How to Reduce Household Expenses

Saving money as a parent is very difficult, considering all the expenses related to having children. There is always some unexpected spending that keeps you in place – higher bills at home, additional expenses at school, appliances that won’t work any longer and need replacement and so on. Parents find themselves in a troubling situation when they can no longer handle the expenses. This usually happens because they lack financial organizations and spend all their money before the end of the month. This article will present several methods to reduce household expenses and put some money aside for darker days. Here’s what every parent should know:

No-spend weekends

The largest amount of money in a family with children happens during weekends, when all sorts of activities are selected. If you choose these activities correctly, you can save tons on money and invest them into something that matters at the moment. Instead of going to the mall and spending money on things that you don’t actually need, try free events. Events are held almost each weekend, and some of them are surely kid-friendly. Taking your children to such events will help you stay away from additional expenses, and you’ll also fill their time with something productive. Music and movie festivals with free entry are also suitable for the weekends.

Instead of ordering food, choose a recipe that your children fancy, and ask them to help you with preparing it. It’s going to last a while longer and your kids will have fun while helping you make it. For a beautiful Sunday night, play board games with your entire family. Invite everyone over and cook dinner yourself. There is a huge list of activities that you can choose for the weekends in order not to spend money. Get creative, stay open-minded and things will go just as expected. You’d be amazed how much money you can save after four productive, non-spending weekends.

Saving plans

Want to save more money at the end of the month? You can’t do it without setting goals and creating a saving plan. It might sound difficult at first, but creating and respecting a saving plan will help you tremendously in this journey. Tracking your income and your expenses is a good trick to assess how money you really have to spend monthly, on things that are truly necessary for your family. Separating each type of expense in categories is even better. The more organized you get with your finances, the easier it will be to save money at the end of the month. Saving plans are usually done for a period of one year, but you can reduce the time if you need the money for a specific purpose. Calculate your total income and see how much you can afford to put aside at the end of the month, after balancing out all the expenses you need to handle.

Utility waste

Most of your money goes on monthly utilities, so here’s how to handle each so that you reduce them:

• Doing laundry

Many people do their laundry using a low-class washing machine. Heating the water that your washing machine uses consumes more than 80 percent of the total energy consumed in the process. People who think that clothes which are washed with hot water are cleaner are completely wrong. The result obtained when using lower-temperature water is just the same as when using hot water. The laundry detergents on the market are now adapted to washing clothes economically, to reduce the energy costs. It is much better to invest your money in a high-class washing machine to reduce spending in the long run.

• Buying a better thermostat

In many cases, the money you spend on heating the house goes literally out of the window. The type of thermostat you are using, combined with the lack of insulation in one’s house leads to throwing money out of the windows. Heat is lost through the roof and around windows and doors because homeowners don’t invest in insulation or a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats can be controlled on your smartphone when you are away, so you know exactly how much energy it consumes for heating the entire house. The temperature can drop while you are at work. Programmable thermostats will drastically cut the costs. The amounts go to $500 per year, which is a considerable sum. You can put this amount in your emergency account.

• Turn your house green

You can opt for a home energy conservation program and get some of your money back after making important upgrades, that will help you reduce the utility costs at the end of the month. See if you qualify for such programs and apply as soon as you get the chance.  

Avoid debt at all costs

The average household pays a considerable part of the generated income on handling debt. Consolidating your current debt until you get rid of it and avoiding any other debt in the future will help you organize your money much better later. The same amount you pay on debt that was of no real use to you can go in an economy account that can protect you against financial emergencies. Keep in mind that borrowing money from friends and family is still debt that you have to pay back. By building emergency funds, you can stay away from using banks or borrowing money, which will result in a much more financially-stable position.

Living below your means

Even though you might earn a lot of money and you can buy anything your children desire, it’s best to live below your means. If you set clear limitations and follow a strict financial plan, you can save some money that can be extremely useful for your future someday. Of course, you shouldn’t take it to an extreme either. Buy anything that you need and invest in things that have direct implications in your life, but do whatever it takes to cut costs when they can be reduced easily. Some investments may be considerable, but they are beneficial in the long run.