How can I lower my household costs?
1. Reduce transport costs
2. Control any debt
3. Reduce household costs
4. Recuding non-essential spending
5. Quit smoking
6. Money saving apps
No matter your circumstances, most homeowners want to try and reduce their household costs at some point. It isn’t always due to financial difficulty – sometimes it’s just a good way to be able to save more money for an upcoming event. Quick Sell Your House have gathered some tips to lower household costs that will come in handy for almost anyone.
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Travel
If your household has more than one car, you may consider selling one of them to get some extra money. Cars are notoriously money pits, with petrol, tax, MOT, insurance and running costs adding up quickly each month. If you’re able to, getting rid of a car can save your household a chunk of money that will quickly add up.
Using public transport is another way that you can save money. This will depend on what you use your car for and how often – if you only use it to get to work and back and there’s a bus or train that runs directly, you could save yourself a lot of money switching to public transport. You can also save money on top of that by looking at season tickets.
Debt
If you currently have debt, there are a few ways that you can reduce the amount you owe long-term. Consolidating debt that has a high-interest rate by looking at balance transfer cards that will often offer 0% interest for a certain amount of time, and will let you pay off the loan without the interest building on top of it. The interest on loans is often where people struggle, so being able to reduce this will let you save money long term and avoid suffering from the rates.
Around the house
There are some easy ways to save money around the house. Making small changes like the following can help you reduce your utility bills and allow you to start saving.
Switch to LED lightbulbs
LED bulbs are around four times more energy-efficient than standard lightbulbs, and will help you to bring down your electricity bill. This tip goes hand in hand with another – not leaving lights on unnecessarily. Turning lights off when you leave a room is an easy change to make, and often people don’t realise how many lights they leave on until they make a conscious effort to turn them off.
Unplug electricals
Most of us are guilty of leaving things on standby rather than turning them off completely, especially items like televisions. Taking the time to switch things off or unplugging them will help to reduce your electricity bill, especially if you’ve got lots of electrical items that are constantly left plugged in.
Lower the temperature of the hot water heater
More often than not, our hot water heater is set higher than it needs to be, draining your energy bill for no reason. Reducing the price of your water heater benefits you in two ways – there is less energy used to heat the water, and you’ll be using less water balancing out water that’s too hot with cold water.
Reducing non-essential expenses
This can mean your tv bill, the gym subscription that you don’t make the most of, or lowering your phone bill and being more frugal with your usage. These should be the first things that you reduce if you’re trying to save money but will often be overlooked. Some households move away from the TV and just use streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, reducing their monthly costs.
Saving money on food
Most of the time, people don’t realise just how much money they spend on food over a month. After doing a few big shops, then buying bits here and there, along with picking up lunch at work a few days a week and maybe a takeaway or two, this cost is usually quite a bit higher than we think. Meal planning is a good way to reduce these costs, as it eliminates the need to pick things up that you’re not going to need or use that week. Taking your own food to work each day will also dramatically save you money – even if you’re only getting a £3 meal deal each day, over a month that adds up to £60! Sticking to your food schedule will help you save money quickly and easily, and will probably shock you when you realise how much you were spending.
Other non-essentials
If you regularly have your hair or nails done, or regularly buy new clothes, this is a great way to save money. You don’t necessarily have to completely cut these costs depending on your situation, but you might consider making them less regular. If you tend to buy new clothes most weekends, reduce that to once a month. You shouldn’t cut yourself of every luxury, as doing this will make you more likely to slip up and waste money. Reducing them still allows you to enjoy your money, but with more control.
Another great way to save money is to quit smoking. Tobacco prices have increased massively, and saving money could be the perfect reason to quit. It isn’t an easy process, but there are plenty of support options that you can look into, such as the NHS Stop Smoking site.
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Money-saving apps
There are lots of options out there that could work for you. If you’re with O2, they have an Airtime Rewards app that allows you to earn money on purchases you make. Lloyds has a similar service, and there are also sites such as Quidco and Top Cashback that let you earn money on what you’re spending. This is a great way to save money while still spending what you need on essentials, and will often be a nice surprise for you when you can get money back.
There are plenty of ways that you can save money in your day to day life, allowing you to use it for whatever you need. You might be saving for a new car or a family holiday. It might even be saving a deposit for your new house, which can take a long time if you’re not utilising every saving option that you can. If you’re saving for a deposit and want to look at how you can sell your current house without the hassle of legal fees and estate agents fees, get in touch with us today. We can provide you with a free offer and show you how we can help you achieve your sale in as little as seven days.
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