20 More Ways To Cut Down On Your Daily Expenses
Our daily lives are filled with lots of little opportunities to save. We’ve shown you last time how easy it is to start saving with 17 simple tweaks to your daily habits. Since here at iMoney we take saving seriously, here are 20 more ways you can take to plug the little leaks in your cash flow.
1. Stay at home (when you don’t need to go out). Staying indoors will keep you from being tempted to buy unnecessary things when you’re outside. You want to watch a movie with your friends, sure. Your co-workers invited you for dinner, go ahead. You want to take a walk to kill time, turn around if you intent on keeping your cash inside your wallet. Be intentional when you go out.
2. Or just leave your wallet at home. If you really must go out for some fresh air, leave your wallet at home so you won’t be tempted to buy a quick snack or a cup of coffee along the way.
3. Combine errands to save on gas. Schedule a once a week trip to the drugstore, grocery, hardware, etc to save on gas (and time!). Don’t wait until your coffee or your detergent runs out before replenishing it. Make an inventory of the items about to run out so you won’t need to make sudden trips to the grocer.
4. Carpool to work. Find co-workers who lives near your area, offer to drive them home and to work while splitting the cost of gas. You get to save and make new friends in the process.
5. Or if possible, cycle or walk to work. If you work a couple of blocks away from your home, save on transportation costs by walking or cycling and tone those thighs. Bring extra clothes if you want to freshen up at work. (Or if your office allows you to shower there, you can leave home earlier and go straight to work!)
6. Wake up early. People tend to take more expensive means of transportation when they are late and rushing for work. In Metro Manila, this means forgoing the queue for the MRT or LRT, or sitting through (horrendous) traffic along EDSA inside a bus, in lieu of taking a cab or Uber and praying hard the driver knows how to maneuver through alleyways and side streets to avoid traffic and get you to work on time. (And avoid being suspended!)
7. Gas up at the cheapest station along (or near to) your regular route. If you pass through different cities and districts in your travel to work, you’ll notice that different stations have different prices for the same brand and type of gas. Each city tax these stations differently, which makes for the variation in prices. A couple of centavo difference will earn you extra liters of gas.
8. Bring your own (water) container. Having one to take at work or when taking a jog outside will save you from having to buy mineral water from a convenience store.
9. Take shorter showers. Showerheads release an average of 9.5 liters of water per minute, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and current water rates cost around P25 per cubic meter. So you’ll be saving about 400 liters of water if you cut down to 10 minutes your one hour shower. This reduces your water bill and gets you to work earlier.
10. Use cold water for your shower. Heating your bath water will use up electricity (or gas if you used the stove to warm your water), which will weigh on your bill later. Water heaters consume around 2 kilowatts of power per hour, and electricity prices currently stand at P8.55 per kilowatt hour. Not everybody has the luxury of hot water and they fare fine even without it. Save the hot showers for colder weather.
11. Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Fill a glass and use that to rinse your mouth instead of leaving the tap open and scooping water with your hand. And don’t leave the water running when you’re soaping dishes. Use a basin to collect water soak the soaped dishes so you only need a few seconds to rinse it. A tap can run about 8.32 liters per minute, according to USEPA estimates. This will save water and money from going down the drain.
12. Install a low flush toilet. Water-efficient toilets consume 10 to 12 liters less than older models, which use about 14 liters of water per flush, according to an El Niño report at gov.ph. This will mean water savings each time you flush. Just make sure you get the right size fitted in your bath. If the water released in your low flush isn’t enough to empty your bowl, having to flush twice will erase instead of add to your savings.
13. Or, put a pebble-filled mineral water container inside your tank. The bottle will help fill the tank faster and with less water. Instead of having your toilet bowl replaced, this can be used as a cheaper alternative.
14. Or, collect rainwater. You can use it to water plants in your mini-garden and it’s another cheap way for flushing your toilet.
15. Do your own laundry. Instead of paying for the coin laundry down your unit or hiring a labandera, put in some elbow grease and wash clothes yourself.
16. Hang clothes to dry instead of using a dryer. Save the drier for rainy days. When the sun’s out, it gives enough heat to dry all your clothes for free.
17. Groom your pet. Instead of bringing the furry pal to a pet store for a bath and a haircut, you can buy shampoo and some shears (ask the store how to use it and where to cut) and give your pet some love (you might even get a huge thank you lick in return.)
18. Mend ripped clothing instead of throwing it away. You don’t have to throw a nicked shirt. Grab a needle and thread and sew it. If the hole is too big to repair, you can still use it for house wear or pambahay. Or cut it in pieces to use as rags instead of throwing it away.
19. Delegate chores to family members instead of hiring help. Teach your children from a young age how to do their chores rather than relying much on their yayas. This will teach them the value of hard work as well as financial discipline.
20. Reduce wastage. Use a hanky or small towels instead of tissues, use a mug instead of paper cups, whenever you can. Reusing things instead of throwing them out is good for the environment and your wallet.
Again you don’t have to do every single item on this list all the time. Give yourself allowances when the occasion calls for it, and indulge yourself every once in awhile.
Modern conveniences, of course, comes with a price. But if you limit convenience to what you really need and combine it with some elbow grease and creativity, you can save thousands of pesos in exchange.
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