It seems like we are always looking for ways to cut household expenses. It amazes me how much money it costs just to get by in life, but these tips are awesome ways to make it cost a bit less for your family.
Buy generic brands
One of the easiest ways to cut your budget is to buy store label or generic brands. Often, we think that product quality is synonymous with the name brand, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Typically, these products are manufactured at a name-brand facility, under private label contracts. There is literally no difference to the consumer in the quality of these products. The only difference you will notice is more money in your pocket.
Run full loads of dishes and laundry
This isn’t one that we necessarily are thinking about or are even aware of. While scheduling laundry days can be good for organization of your time, it may be costing you money. Make sure that you have enough clothing to do a load of laundry—or make sure that you are adjusting the load settings according to how much you have, especially for smaller amounts. Doing the dishes can be another area that is costing more than it should. Again, make sure the dishwasher is stacked so that dishes can be thoroughly cleaned, but that it is also completely full. The dishwasher does not adjust to a smaller size for less dishes, so you are literally throwing money down the drain if you aren’t taking full advantage of running the wash cycle.
Set a timer for the shower
This one is a good one, especially for kids. Or maybe you are one of those people who climbs in the shower half-asleep in the morning and then emerge 20 minutes later. In either case, your household is probably, literally, watching dollars go down the drain. The timer is also a great time management tool for the kids to keep them moving and on task, whether shower is part of their morning or night routine.
Open curtains during the day
Let some of that beautiful sunlight in and help warm your home in the winter. This is also a good opportunity to give your lights a rest and take advantage of the daylight. And even though you don’t need the light to come in during the summer for warmth, you may be able to catch a cool breeze if you pull back those curtains and open the windows spring through autumn.
Program your thermostat
Even if you don’t have a programmable thermostat, you can still manually change the temperature during the day according to activity in the house and whether or not anyone is there. For instance, during the winter, turn the thermostat down a degree or two to help conserve energy for heating when everyone is at work or school. Same idea applies to the temperature during the summer; turn the thermostat up a degree or two when no one is home. Don’t be too drastic with temperature changes though because you could end up costing yourself more money by causing your furnace or air conditioner to run too much in order to get the temperature comfortable when everyone is home.
What are your top money saving – expense cutting tips? Share in the comments!
JHB says
Air conditioning is the single most activity that consumes alot of energy. This is because sometimes we leave it on when it is not supposed to. Glad that you features some tips to manage it
Jimmy @ CC Bank says
I could definitely use a timer for the shower myself – I always get in thinking “alright, today, we’re gonna do it fast. Only 5 minutes!”
15 minutes later… aaand I’m running late for work!