You don’t need us to tell you that household expenses have been rising in the UK. You’ll have felt it yourself. From energy costs to supermarket prices, it seems as if the cost of everything is on the rise, and it doesn’t appear as if that’ll change anytime soon. One forecast suggests that energy bills across the UK and Ireland will continue to be higher-than-normal until at least the end of the decade.
While you can’t fix the geopolitical causes of rising costs, there are plenty of things you can do to decrease your own household’s costs. We’ve put together some of the best strategies for doing just that below. Take them all on board, and you should find that you save what amounts to a small fortune.
Refinance Your Mortgage
We wish that we could tell you that there was a way to eliminate the cost of your mortgage entirely, but alas, this is the real world that we live in. With that said, you may have the option of refinancing your mortgage, and that can have a dramatic impact on how much you spend each month. For some homeowners, refinancing allows access to lower interest rates, lower monthly payments, and all around more cash in their bank account.
Rent Out a Room
Want an easy way to bring in hundreds of pounds each month? Then consider renting out a room in your property. Many people are wary of taking this approach, since they think that it’s nicer to live alone, but you might be surprised at how much you enjoy living with other people. The fact that they may pay your mortgage payment each month makes it all the more inviting.
You don’t necessarily have to rent out a spare room on a long-term basis. You can start off by renting for a month here and there, or even a few days if you live somewhere that attracts tourists. Just be sure to check with your mortgage provider that it’s OK to take on a lodger before doing so — most are fine with it, but it’s always best to check.
Install Solar Panels
As with your mortgage payment, things would look pretty rosy if you could just remove the cost of energy bills from your monthly expenses. While you can’t remove energy costs completely, there are ways to keep them as low as possible. One of the best ways to do that is to add solar panels to your property, which can lead to significant savings on the cost of your electricity bills. Many homeowners who utilise solar power find that they save around 50% – 70%, with additional savings possible for homeowners who add a solar battery to store the excess electricity produced by the solar panel system.
Buy Second-Hand
Homeowners could save a lot of money by simply closing their wallets and avoiding buying items for their home, but that’s not always realistic. Sometimes, you simply need things for your home. When you do, it’s worthwhile first checking to see if you can buy the item second-hand. While some items — such as bedding — should always be bought new, a surprisingly large amount of household items can be bought second-hand, including tables, chairs, small appliances, and light fixtures. You might not find exactly what you’re looking for, but it’s worthwhile checking the second-hand market before hitting the store; doing so might save you 50% or more on the cost.
Get Smart About Cooking
After the mortgage and energy bills, it’s usually food that comes next on the list of things that households spend the most on. As with your mortgage and energy bills, you’ll simply need to accept that you’ll have to spend money to keep you and your household buddies well-fed. But again, how much you spend can be within your control.
First of all, we’d recommend putting together a kitchen that you genuinely enjoy being in. It makes cooking much more enjoyable, and that increases the chances that you’ll actually cook rather than relying on takeout food/eating out. It’s also recommended to buy storable ingredients in bulk; not only can this save you 50% or more compared with the cost of individual items, but it’ll also ensure that you always have the ingredient you need for your recipe.
Finally, look up some frugal recipes. You’d be amazed at how possible it is to eat well on a shoestring budget, and even if you don’t need to be so frugal, living that way for a couple of weeks can be a great way to boost your bank account.
Rethink Your Subscriptions
Remember when we all thought that streaming services would revolutionise everything and allow us to save on the cost of cable? Well, that dream didn’t last long. Now we need so many subscription services that many of us are spending more than we used to.
We tend to add subscriptions one by one, and over time, that can result in a small fortune. It’s only when we sit back and look at how much we’re spending that we realise that we’re spending a whole lotta money without getting much in return. So take some time to really review your subscriptions and ask yourself if they’re really worth it. If you decide that you do want to keep your account, then look for a cheaper subscription available.
Track Your Spending
Finally, perhaps the best way to reduce your household expenses on a long-term basis is to spend a few months tracking your spending. Most people have an idea of how much they spend per week, but most ideas are incorrect. Tracking your spending will give you the hard data you need to see where your money is being spent. It can be an excellent way to find patterns that you’d otherwise miss — for example, maybe you’re spending more money on coffee than you thought, or your subscription services are eating a fair chunk of your budget. Whatever it is, being aware is the first step towards making an improvement.