When it comes to personal finances, most people are so focused on making more money that they forget about the other half of the equation: reducing expenses. A dollar saved is just as good as a dollar earned, so let’s pause and consider some ways we can slash expenses and free up room in the budget.
5 Tips for Slashing Your Expenses
Your household’s expenses will look different from your neighbor’s (and vice versa), but most of us have some fairly similar categories. Here are a few universal suggestions that could help you save as much as a few hundred dollars every single month:
- Purge Your Subscriptions
We live in a subscription economy where the average household has as many as 10 different subscription services active at any given time. This includes video streaming, meal delivery, shopping services, premium membership sites, music streaming, etc. The problem is that most families don’t realize just how many they have open.
Every few months, log into your bank account or credit card account and review your expenses. Make a note of every subscription you’re paying for. If it’s something you don’t use, pause or cancel the subscription. Doing this with just a couple of services could save you as much as $100 every single month.
- Exercise From Home
The average monthly cost of a gym membership is $37.71 (though this can range dramatically based on your location). And while there’s certainly something to be said for staying active and healthy, most people don’t need to pay for gym access. There are plenty of free workout options, including:
- Watching YouTube fitness instruction videos in your living room
- Running around your neighborhood
- Visiting an outdoor gym at a local park
- Working out in your garage with resistance bands and a few free weights
You might need to buy a few items for the home, but it’ll probably cost you less than a one-month membership to a gym. Cancel your membership and begin saving immediately.
- Install a Bidet Toilet Seat
Did you know that the average person goes through 100 rolls of toilet paper per year? That means a family of four is using roughly 400 rolls per year. At an average of $1 per roll, that’s right around $400 per year in toilet paper.
One way to reduce your toilet paper costs (and save the planet in the process) is to install a bidet toilet seat. They’re relatively inexpensive and virtually eliminate the need for toilet paper. As an added bonus, they actually do a better job of cleaning you and are considered a much more sanitary option.
- Learn to Meal Prep
Eating out is one of the most expensive things you can do. And while there’s nothing wrong with grabbing an occasional lunch or dinner with friends, you’ll save a ton of money every month if you learn how to meal prep at home.
Meal prepping is the process of preparing meals in bulk so that you can be as resourceful as possible. Not only does it allow you to make the most out of your ingredients, but it also saves you time throughout the week.
When meal prepping, aim to cook all of your week’s meals in a single day. Buy your ingredients in bulk and plan your meals around items that are on sale that week. Chicken and produce are very flexible and cost-effective ingredients.
- Shop for New Insurance Rates
Most people choose an insurance carrier and then never think about it again. But did you know that you could save as much as 25 to 50 percent by switching to a new company?
The great thing about switching insurance providers – whether for home or auto – is that you don’t even have to do much work. You can use any number of online tools (or independent brokers) and get nearly instant quotes. If you’re currently overpaying, you could save several hundred to several thousand dollars per year on your premiums.
Small Steps, Big Savings
It might seem like small potatoes, but $20 here and $50 there adds up over time. By addressing some of these common expense categories, you can increase your savings and free up extra room in your budget to enjoy life the way it was meant to be lived.
