17 Ways to Cut Down On Your Daily Expenses
You don’t need grand gestures in order to save money. A few tweaks to your lifestyle can save you thousands of pesos per month!
Before, we’ve listed down 37 simple ways you can adopt to save money right now. Now, we’re taking penny pinching to the next level by giving you 17 more ways to embrace thrift.
1. Eat healthy, and exercise. Avoid binge eating (and being a glutton) and eat right. Cutting down on excess eating doesn’t mean starving yourself, either. Know the capacity of your stomach and eat until you’re 80-90% full, not 150%. And don’t get big portions that you can’t finish. Aside from wasting it when your stomach is already full, you’ll have a tendency to force yourself to finish whatever is leftover in order not to waste food. Being overweight and obese increases your risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, gallstones, and more. Proper diet and exercise will keep you healthy and keep you away from the hospital and expensive hospital bills in the future.
2. Skip the gym membership. There are plenty of ways to exercise for free. You can run around a park, or take your pet for a stroll. Some parks (and basketball courts, and malls) even hosts community aerobics or zumba classes. If you need equipment, for strength training, there are many alternatives which you can build with common household items. For example, you can fill identical buckets with water and lift these up to train your arm muscles and core.
3. Try home remedies for simple illness such as colds. Drinking lots of water can ward off a brewing flu, so can calamansi juice. Ask your mom or your lola which leaf can cure which common illness before hitting the pharmacy. Just remember to visit the doctor if symptoms don’t go away after a few days.
4. Start your own a herb garden. Even with little room, you can start a mini-garden of your favorite herbs. These can be planted in clay pots (size will vary according to how much space you have) or can be hanged on the walls. Place them where they can get plenty of sunlight and don’t forget to water your herbs every day. Get them free and fresh.
5. Bring packed lunches to work. And if you have a family, prepare lunch for them as well. You can make sure your kids eat healthy meals, at the same time save thousands per month!
6. Water, please. Opt for water (or complimentary tea) when you do eat out at fast food or restaurants. A lot of food chains markup the price of their beverages. You cut down on calories and save as much as P60-P80 per person per meal.
7. Cook in bulk, good for 3 to 4 meals. Eat one portion and keep the rest in the fridge for quick meals when you feel lazy to cook. This way you know you have food you can quickly reheat instead of having fast food delivered.
8. Clean out your pantry before buying new groceries. Before hitting the grocery aisle, survey what is left in your pantry and make a meal out of that. This way you reduce food spoilage and you extend your last week’s grocery for another meal (or three).
9. Buy wholesale — but measure portions. Wholesale items are cheaper than retail. However, people have a tendency to consume wholesale items faster. So be strict in your measurements to make sure your 1000 ml shampoo lasts you two months or more.
10. Find a cheaper store. Every grocery store have different price points and some offer items for a couple of peso less. Compare prices around your neighborhood and choose the one that offers the best rate for your go-to brands.
11. Or better yet, go back to the market. You’ll get meat, fish, poultry, veggies, and other items as much as 30% cheaper at a market rather than going to a grocery. You can even haggle for discounts and rely on your suki vendor to give you extra and the freshest picks in the batch.
12. Bring your own bag when you shop. Depending on where you are, grocers and other stores charge extra if you choose to have your purchased items wrapped in plastic bags. Bringing your own bag saves you a couple of pesos per buy, and less plastics means less litter to clog the pipes which causes flood. Find out about other ways where you can save the environment while saving cash.
13. Check the product for defects before buying. You don’t want to waste your hard earned money with a faulty buy. Always inspect a product before bringing it to the cashier. If you find any defect, ask for another stock of the same item, and inspect that as well. Some clothing stores can make minor repairs (for free) if it’s the last stock.
14. Return or refund defective products. Get back your money’s worth. If you find any defective product, don’t be lazy to go back to the store to have it replaced or refunded. And always ask for the store’s return policy before making a purchase, especially for big-ticket items.
15. Always check your receipt for errors. The cashier may have accidentally included the order you cancelled earlier. And you don’t want to miss that. Make it a habit to counter check your purchases with what’s listed on the receipt to make sure there are no ‘accidents’ mixed in.
16. Stick to your bank’s ATM. Banks slap charges when you withdraw money (or even check your balance) from a different bank. If you absolutely have to and your bank’s branch isn’t for another kilometer, opt for other local banks. International banks charge (about a couple of hundred pesos) more than local ones. Fees range from P10 to P15 per withdrawal, and P1 to P2.50 for balance inquiry for local banks (Megalink, Bancnet ATMs) and about $3.5 (about P150) for foreign transactions (Mastercard, Visa, Cirrus ATMs).
17. Downgrade plans you’re not maximizing. If you’re only using half of your phone’s plan, then you’re paying for a service which you aren’t using. Telcos offer various add-ons and unlimited plans. Determine which service you exhaust the most, and compare prices on different combinations.
Again, you don’t have to do everything on this list. Just choose a handful that you and your household can adopt — starting right now!
If you want more tips, we have 20 more easy tips to cut down your daily spendings and satisfy your thirst for thrift!
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