If you always feel like you don’t have enough money left over after paying your bills and living expenses, you’re hardly alone. One thing recent events have proven is that most of us don’t put nearly as much money away for emergencies as we should – and building an emergency fund is just one of many reasons for saving money. Without some financial surplus, it’s hard to make major purchases, pay off debts and invest for the future.
There are two ways to generate surplus funds for yourself. The first is by earning more money, but that’s obviously easier said than done. These days, many businesses are just barely treading water and aren’t exactly in a hurry to increase salaries.
The second way of generating extra money, on the other hand, is something that you can actually control – you simply need to spend less. There’s a very simple reason why you find it difficult to reduce your spending, though: You won’t want to reduce your quality of life.
In this article, we’re going to show you 4 simple ways to spend less on everyday items and services without reducing your quality of life. The fact is that there are probably several areas where you’re not spending your money as efficiently as you could be. You might be paying for services that you’re already getting elsewhere for free. Maybe you’re throwing items away that you could be reusing.
We’re also going to mention the one area in which almost everyone spends drastically more money than they should.
Leave more money in your bank account at the end of each month by spending less on these 4 everyday items.
TV and Video Content
We’re going to start by talking about TV and video content because there’s a good chance that you’re double-spending or even triple-spending to watch your favorite shows and movies. Does this scenario sound familiar to you?
- You’re paying for cable TV because you have a bundled package that includes TV, Internet and phone service. However, you rarely use the cable TV service except to catch the local news occasionally.
- You subscribe to Netflix or another similar streaming service. That’s where you get the majority of your TV content.
- You subscribe to Amazon Prime because it allows you to get most of your online purchases delivered quickly and for free. You’ve never even noticed that Amazon Prime includes an enormous library of free TV shows and movies.
If your situation resembles the bullet list above, you’re essentially paying for video content three times but are only actually using one of the three services. There’s logic to having Amazon Prime even if you don’t use Amazon’s video service, but if you’re subscribing to Netflix while maintaining your cable TV subscription, you’re wasting your money. If you don’t use your cable TV service, cancel it. Remember that you can still get your local stations for free with a cheap HDTV antenna.
Vape Coils
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected public health in an untold number of ways that probably haven’t even been fully revealed yet. One of the unforeseen consequences of the pandemic has been an uptick in smoking rates among Americans. There is a sliver of good news, though, in that many thousands of people have decided to make now the time to quit smoking and switch to vaping.
One drawback of vaping, however, is that many people spend far more on it than they should. For anyone who uses a vaping device with a refillable glass tank, it’s necessary to have a constant supply of atomizer coils. The atomizer coil is the component of the tank that generates vapor, and without it, the vaping device doesn’t work. When the atomizer coil no longer gives you a good flavor, you’d ordinarily throw it away.
The problem is that today’s heavily sweetened e-liquids aren’t conducive to long coil life, and the residue that those e-liquids leave behind can kill a coil’s flavor in just a day or two. If you vape and are replacing your atomizer coil every couple of days, you’re spending a fortune. Thankfully, the people at ROBO2020.com have created a machine that automatically cleans and dries your vape coils for you, allowing you to use them over and over. If you vape, you need to own one.
Air Conditioning
Summer is nearly here, and in many areas, record high temperatures look very likely. What will you do when things warm up? You’ll run the air conditioning system, of course. Summer power bills can be insanely high when you run your air conditioner all of the time, though – and unless you live in an area where the temperature is simply unbearable at all hours of the day, it’s probably not necessary.
Smart usage of fans can drastically reduce your power bill, regardless of whether you’re running your air conditioning system or not. During the day, ceiling fans can increase the efficiency of your air conditioner by helping to circulate and distribute the cool air. At night, consider turning your air conditioning system off and using window fans instead. Install window fans at opposite ends of your house, with one fan blowing cool air in and the other blowing warm air out. Keeping a column of fresh air moving through your home can help you maintain a comfortable environment even when the weather is a bit on the warm side.
Beverages
If you appreciate convenience – and who doesn’t? – there’s a good chance that you spend far more on beverages than you should. Bottled water, in particular, is a luxury that seems cheap on the surface but can actually end up costing hundreds of dollars every year. Yes, bottled water tastes better than tap water – but you can easily fix that by using a water filter. Even a high-end reverse osmosis filter can pay for itself within a year.
Do you grab a cup of coffee from an expensive chain every day on your way to work? Barista coffee is often even more expensive than bottled water, and your local coffee shop doesn’t do anything that you can’t do yourself at home. The only thing that makes the coffee chains special is the fact that they grind their coffee beans right before using them. If you buy a coffee grinder, you can enjoy the same quality – or better – at a much cheaper price. If you prefer espresso, buy an espresso machine. This is another expense that can pay for itself within the first year.
