Is money always tight at your house? Maybe you just want to increase your savings or plan financially for a big vacation. Even on the tightest budgets, you can learn to save more. Financial planners suggest that it is best to prioritize your bills and make a budget to get an idea of where you are at fiscally before planning any huge expenses.
Along with that tip, here are six more ways that you can reduce your household bills and save more.
Reducing your household water consumption is a great way to save money, plus it’s environmentally friendly. Simple day-to-day adjustments can have a big impact on your usage, such as taking shorter showers or turning the faucet off while you are brushing your teeth. Consider adjusting your sprinklers so they only go off once or twice a week, and check for leaking appliances. For a large family, this can make a large dent in your water utility costs every month.
Where are your biggest entertainment expenses? Did you know that there are less costly “IPTV” services now that allow you to get all live TV channels and movies for around $10 to $20 a month? These services require some type of media player, but it’s a great savings considering you likely pay over $100 per month on cable or satellite TV bills.
Most grocery stores have their “own-brand” of products. Whole Foods offers the 365 Everyday brand while the southern US food chain Publix has its own brand too. You can save a few dollars or more with each grocery bill just by being these products, and they are a little bit better quality than generic or off-brand goods.
How much are you spending for your home and auto insurance? You may not be able to cut down on your health insurance, but you should be able to negotiate lower rates for your home and auto insurance. If you can talk to your current insurance provider, you could save up to $100 per month by switching to a lower cost for a few months or cutting some coverage that you may not even need.
Each week your grocery store puts out coupons for specials and deals coming up. You can use this as a guide for what to shop for. You can also use promotional codes and online coupons to get even more discounts on certain products.
For household items, toiletries, laundry detergent, and other home goods, you may want to shop for the best price online. There are a variety of “under $5” stores online that sell everything you need. You can have it shipped directly to your home.
Do you have a gym membership that you don’t use? How many coffees do you buy each day of the week? What about subscriptions to apps like Spotify or monthly beauty boxes? There are little ways that you can cut back daily and weekly spending. When you create a budget and look at all of your spending, you probably see a few things that could be dropped. This could be the biggest way that you save money and start planning for the future.
Speaking of planning for the future, plan for emergencies! A healthy savings account is a must, but sometimes the unexpected happens and you don’t have enough cash in your savings account to take care of it. If you find yourself facing an unexpected emergency expense that has to be taken care of right away, be smart about your options and think ahead. You may find that applying for quick loans online is a good option when you’re in an unexpected bind, keeping in mind to borrow only what you need for the short-term.
When it’s time to cut down on your spending, you can also take a look at some financial planning and budgeting apps like Monefy or Mobills to get some smart strategies for building to a debt-free future.
ncG1vNJzZmiblaGyo7nIsWWcp51kg27DwLKqZqyfYsCiwsRmpqdlnaS7tbTLsmShp6Wosqm7y51km6GcocBw