I saved $5,500 in 1 year by making these 5 small changes to my daily routine

One of my simplest means of saving was on coffee.

Some marketing genius made a fortune convincing the Western world that, on top of a cup of coffee at home over breakfast, and another one at the office first thing, we all suddenly needed one for the time in between as well. I was buying a chai latte every day from the stall at the train station, something I'd decided was my early morning treat to myself.

Well, no longer!

By simply cutting out this morning purchase completely, I saved a $5.36 a day, or $26.80 a week. Over 50 weeks, that added up to a whopping $1,340 a year. Bye bye chai latte! Instead I carried a water bottle with me for my journey, which was probably a lot better for my health, too.

My daily commute into the city — in and out of London's central Zone 1 to my home in Zone 3 — was costing me $80.80 a week.

To save money, I swapped the type of rail ticket I bought for one that took me just to the edge of Zone 2, and I would walk the rest of the distance.

Instead of spending $80,80 a week, I spent just $56.16, saving $1,232 over the year — a lot of money for what amounted to two short stops on the metro.

On top of saving me money, you can guess the physical benefits of all that new walking, and the added time let me catch up on my podcasts. I splurged on a Fitbit to keep it interesting and keep a tally of all those extra steps.

Swapping my salon-brand toiletries for supermarket savers proved to be an easy win.

I was used to "treating myself" with premium hair products, but I swapped salon-brand shampoo and conditioner ($11.20 each, $22.40 total) for cheaper products, whatever I could find that was on sale (often as low as $3.20 each, or $6.40 in total). That added up to $16 saved each month and $192 over the year.

And guess what: It turned out the cheaper brands did exactly the same job. You just had to leave it in a bit longer. Who knew?

A similar exchange of luxurious-sounding shower gel to whatever was on sale at the store saved another $6.33 a month — by the end of the year, that meant another $76 in the pot.

Finally, I realized I needed to cut out one of my magazine subscriptions. Sorry, Vanity Fair. Doing so saved me $8 a month, and I found that all the best features and interviews eventually turned up somewhere else where I could read them, anyway.

That gave me another $96 in savings, but I have to say, that one really hurt.

By the end of the year, here's exactly how much I saved:

• Weekly lunches: $2,564
• Daily coffee: $1,340
• Transport: $1,232
• Toiletries: $268
• Magazines: $96

My grand total? A whopping $5,500 in savings.

And that's how I did it. Twelve months later, my debt was fully paid off before I had to pay a penny in interest.

But more significantly, I'd formed new daily habits and left the more expensive ones behind. I realized my routine had become increasingly easy to follow and to continue into the future.

I'm sure I could have carried on saving by canceling gym memberships, Netflix, mobile phone contracts, and more, but I realized I didn't have to go that far — at least at this point. But it's good to know I could.

These days, I can once again afford to treat myself to a coffee on the go, or a pedicure before a holiday. But now they're just that — a proper treat, not the norm — and much more enjoyable as a result.

I've also become very easy to buy gifts for. Because my friends and family know I'm happy to live simply in my daily rounds, when it comes to my birthday, it only takes the gift of a premium-brand shampoo or a copy of Vanity Fair for me to bask in luxury and feel properly special.

All my norms have been reset, and my life is the better for it.