of dollars for each one. YouTube is a fantastic place to find out ways to help your SEO, and we now follow many experts.
I'm ruthlessly going through my business subscriptions and cutting any that don't directly make me money or save me money. I had no idea how many subscriptions I'd taken out to 'help' me in my business, but at this point in time, I have more than I can use, and I'm not using them. Canva, for instance, is the first to get cut. Social media users don't want polished, or perfectly unperfect content. AI can too easily replicate that. They want authentic, genuine, wrinkles, warts and all content. And that is my forte! Instagram posts that used to take me hours to refine, now get knocked out in minutes using Edits and just my camera roll. Canva subscription cancelled; time and money saved. WInner winner.
I am about to undertake a measure in 2026 that a lot of people won't understand, which is the cessation of working late nights. I used to grind a lot thinking that working long hours was a sign of dedication. I used to make very important decisions around 12 o'clock. This resulted in a lot of unfix, reworkable, and miscommunication issues. These would affect the company in ways that wouldn't be visible in QuickBooks. I stop making operational decisions after 8. If I get a late idea, I make a note called 'morning clarity'. Ever since I started working in 2026, I have been making and feeling a lot more mistakes. It has resulted in boosted and increased my positivity and productivity. I think and structure my thoughts with a lot more detail and quicker than I used to. My levels of happiness with the work have increased and the team has also noticed it. I was just burned out people. I thought the late work brought out a version of me that made tired decisions and thought they were brilliant.
Hi there, I own a small mortgage brokerage in the UK - 6 employees at present - here's my two cents! Leading into 2026 we're looking at cutting some of our marketing spend. We tried many different channels last year - paid ads on various platforms, SEO across multiple websites, organic social media, influencer marketing, partnerships and more, but only a few have really generated a trackable, positive return on investment. We're OK with the money spent - it was a good experiment and now we have actual data to inform our strategy going forward - but it's time to cut back and refine our budget now. In fairness I think marketing budgets are often one of the first cuts to be made when funds are tight or business slows, and it can be crippling because it can lead to a spiral of slower business when leads / sales stop coming in as a result. But also, it's very easy to overspend with marketing: there are so many different channels, and there's so much upside if you get it right which is very alluring, so it's really important to keep checking in and assessing whether the spend is balanced with the other needs of your business and make cuts if it's justified.
For 2026, we're cutting our use of third-party lead finders and paid referral services from our budget. My business partner and I are focused on helping people through difficult situations, and we've learned the best way to do that is by building trust directly, not by paying a middleman for a tip. This ensures our first interaction with a homeowner is built on a foundation of genuine connection and integrity, which is the cornerstone of our company.
I've decided to stop renting my office space and now meet with all clients online. I use safe video meeting software and keep track of calls on a calendar in the cloud. This way, I save money on things like rent, bills, and travel, but still give my clients a real live meeting feel. This helps me keep more money. I can use that for ads and better tools for coaching, which will help my practice grow.
Our small business has 15-20 employees depending on how you count part-time employees, contractors, etc. One of our larger expenses is SaaS software such as Salesforce and Jira. These organizations have always been sophisticated when it comes to pricing but over the past few years their pricing models have become even more sophisticated. Features which used to be available for free or at no additional cost have been moved to higher tier packages, and many new features are made available only in those higher tier packages. Functionality that used to be available to across entire teams when only some members of those teams were paid users are now only available when all members of the team are paid users. My company, College Recruiter job search site, is not looking to these organizations like they're charities. They're for-profit corporations, as are we, and they're fully entitled to maximize their short- and/or long-term profitability by adjusting what features they make available to what customers and at what cost. But that doesn't mean that we need to let them charge us for those features. We can, instead, choose to switch to products offered by competitors, and we're actively investigating doing so. Our Salesforce annual contract, for example, is up for renewal in the fall of 2026. I will be surprised if we renew. We will likely migrate to a competitor whose product is comparable and perhaps even better for us, and priced at a fraction of the cost.
The greatest area of savings for us in 2026 is going to come from unused software products. Over time, small companies have accumulated tool stacks silently consisting of a collection of software for chat, customer relationship management (CRM), analytics, scheduling, and reporting, while each may have been inexpensive individually, combined they represent a significant annual expense (five-figure). In auditing usage, we found multiple software products that less than 20% of the workforce made use of or were only used while setting up accounts/profiles and never again. The reason for this is not a lack of technology; rather, it is poor employee accountability. We will consolidate functions into fewer systems, which may be slightly less "high-end" than using many different types of products, but they will be more cost-effective and require less time to train employees and will reduce the number of times things "break" during the integration process. Simplicity is more important than having a high number of features, this is imperative in the service industry. The majority of small businesses do not have a high-cost personnel issue; they have a high-cost tool usage issue because they stopped evaluating their tool spend.
