Wasteful spending is one of the major causes of business failure. Spend too much and you'll run out of cash before your SaaS product takes off.

Let's examine a few typical expenses for bootstrapped SaaS founders.

How to Minimize Food Expenses Until You've Hit it Big

Stay away from gluttonous friends. Especially the ones who suggest you grab a bite and then complain, "Darn I didn't bring any cash!"

Besides not overeating, which causes problems beyond wallet holes, Jacob Lund Fisker suggests choosing recipes based on ingredients [1]. Buy what's on sale, then craft a recipe that uses those ingredients.

Learn a few recipes that use all ingredients in some combination. Avoid a recipe if it uses an ingredient that's used only in that recipe.

Having a collection of recipes you're proficient at cooking prevents impulsive food decisions that often result in unhealthy, pricier choices. It also constrains choices—you have a limited number of meal options, given the ingredients—so you’re unlikely to spend hours deciding what to eat today.

Finally, don't head to the grocery until you've finished what's in the fridge, so you don't waste food.

Keep Smartphone Costs Low With a Prepaid or Pay-As-You-Go Plan

Instead of going for a contract, try a prepaid plan. Buy the phone outright and sign up with a service like Red Pocket Mobile, which has prepaid plans as low as $10 a month.

I use FreedomPop with a plan that's $9.49/month for 50 minutes, 50 messages, 1GB @ high speed. I work remotely, so I don't need much data, but they have plans that include more minutes and data for very reasonable prices. Coverage is great as it uses the AT&T network.

With contracts, you often don't use up all your minutes, texts, or data, so the extra cost you've paid is wasted. With prepaid and pay-as-you-go, you can start with a low estimate of what you need and if you keep running out before the end of the monthly billing cycle, just increase it by the amount you need.

Having no activation or termination fees is another big plus for prepaid plans.

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[1] Fisker, Jacob Lund. "Early Retirement Extreme". p. 162.

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