Effective ways to cut your household costs and keep expenses low
While we find ourselves working from home, staying indoors and spending an increasing amount of time online, it might be difficult to stop yourself from splurging on purchases you just don’t need. Below, we’ve written out some of the best ways you can keep your costs down and keep money tucked away for your future self.
1.) Buy in bulk!
Now this does not mean go and buy ALL of the toilet paper in your local supermarket. It means take advantage of ‘buy one get one free’ deals, 20% off discounts and buying a few extra non-perishable and frozen items to save yourself money in the long run, PLUS this means less trips to the supermarket!
2.) Cook smarter, not harder!
Whether you’re single or with your family, cooking smart has always been important! Got a craving for lasagna but can only buy big packs of meat? Cook it all, cut your lasagna into portions and freeze them! Take them out as you want to eat them and you’re good for ages! You can do this with a lot of different dishes, just don’t get bored of eating the same thing every day.
3.) Switch things off when you’re done using them!
Leaving a room? Turn the plugs and all the lights off!
Going to sleep? Turn the plugs and all the lights off!
It’s daytime? At least turn the lights off!
If you’re not using something or don’t need the plug, switch it off to keep those DEWA bills low! That extra few hundred dirham a month saved can go to something just as important. In addition to keeping your DEWA bills low, keep your chiller bills low too by keeping your AC on 24 degrees. It’s proven that this temperature costs you less to run your AC.
4.) Make a list, check it twice!
Sit down with your family (or just yourself!) and make a spreadsheet of all your current costs and expenses. Once you see it written out it might surprise you how much your spending on pointless subscriptions and non-essentials. Cancel your subscription to that magazine you receive and don’t read. Stop receiving monthly boxes of new make-up to test when you will never get around to using it. Stop sending laundry to the place downstairs and start doing it yourself. It’s never too late to figure out how to use a steamer!
5.) Don’t be afraid to speak up!
With most of the world heading into a financial strain, it can be daunting thinking about those big upcoming payments. Don’t be scared to reach out to your landlord about splitting your rent into more payments, or even asking for a discount across the coming months to help prevent you falling into debt you might struggle to pay off later. Landlords – check in on your tenants and check if they need financial support with their rent in terms of discounts. It costs nothing to be a good person and helping people in this time will never be forgotten!
6.) Fuel consumption weighing you down?
If you’re blessed enough to own multiple vehicles, but now find the monthly costs too much… Park them somewhere safe and stick to only using ONE car to get to work, get groceries etc. This will save you costs on fuel, Salik and any upkeep that could occur from daily use or overusing. Plus keeping the mileage down will help you sell it in the future should you decide to!
Are there any other helpful tips you can think of to help people cut back on their spending habits? We’d love to hear them!