29 Ways to Reduce Expenses without Reducing Lifestyle
Whenever a conversation about reducing expenses comes up, it inevitably leads to discussions around how many lattes you should drink, times you eat out per week, or other ways to reduce expenses by cutting costs. While that part of the conversation can have its place, the first place I like to start when reducing expenses are in those area’s that don’t impact your lifestyle one bit!
Here is a list of 29 ways to reduce your expenses without reducing your lifestyle!
Eliminating Junk Expenses
1.
Stop Paying for Things You Don’t Use! Take a look at each charge on your credit cards and bank accounts. Make sure you use and want every item on your statements. Don’t use a subscription but are still paying for it? Cancel it.
2.
Eliminate Account Fees: Bank account fees, late fees, overcharge fees, etc. All of these expenses increase your costs without adding much value. Most of these types of fees can be eliminated through proper budgeting and planning for expenses in advance.
3.
Pay Annually: If you know you are going to use something long term, paying for it annually rather than monthly can save you money. This is true for most subscription services and pretty much all insurance!
4.
Review Irregular Bills Carefully: Reviewing bills is important to make sure you are paying for services or products you receive. Medical bills are a prime example with one study finding 80% of medical bills have errors!1 One benefit to budgeting is that you can more easily spot irregularities without having to review each and every bill!
Shop Smarter
5.
Go to the Store with a List: Planning ahead for what you need will help you buy only what is needed and reduce the times you have to go back to pick up the item you missed or eliminate convenience purchases, purchases of items from a store that doesn’t specialize in that product but sells it as a convenience, which can easily double the cost of an equivalent item. For example, buying groceries at a pharmacy store versus a grocery store. A shopping list may also reduce the times you splurge buy at the store for items you may not need.
6.
Don’t Grocery Shop Hungry: Walking through the grocery store looking at all that good food can make you more prone to buy extra food you don’t need that may go to waste or buy junk food.
7.
Buy in Bulk: While not always the case, buying products in bulk can often save you money on a per-item cost assuming none of it goes to waste. Don’t have the storage space for an 80 pack of toilet paper? Split it up with friends and family and share in the savings 🙂
8.
Compare Prices and Coupons: Online shopping makes it easy to find the lowest prices and even track historic prices to find the best time to buy. Consider adding services to your internet browser that performs the price comparison for you or identifies available coupons.
9.
Age Your Money: Aging your money just means you don’t go out and spend right away. Think about what you want to buy then let that decision sit for a day, or seven. The larger the purchase, the longer the aging. If you still want the thing after the aging period, then go ahead and buy – it assuming it’s fiscally prudent.
10.
Look at Price Per [Insert a Unit of Measure]: When picking a product from a large shelf while trying to save money, it’s easy to just pick the ones on sale or the larger containers thinking you’re getting the best deal. However, it is not always the case that these give you the most product per dollar. A better comparison is looking at the Price Per Unit for the product if provided.
Insurance Reviews
11.
Review Life Insurance: Review your life insurance coverages to ensure they are still needed and optimal.
12.
Review Property and Casualty: Compare your coverage across providers to ensure you are covered and your premiums are competitive.
Free Alternatives
13.
Community Events: Community events such as concerts, festivals, or weekly viewings of different movies can be a great way to get out and connect to the community while enjoying an activity.
14.
Local Library: Libraries offer more than physical books these days. As a library member, you can have access to thousands of audiobooks, movies, TV shows, and other resources that you might be paying for now. Pay $50 for The Eye of the World audiobook or get it from your library for free? Tough choice…
Learn Skills that Save
15.
Cooking: Learning how to cook can be healthier and can save lots of money. A restaurant marks up the cost of food some 200% to 300% to pay for staff, buildings, and profits.
16.
Basic Clothing Care: Learn how to sew back on a button, iron your own clothes, hem pants, or fix a zipper.
17.
Basic Home Maintenance: Learn how to do basic home maintenance tasks. Don’t put yourself or your home at risk but learning the following basics can save you lots of money not just in repairs but knowing how to spot larger issues that require a professional before they result in a larger expense:
- Basic Plumbing such as fixing leaky faucets, unclogging drains, and fixing running toilets.
- Basic HVAC such as replacing filters, cleaning air ducts and vents, and troubleshooting the system.
- Painting and Caulking keeps your home looking fresh without breaking the bank.
- Winterization can help protect your home during winter months and save you money on utility bills.
Debt Management
18.
Pay Off High Interest Debt: Paying off high interest debt found mostly on revolving credit (credit cards, personal lines of credit, etc) is a great way to lower expenses in the long run. While interest charges these are often hidden within a low minimum payment, the extremely slow paydown of principal means you will pay that for a long time. If you have $10,000 of credit card debt at a 24% APY (Annual Percentage Yield), you will pay ~$200 per month in interest alone!
19.
Pay Off Your Credit Cards in Full Monthly: If you’ve done the previous step you’ve gotten your credit card balances to zero, to keep the benefits going, keep paying off the credit cards on a monthly basis so that you do not carry a balance. You are only charged interest if you carry a balance over the statement period so as long as you pay the due balance by then, you will not be charged interest.
20.
Optimize Credit Card Benefits: Credit cards can be used for cash back or benefit programs like points or miles for travel purposes. Ensuring you are optimizing your spending to maximize these features can reduce costs by either giving you cash to offset bills or lower the cost of booking travel.
Reduce Waste
21.
Reduce Food Waste: Americans waste 31% of their food each year according to a study from Pennsylvania State University. That’s right… 1/3rd of your food is wasted which they estimate at a value of $1,866 per year! 2 Organizing your pantry and refrigerator so you’re using what you bought can help you save some serious money over time. Learning to cook can really help with this!
22.
Reduce Utility Waste: From reducing water consumption and turning off lights to investing in high efficiency, durable options. Find ways to lower your utilities bills through avoiding paying for excess utilities when you aren’t using them.
23.
Reduce Goods Waste: We have a lot of options today of things to purchase thanks to a host of online shopping options. Let’s be honest though, how many times have you bought something that turned out to be complete junk and ended up in the trash. Work to reduce this waste by doing more research, buying higher quality but not having to replace it, or just forgoing the purchase.
Other Tips
24.
Cook in Bulk: Cooking a large batch of food can save you money over cooking smaller portions. Portion a large pot of chili or casserole for leftovers throughout the week or freeze it for even longer.
25.
Learn How to Spot a Scam: Financial scams are big business in America. Learn how to diligently protect your money from scammers by putting in safeguards and being diligent in your security practices.
26.
Check Affiliations for Discounts: Your employer, a professional organization you’re a part of, and even insurances can have discounts available for affiliate services. Review those for services you may already use.
27.
Focus on Cost-per-Use rather than Purchase Cost: A dish rag set may cost a little more than a bundle of paper towels but you’ll get years of use out of the rags.
28.
Optimize Tax Savings: Taking advantage of all of the tax deductions available to you and optimizing your savings to lower your tax bill can put real dollars back into your pocket.
29.
Exercise: Taking care of your body not only gives you energy and reduces stress but it also can lower your healthcare costs by improving your overall health.