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- As prices have gone up due to inflation, I’ve been searching for innovative methods to cut costs.
- I'm getting rid of extra household items and cutting down on my electricity consumption.
- Paying closer attention to reducing food waste is aiding my efforts to cut costs at the supermarket.
Due to inflation driving up the costs of groceries and everyday essentials, I have developed an obsession with discovering new methods to cut expenses each month.
Since I work entirely from home, much of my life revolves around being indoors. Lately, I have been thinking about how altering some routines might help me cut costs by saving upwards of $200 each month.
Through implementing several modifications and testing out fresh actions, these are the four approaches I utilized to achieve that.
1. Marketing household belongings
A great way for me to earn some additional income during the weekend is by selling things at home that I no longer find useful or necessary.
Each Sunday, I dedicate 45 minutes to gathering everything I'm considering selling and then list these items on platforms such as Poshmark (ideal for clothes and footwear), Facebook Marketplace (perfect for furnishings or eclectic items like inline skates, tableware, or home decor), or OfferUp (suitable for furniture and various household goods).
Last month, I earned $75 by selling three pieces of furniture, and this month, up until now, I have made about $100 from selling clothing and footwear. Although I do spend part of that income, I aim to save between 25% to 50%, depositing the funds into my account. emergency fund or my general savings account .
2. Reducing my electricity cost
Whenever I check my electricity bill during the summertime, I feel like breaking out into a cold sweat. Typically, my monthly expense for my 500-square-foot one-bedroom flat amounts to roughly $180.
To reduce the utility bill as much as possible, I began adopting strategic habits at home based on tips from my nearby power company.
I am guilty of leaving the house with the lights and the air on, even when I don't plan to be home for hours. I put a sticky note on my front door reminding me to shut everything off before I leave.
Rather than keeping the air conditioner running throughout the day, now that I'm working from home, I've begun lowering the blinds to maintain a cooler temperature inside and then using the AC for short intervals—20 minutes ON followed by 40 minutes OFF.
Ultimately, regarding the use of appliances such as the dishwasher or in-unit washer and dryer, instead of running them three to four times per week, I now limit myself to operating the dishwasher just once weekly and handwash the remaining items. Laundry is also done only once every seven days.
While the amount of the electric bill can change based on many factors, I'm hoping that by getting more rigid about these behavior shifts, I can knock off at least $20 a month from that bill.
3. Focusing on reducing food wastage
Several months back, I conducted a review of my monthly grocery expenses and found that I was spending approximately $600 every 30 days. This prompted me to observe that I could reduce this figure by being more savvy both in purchasing these goods and ensuring their minimal wastage.
Once I improved my skill at looking up coupons prior to going shopping and started purchasing more frozen vegetables, I discovered an additional easy method to cut down my weekly grocery bill by $15 to $20.
Rather than allowing edible items to spoil, I discovered methods to transform them into dishes and store them in the freezer before they became unusable. For instance, recently, I had leftover ingredients like a clove of garlic, an onion, some potatoes, and a zucchini that were nearing their expiration date without being used up. So, I made these into a pot of soup and froze it in a container. This frozen batch will provide lunches for at least two or three days, helping me save money by not needing to purchase additional foods.
I noticed that each week I purchased a fresh loaf of bread (approximately $5), but found myself discarding most of it uneaten after consuming just one-third. Now, instead of throwing away the leftovers, I store them in the freezer, which allows me to shop for bread once every three weeks.
Applying these methods has enabled me to cut down my monthly grocery expenses by approximately $60 to $80.
4. Buying off-brand cleaning products
An easy way I was able to save money on my grocery bill was by being mindful about buying generic or store-brand items over more popular and well-known brand items instead. When I started doing this with cleaning supplies, I noticed that I was saving anywhere from $15 to $30 a month, depending on what I needed to buy.
If I required some new dish soap, I discovered that I could purchase the store-branded version for just $1 rather than sticking with the familiar but pricier $5 brand from a leading company. Once I began switching many of my cleaning supplies to less expensive generic versions, my overall expenses went down significantly. Additionally, certain stores may offer extra incentives like coupons or "buy one get one free" promotions when purchasing store brands over their branded counterparts.
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The initial publication of this article took place in September 2022.
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