Everyone (or almost everyone) knows that clipping coupons out of the Sunday paper can save you a couple of dollars off your weekly grocery bill. But there are many other ways to help you cut down your expenses, that can even help you save money over time! Here are a few tips and tricks to cut costs today–and save for the future.
~Groceries are a huge piece of the pie on a spending chart–think of all the food an average human being consumes daily. And those costs really add up! For example, if a family of four spends an average of $100 a week on food, that’s $400 a month, and $4,800 a year! Add in the extra costs for holiday meals and "special" meals, like anniversary dinners and eating out, and the costs become insane! A few tips to keep grocery costs low and potentially save you $100’s a month are as follows:
-Eat out as little as possible- only on truly special events like birthdays and the like. You tend to spend more per meal out at a restaurant than at home having a home-cooked meal.
-Cut coupons- but don’t stop there! Look through the weekly ads to see if there’s a store special for any of the food items you have a coupon for–a lot of stores will still allow you to use coupons on special items.
-Only buy produce that is in season–for example, strawberries in an off season can run up to a whopping $4.99 a quart–quite a staggering amount. But if you buy them in season, you can usually knock off half the price of the out-of-season strawberries. And that’s a substantial savings!
-Buy things on sale, then freeze them. Even if you aren’t going to use them right away, really good deals on things like chicken breasts and seasonal produce should not be passed up. Just make sure to put things in baggies and freeze them immediately to preserve freshness. (Date the bags with a marker.)
-The weekly ads are always a really good thing to have, regardless if you cut coupons or not–some food may seem like a good deal at the time, but you may find that it’s cheaper in a different ad for a different store. Remember to always shop around!
~Electricity: There are tons of small things you can do to cut down your heating and electricity every month. Plus, they’re all very simple, and good for the environment, too!
-Replace all the lightbulbs in your house with energy efficient ones.
-On warm, sunny days, hang out your laundry instead of using the dryer.
-If you’re feeling ambitious, or you just are in the market for them, replace appliances with energy efficient ones (energy efficient=lower costs for you)
-Unplug appliances and anything else when you aren’t using them.
-Shut down your computer when you go to bed.
-Only keep lights on in the rooms you are in.
-In the colder months, when you leave the house for more than half an hour, turn the thermostat down to 60 degrees.
Other ways to help cut costs include buying a bagless vacuum cleaner, replacing filters in appliances regularly so they work efficiently, and investing in heavy curtains to keep out the sun on hot days/heat IN, in the winter. There are many other things you can do, and a good way to get the whole household involved in cutting costs is to have everyone brainstorm ways to save money. You may be surprised at what they come up with!