In 2026, I'm planning to cut back on staging expenses for my renovation projects. Instead of fully furnishing every home, I'll focus on partial or virtual staging--highlighting just the key rooms that help buyers visualize the space. It still creates that emotional connection, but saves thousands per property that can go right back into improvements that actually boost value.
In 2025, we streamlined our accounting processes by integrating with the Quickbooks API and banking APIs, as well as automatically parsing incoming invoices. We will be continuing to cut accounting/bookkeeping costs in 2026 by integrating with more vendor and client APIs. With AI tools such as Cursor and ChatGPT, implementing API integrations that would have taken days or weeks can now be done in a matter of minutes.
In 2026, I'm cutting out the generic, pre-packaged welcome baskets for my Airbnb guests. My background in the restaurant world taught me that sincere hospitality is in the details, so I'll be creating my own welcome packages using unique items from local Augusta businesses. This move not only saves a significant amount on supplier costs but also elevates the guest experience, making their stay more memorable and authentically Southern.
I'm cutting speculative sampling. For years, we overproduced physical samples before a client committed, chasing perfection and speed. It felt helpful, but it quietly burned cash through materials, shipping, storage, and wasted time. In 2026, we are switching to a tighter rule. No physical sample without a signed brief and deposit. We will rely on high-fidelity digital proofs, short videos from our suppliers, and one final pre-production sample only when a project is approved. This decision came from watching pallets of unused samples stack up after pitches that went nowhere. Each one represented money spent to look impressive rather than money spent to deliver value. Our clients already trust our track record with brands like Hilton and Maersk. They do not need three versions of a mug to believe we can execute. Cutting speculative sampling forces better conversations upfront. It sharpens briefs, sets expectations early, and protects margins without hurting quality. The savings are meaningful, but the bigger win is discipline. We move faster, waste less, and keep our focus on real, funded projects aligned with the client's goals. It reflects how I want WrappUp to grow, with intent, accountability, and respect for resources globally.
The cost I'm cutting in 2026 is low-ROI paid advertising, especially platforms and campaigns that look good in dashboards but don't turn into real leads or sales. Over the years, I've watched small businesses pour money into ads because they feel fast and controllable, only to realize months later that they're paying rent to platforms instead of building assets they actually own. I've seen this firsthand with clients who were spending five figures a month on ads, paused them during tighter periods, and discovered their organic traffic and referrals carried the business just fine. What I've learned is that cutting underperforming ads forces smarter decisions instead of lazy spending. When you're not relying on paid traffic as a crutch, you tighten your messaging, improve your website, and focus on channels that compound over time, like SEO and email. My advice is simple: if you can't clearly trace ad spend to profit within a realistic timeframe, that cost is a liability, not a growth lever.
In 2026, I'm eliminating our specialized software subscriptions and consolidating to just a few core platforms. After analyzing our tech stack, I discovered we're paying for multiple tools with overlapping features, costing us nearly $1,500 monthly. As someone who's navigated real estate markets for three decades, I've learned that efficiency isn't about having more tools--it's about maximizing the ones that truly drive business. This consolidation will save us around $12,000 annually without sacrificing our ability to serve clients effectively.
In 2026, I'm cutting our outsourced bookkeeping services and handling the financial management in-house. After completing over 150 transactions with We Buy SC Mobile Homes, I've developed a solid understanding of our cash flow patterns and expense categories--paying $500 monthly for basic bookkeeping feels unnecessary when I can manage it myself using affordable software. This change will save us $6,000 annually while giving me better real-time insight into our renovation budgets and profit margins on each mobile home project.
In 2026, I'm cutting overnight shipping costs for transaction documents by switching to a fully digital closing process. After helping a family avoid foreclosure last year, I realized how much time and money we wasted mailing paperwork--now we use secure e-signature platforms that let sellers review and sign everything from their kitchen table. This saves us about $8,000 annually while actually speeding up our 'no waiting' promise, giving homeowners immediate peace of mind.
In 2026, I'm cutting our outsourced property photography services to trim expenses. I've invested in a quality camera and lighting equipment that will pay for itself within months, and I've discovered that my own photos actually capture the unique angles and features that resonate most with our St. Louis buyers. This isn't just about saving the $200-300 per listing--it's about delivering a more authentic representation of the properties we transform, which ultimately helps us connect with the right buyers faster.
In 2026, I'm cutting our reliance on high-interest hard money lenders for our property acquisitions. Having funded millions in investments, I'm now leveraging my network of private lenders to secure better financing, which lowers our cost of capital on every deal. This strategic shift allows us to pass those savings directly on to homeowners, reinforcing our promise to always provide the highest possible offer.