20 Tried And Tested Tips To Reduce Expenses This Year

OK, so today I’m sharing a post which is relevant and applicable in 2023: budgeting.

What with inflation, petrol and gas prices going way up the charts, and economic crisis, as mamas and homemakers we need to look for ways we can save money.

The tips and tricks I’m sharing on here today are all things that I have implemented myself and which I know work well, which is why I’m sharing them with you.

So here go…

20 Tried and Tested Tips to Reduce Expenses this Year

1. Shopping Lists

Before hitting the shops, it’s vital you think through what you actually need, so that you don’t spend money on tempting goodies which are not essential. Write a list and stick to it! The best way to do is this is by doing online shopping.

2. Online shopping

Online shopping saves money for this reason and this reason only: you don’t feel tempted to buy what you can’t see. In physical shops, we can see aisles and aisles of goodies. In online shops, items are organized into different categories that are not plainly visible. So online shopping makes it a lot easier to just follow the shopping list.

3. Menu planning

Meal planning saves money because you strategise your meals according to your budget instead of putting expensive ingredients together, or, in the worst-case scenario, resorting to take-aways on days when you haven’t organised your dinner ingredients and you’re out of time.

4. Reduce lighting costs

This is a no-brainer, but we need to get into the habit of turning lights off when we leave a room and not using as many at one time. Think candles, instead!

5. Dry clothes au naturel

Yes, I know hanging clothes on the line takes longer, but if you really want to reduce electricity costs, a great way to do this is to stop using the tumble dryer.

6. Eat at home

The more often you eat at home, instead of at restaurants, the more you’ll save in terms of money. Sometimes restaurant meals seem cheap when you look at the main meal, but when you add drinks, starters, desserts, tips, and travel costs you’re soon paying a lot more than you bargained for.

In most cases, it’s cheaper to get a take-away than to eat out at a restaurant, so consider this as an option for a special occasion.

7. Make meat go further

Meat is an expensive produce, so make it go further by reducing the amount you add to a meal, and bulking recipes with cheaper produce like beans and lentils.

8. Natural cleaners

Clean your house with cheap but effective products like vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. They make great window cleaners, disinfectants and limescale removers.

9. Use a teapot

By using a teapot, you can make your tea stretch further with fewer tea bags because of the brewing process.

10. Replace bread with local seasonal produce

Bread costs are going up drastically, so instead of buying bread, think of local seasonal produce you can replace it with, such as seasonal vegetables. Another alternative is to make your own bread at home.

11. Turn the heat down

If you use central heating, bring down the temperature gradually over the course of a week in order to get the members of your household used to lower (and consequently more cost-efficient) temperatures.

12. Buy second-hand items

Buy clothes, home items and books at second-hand shops whenever possible. These are a fraction of the cost, and the quality is usually good.

13. Adopt a minimalist lifestyle

A minimalist lifestyle is about buying only that which we have the money and the availability to manage. Minimalism is about taking a thoughtful and strategic approach to shopping and buying only that which we can afford or have the time to maintain.

14. Use coupons and promotions

Find out if your favourite stores have card or coupon systems and use them to the max.

15. Cook from scratch

In most cases, it’s cheaper to cook from scratch than it is to buy something ready-made. Also, when cooking from scratch, you can make a bigger quantity and then save leftovers for another day, which cuts down on time and energy costs.

16. Swap with friends

Do you have a coat you no longer like, and your friend has a bag she has no use for? Swap and save!

You can also organise clothes swap parties with friends where each person takes a bag full of clothes they no longer need and then returns with a bag full of new clothes!

17. No-spend weekends

Set aside a couple of weekends a month where you aim to spend as little money as possible as a family. You can do this by having a picnic, instead of going to a restaurant, or walking to a park, instead of driving to the shops or the cinema.

18. DIY and recycle

Instead of buying new items for the house, recycle old items. For instance, if you need some new storage containers, wash and sterilize used glass bean jars, and repurpose them for storage.

You can also reuse empty cereal boxes, cardboard boxes, and even plastic bags that were used for store bought fruit and vegetables.

Need to paint or refurbish the house? Consider doing it yourself!

19. Grown your own

If you have space and time to do so, grow your own vegetable patch with veg, fruit and herbs that would do well in your local climate. You can also grow flowers to decorate your home.

20. Do your hair and make-up at home

Dye your hair at home, learn how to do home manicures, and simplify your make-up to cut down on product usage (for instance, avoid applying a full face of make-up every day). It’s amazing how much money you can save by doing these things at home!

Bonus tip

Walk instead of driving everywhere. By walking from A to B you exercise, you get fresh air, and you save on fuel. Win win win.

That’s it! Pin it!