By Guest Author
The cost of living is extremely high these days and with the state of the economy as it is, many families find themselves barely being able to afford basic bills. What most don’t realize, however, is that there is a wealth of money to be saved on essential household expenses. Here are a few great examples!
1. Electricity
You can save as much as 30% on your electricity bill by unplugging all unused devices, switching to energy efficient LED or CFL light bulbs and cleaning the lint filter of your dryer after each load. Setting your refrigerator at 37 degrees F and the freezer at 3 degrees is the most efficient way of insuring the lowest energy consumption. Another great way to save on electricity is by setting your air conditioning thermostat a couple degrees higher in the summer and lower in the winter.
2. Recycling
You won’t make a fortune doing this, but you can easily make $10 or more a week by saving the glass bottles, plastic bottles and soda cans that you would normally throw in the dumpster and taking them to a recycling center yourself.
3. Communications
Take a look at the number of channels you have and at the ones you are actually watching. Chances are that you are spending way too much on cable. Call the provider and negotiate a lower plan. Do the same with the number of minutes on your cell phone plan, the number of texts and the data limit. You’d be surprised how much you can reduce your bills by doing so. If you live in an apartment complex and use wireless internet, try offering your next door neighbor to pay half of his internet bill in exchange for his network password. This would be advantageous to the both of you!
4. Discount Stores
From groceries to clothing items, to cleaning supplies, there is no need to pay full retail price when you can find the same brand names at way cheaper prices. Stores such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Kmart, J C Penney, Marshalls, Ross or even the 99 Cents Stores are great examples. You can substantially save on the same items that you would normally buy in regular stores at a much higher price.
5. Insurance
If you’re a home owner, you can substantially reduce your insurance bill by consolidating auto and home insurance. You can also further reduce your auto insurance bill by increasing your premiums.
By following these simple suggestions, you can find yourself easily saving a few hundred dollars a month and able to delegate those sums to savings or to recreational and fun activities with your family. You don’t necessarily have to deprive yourself and your family of the things you enjoy doing due to lack of funds, you just need to develop healthy financial habits that will allow you to stop wasting money and create a surplus. Even a small sum saved monthly can lead to great savings at the end of each year.
