Money Matters, Simplified.
10 Ways To Cut Household Expenses
Being frugal with your household expenses is not as difficult as it might seem.
Mon, 07/13/2009 - 10:42 by Jaspreet Virk
Plan all your purchases; buy products only when you really need them and during sale seasons that allow you greater savings In uncertain and difficult times, we all look for ways to pinch pennies. Here is a list of 10 areas where you can cut costs to live within your means:
Tips to Manage your Expenses
1. Lists your Expenses: Document your expenses to estimate how much you spend on each item over a period of time.
2. Segregate Needs from Wants: Prioritize your spending. Cut down on your wants to meet your needs.
3. Budget your Money: Set a budget to regulate finances and achieve monetary goals.
4. Pay in Cash: Avoid credits cards and make cash payments to track spending.
5. Open a Savings Account: This will help you accumulate funds to meet future needs.
1. Make Better Food Choices
To stick to your food budget, remove snack food from your purchase list and focus on nutritious food items. Prepare food at home rather than eating out at restaurants.
Do not throw leftovers, rather freeze them. Further prepare meals that freeze well so that in case you are in a hurry and cannot prepare food, you can just take a meal out of the freezer and warm it up.
Avoid meat as the main course as it is expensive. Include beans in your diet as they lower cholesterol, provide proteins and other important nutrients.
You can grow vegetables at home. For example, tomatoes and peppers grow well in pots.
2. Cut Down on Transportation Costs
Cut your car expenses. A small car rather than an SUV can lead to big savings.
Make all the household or grocery purchases in one trip. Avoid extra trips just for the purchase of one or two items.
Consider using public transportation as an alternative. You can also go for carpool if your neighbor works near you. Walk to the nearby places and corner stores rather than driving. This way you will not only save on fuel or gas but will burn some calories too.
3. Review Means of Entertainment
Watching a movie in the theater can prove very expensive after you factor in the extra costs on popcorns, chocolates etc. You can cut on your entertainment expense by renting a movie and watching it at home.
Avoid buying DVDs as this can also upset your budget. Further, you can save on renting if you borrow DVDs from the library.
4. Go for Generic Drugs
Doctors often prescribe expensive drugs. But you can go for generic drugs, which are relatively low priced and are as good as high priced medicines.
There are medical stores that offer discounts for senior citizens and help you save on various medicines.
5. Save on Energy Costs
Saving energy will lower your power bills. For starters, the easiest way to cut on electricity bills is to optimize the use of most energy consuming products in your home like air conditioner, refrigerator etc.
Switch off lights when you leave the room. Switch over from old Thomas Edison bulbs to fluorescent bulbs. Turning down the heating thermostat when you leave the home can save a lot of energy.
Switch off all electric appliances rather than putting them on standby mode because even on standby function they consume energy. When you plan to buy a new appliance, purchase the most emergency-efficient model that fits your budget.
6. Shop at Discount Stores
Buy products at discounted prices. Thrift stores offer less expensive clothing that is as good as branded clothes. Take advantage of rummage and yard sales to buy items at a fraction of price of the new products.
However, do not just buy items because they are on sale. Do not settle for mediocre products. Evaluate quality of products and services before making the final purchase.
7. Cancel Subscriptions
Evaluate the costs that you incur on newspaper, magazine and other kinds of subscriptions. With all the information available online, consider using internet to save on your subscription costs.
You can easily cancel these subscriptions without much value loss.
8. Plan Ahead
Plan all your future expenses such as insurance, rent and mortgage payments etc. Such expenses cannot be cut. Save a little from your income every month to meet these expenses rather than paying all expenses out of your current income.
Also, plan all your purchases. Buy products only when you really need them and purchase during sale seasons that allow you greater savings.
9. Cut Your Phone Bills
Examine your phone bills to check out what you are paying for. Are you paying for services that you do not use?
Cancel all the extra features on your mobile phones that you can do without and activate the cheapest possible calling plan.
10. Do Your Own Repairs
When you need to get something repaired in the house, watch the repair person doing it. You might be able to do it yourself the next time and can cut down on the cost of expensive services.
Do-it-yourself books are available in the market, which can guide you to do the entire plumbing, wood and floor repair work.
Cutting costs are difficult, especially if you have not lived frugally before. But there’s never a bad time to start a good thing. All it needs is some getting used to.
