10 Ways to Reduce Your Household Expenses

A few years ago I left my corporate job to be at home with my children. That has been such a fulfilling decision, but it didn’t come without sacrifice. I cut out luxuries, reduced my household expenses and lived a very simple life to make it work.

If you are trying to get your expenses down and save some money here are a few tips that will help you get started.

CHANGE YOUR CELL PHONE PLAN

Cell phones can be so expensive. I don’t know about you, but there have been times where I’ve looked at my bill and gasped at all the additional charges, taxes and unknown fees. So I decided to switch to a prepaid cell phone plan. That cut my bill in half! I still have an iPhone with unlimited talk, text and data with a major carrier for half the price I was paying before.

So if you’re looking to save yourself $50, $60, $70 a month, look into getting a prepaid cell phone plan. Most carriers offer the latest cell phones and have a variety of plans to choose from. Depending on how many phones you have on your plan, and what you’re needs are you can save yourself some serious money. Shopping discount sites and cash back sites like Rakuten can make it even more lucrative. Rakuten will give you cash back for purchases you make online. So you can save even more money when getting you new phone.

CUT THE CABLE BILL

When I decided that I was going to leave my job, I knew I had to reduce some of the bills I had and cable was the first thing to go. Thank God I wasn’t stuck in a contract, so I was able to cut that very easily.

What can you do as an alternative? You can sign up for a low cost streaming app like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, etc. Also, the Amazon fire-stick is great. If you choose not to pay for anything, there are tons of things you can watch for free on Youtube.

There are so many ways around paying for expensive cable, consider that when you’re trying to reduce your household expenses.

SHOP AROUND FOR CHEAPER CAR INSURANCE

Car insurance is something that we absolutely must have, but you can always shop around for a better price. If you’re with a major carrier, you may be paying more than you need to, or may be able to reduce your coverages.

Also, consider going to somewhere like AAA that can match you with smaller insurance companies that will still be able to offer you the same type of benefits you get with major insurance carriers. So consider reducing your car insurance.

REFINANCE YOUR CAR

Care payments can be a large portion of your monthly bills. Consider refinancing through your bank or a local credit union. You may be able to get a better interest rate than what you currently. If your credit is in a better position than when you got your loa, consider refinancing your car.

OTHER FINANCE POSTS YOU SHOULD READ:

Preparing Financially to Buy your First Home
How to Buy a Home as a Single Mom
10 Ways to Reduce your Household Expenses
15 Side Hustle Ideas for Moms

CANCEL YOUR MEMBERSHIPS

If you’re like me you love Amazon Prime, Audible and Disney+. But when things get tight, they gotta go. That includes gym memberships, Netflix, or whatever type of memberships you have that are not a necessity for your life right now.

Consider cutting your memberships. If they’re not necessary, do something free to replace them. You can workout at home, look up videos on YouTube. You can go to the library and rent a book if you have Audible. You can do stuff in place of those memberships. So, cut them.

REDUCE YOUR RENT

If you live in a rental community it may be worth it to speak with your landlord about downgrading your apartment to fewer bedrooms until you can work things out. If you rent from a private owner speak with them to see if they can offer assistance.

There may be a fee for transferring apartments but it may be worth it to be financially comfortable on your new journey.

STOP EATING OUT

This is something I had to get used to. I used to look at my debit card transactions and see the amount of food on my bank statements and be shocked at how much I ate out.

Cook at home. It’s much cheaper to just buy your own food, prepare it at home, and be done with it.

REDUCE YOUR GROCERY BILL

There are so many ways that you can reduce your grocery bill. If you cook at home, like I said before, you will reduce that eating out expenses. So, there are a lot of grocery stores that do buy one, get one free, you can use coupons, you can shop on sales, and buy seasonal produce that are cheaper than other produce.

Also consider packing your lunch, eating leftovers, and making affordable meals when you cook. I know it’s convenient to eat out but its a great way to save money by not doing so. I love ordering my groceries so I don’t have to do the shopping, that motivated me to want to cook more lol.

STOP DRINKING EXPENSIVE COFFEE

I know you love coffee, yea me too. There’s nothing like a tall caramel macchiato with extra caramel and whipped cream to get me going in the morning. However, when you’re trying to reduce your household expenses, $7-8 dollars every day on coffee, really adds up.

Instead, invest in a Keurig and make coffee at home. You can get good organic coffee pods and all the toppings for half the price. Just get up a little bit early, and make your coffee. You’d be surprised at the amount of money that you’ll save when you stop going to Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks every morning.

PAMPER YOURSELF AT HOME

Do your own hair, nails, and makeup. As women we can spend a lot of money paying for pampering. Consider doing some of it yourself. Go to the store, buy your supplies, look up some tutorials on youtube and do your own thing. In addition to saving money you will save time too.

Those are the things that I think you should absolutely cut when you are trying to reduce your household expenses. I know a lot of them can be luxuries and we like to do it, but when you want to save money, reducing your bills as much as possible, is the first thing you should consider.