Save Money At Home
You bought a house. Now come the “joys” of home ownership – expenses and bills.
If you’re anything like us, you probably were so excited to buy your home, that you only focused on making the monthly mortgage payments. Unfortunately, home expenses don’t stop there. There’s always a bill to be paid, something that needs to get done. But this is what we signed up for, and despite the financial difficulty that comes with owning a home, it really is a fantastic feeling to know that it belongs to you and that you worked hard to make it happen.
Don’t be overwhelmed! You can do it.
To help make things easier, we’ve come up with seven things that you can do now to save money around the house without drastically changing your lifestyle.
Seal Doorways and Windows
Heating and cooling costs can skyrocket during the winter and summer months. A reason for this is that experts estimate that nearly a third of a home’s heat can be lost due to drafty doors and windows.
Save yourself money each month by improving the insulation of your doors and windows. Energy efficient windows, insulated shades, door draft stoppers, and improved attic insulation can drastically reduce your monthly energy bills.
Also, you can take your savings to the next level by installing a “smart thermostat” which can pre-program your home’s temperature according to your schedule. There’s no point in heating or cooling your house if you aren’t in it, so don’t do it.
Another simple tip is to turn off inside lights during the warmer months, allowing natural light to illuminate your home.
Only Buy Produce In Season
Out of season fruits and veggies not only taste worse, but are exorbitantly expensive compared to their in-season cousins. Have you ever checked the price of a pint of out of season blueberries? Or an imported papaya? Yikes.
Steer away from out of season produce and watch your grocery bill shrink.
Ditch Bottled Water
Convenience drives a lot of our decisions. Buying bottled water is one of those decisions. Ditching bottled water for a filtered pitcher or sink filter can save you hundreds of dollars a year.
For water on the go, take a look at the seemingly endless stainless steel water bottle options available on Amazon and other retailers.
Change Your Home’s Air Filter
Swapping out your HVAC system’s air filter is an easy way to save a few bucks. A dirty filter means a harder working unit.
Put in a fresh filter for an instant improvement in your HVAC unit’s efficiency. Less energy used is more more money in your pocket.
Experts recommend that your air filter be changed at least once every season.
Write a Grocery List
You know that shopping on an empty stomach is dangerous; well, so is shopping with an empty list.
Cut down on impulse buys by making a shopping list and sticking to it.
This will force you to plan out your dinners for the week, and ultimately will result in lower grocery bills.
You’ll find that you tend to buy mostly the same products each week. As a result, you can find the products with the best value and continue to buy them for even more savings.
Cancel Unused or Unneeded Reoccurring Payments
We all have them. Monthly charges for products or services that we don’t use at all, or don’t need. Spend a few minutes with your credit card statement to make a list of these items.
If they aren’t necessary, cut them.
Companies rely on people being lazy and not taking the initiative to cancel their services. Don’t fall into their trap. Be proactive and cancel everything that you don’t need. You’ll feel better and so will your wallet.
Items you can eliminate:
- Magazine subscriptions
- Gym memberships
- Monthly donations (it won’t make you a terrible person!)
- Entertainment memberships such as Kindle Unlimited, Spotify, and Apple Music
- Subscription boxes (do you really need more moisturizer samples?)
- Costo or Sam’s Club memberships
Cook More
Skip eating out for huge savings. A lot of people don’t realize how much they spend on food until they sit down and run the monthly numbers. We’ll save you the stress – it’s a lot.
Even the best of home cooked meals cost far less than what you’d spend at a restaurant. If you’re not a cook, spend some time learning a few go-to recipes or make it easy on yourself and invest in a crock pot. Couldn’t be easier.
It may take a little more planning ahead but in the end it will be worth it. Cutting back on how often you eat out is an easy fix that carries big results. Think back to your last dinner bill, now imagine that money in your bank account.
Instead, save money, make yourself dinner, and dine al fresco on your new patio set that you now have the money for.
Lower The Heat
It can be difficult to find the right temperature at home when you have only one air conditioning and heating zone.
Try lowering the house’s temperature while using an electric fireplace to warm up the living room.
Or during the summer months, use a fan in your bedroom while leaving the a/c off in the rest of the house.
Saving Money At Home Doesn’t Mean No Fun
Some people are willing to change their entire lifestyle in order to save money and get out of debt. You don’t have to do that though to implement our money saving tips around the house.
Life is short and money is not everything but saving a few dollars around the house can improve your life by giving you extra money to spend on the things that matter in life, like your family, friends, and pets