Be thrifty in your own household

With the financial crisis looming ahead, there’s no better time to start saving money and cut down on costs. What better place to start than from your own home? Many people don’t realize that more money is spent each year on buying household appliances than the average wage obtained. The average house-owner can spend more than $1000 per week in paying bills, restocking the fridge and maintenance around the house.

Trying to save money may not be everyone’s specialty, but if you go about it the right way, you will soon find out that it’s not as hard as you think. Here are a few pointers:

  1. Get your money’s worth - When buying household groceries, the first thing you will need to know is where the best prices are. Some stores offer you chances to save money with constant promotions and deals, but also markup their prices during peak season. You’ll have to avoid these ones. Find those supermarkets that have consistent prices year-long and is in close proximity to your house.
  2. Use every last drop - Waste not, want not. Those are the words that have been drilled into most of our heads in our early years. Try to adhere to that saying, because wastage is the main reason you’re losing money around the house. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. And if you’ve bought it, make sure you use it fully. For example, if you have a jar of mayonnaise with the last bit stuck at the bottom lying around the house somewhere, don’t throw it out. You can always pour a bit of vinegar in the jar and use it as a salad dressing. Also, when doing laundry, use half of the recommended amount of detergent and see that your clothes come out just as clean.
  3. Reuse - Instead of buying new things, you can always reuse stuff, especially paper. You can always save printer paper by using both sides for printing or faxing. If both sides are used up, you can always shred them up and use it to stuff packages. And the Sunday newspapers can be used as gift wraps and bows. You just have to be creative! Aside from paper, there are other things around the house you can reuse. Keep plastic bottles and fill them up with plain water instead of buying those mineral water bottles.
  4. Buy refills - Most products out there, especially fluids, have refills packs and they’re usually cheaper than the normal pack. You can save money and use this to your advantage by not buying only the refill pack and using your own container. For example, if you already have a spray bottle, just fill it up with the window cleaner from its refill pack instead of buying the product with the spray bottle packaged along with it. If you don’t have a spray bottle around the house, you can always save money by buying one at a hardware store. They are cheap and can be used over and over again.

Although being thrifty won’t give you an immediate financial return, it will all pay off when you see the bank balance at the end of the year. Just remember you can save money around the house by not being wasteful and only buy the things you need.