Key Ways You and Your Family are Wasting Money Without Realizing
With the soaring costs of living and financial uncertainty that so many of us are feeling this year, many people are looking for ways to reduce expenses and build more of a savings buffer.
While you may be working an extra job, saying no to shopping sprees, and trying to eat or drink out a lot less, you might save significant funds by paying attention to numerous smaller costs that add up more than you realize.
Throwing Out Food
If you’re like most other families, you probably throw out food most months. This is very common in Western societies but ultimately leads to plenty of not just food wastage but money wastage, too. If you don’t utilize the items in your pantry and fridge and have to throw things out because they’re past their use-by date or edible stage, that’s money you’ve spent that you’ve got no value out of and food you have to replace.
To avoid this situation, it helps to always eat your leftovers and devise a menu plan for the week to ensure you get through everything.
Impulse Buys
One of the reasons why much food gets wasted is that many of us make impulse buys at the supermarket. We pick up items because they seem interesting or a good deal, but we might not be able to use them that period and don’t realize how quickly they will go off.
Impulse purchases don’t just happen at the grocery store, either. Many spur-of-the-moment buys happen in clothing stores, toy shops, homewares and electronics outlets, and more. It’s easy for these unplanned purchases to add up to a lot of money annually that we’re outlaying on goods we don’t need and often won’t use. Something may seem like a hard-to-miss offer, but if you never use it or if it doesn’t actually fit well or otherwise suit your needs, you’re wasting money for no point.
To ensure you actually want something, give yourself time to think about it and decide whether you’ll use it. You might put an item on hold for 24 hours or tell yourself that if you still want it the next day, you can go back and purchase it then. Often, our craving for goods expires pretty quickly once we’re not in a store looking at them.
Using the Air Conditioning or Heating Unnecessarily
Another way you might be wasting money is by unnecessarily using your air conditioning at home. While there are some times of the year when it’s sweltering and humid, and air-con is required, often we use this appliance because it’s there and handy, rather than genuinely needed at the time. You can run up a much higher power bill if you’re careless in this way. Instead, it’s worth using a quality, modern ceiling fan to help move hot air around and make rooms more temperate. You can also open windows or doors to let in a breeze.
Similarly, do you often use heaters in the cooler months of the year when it’s not that cold? You can often make do with rugging up in warm clothing and putting more blankets or quilts, etc., on the bed. Don’t forget, too, that when you use your HVAC appliances, you may be spending more money than needed on electricity if you set the thermostat too high or too low. Making a couple of degree changes can still keep you comfortable but reduce your electricity bills yearly.
Unused Memberships and Subscriptions
Most of us are guilty of signing up for memberships when we’re feeling motivated but not really using these services we pay for. Have you paid money to go to a gym, yoga or Pilates classes, or other health or various services but not found yourself attending the venues you pay for very often?
The same goes for subscriptions. Do you subscribe to any cable TV or streaming services, newspapers or magazines, courses, or other services that you don’t get around to viewing or otherwise using? It’s easy to forget about the things we pay for monthly or quarterly when the charges aren’t massive. Still, over a year, they can really add up, especially if you have multiple subscriptions that you’re not properly taking advantage of.
By scaling back on such services, you can cut considerable costs annually and have more money to put into the things you will use and appreciate.
Other ways you and your family may be wasting money are by missing tax deductions, paying ATM and other bank fees you don’t need to (since you can choose accounts with free transactions), and spending too much on pre-packaged convenience foods to save time.
Pay attention to how you live and you’ll soon see there are many ways to be proactive to cut costs and use the money you save in other, more beneficial ways.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
