Image by: Nic Franklin-Woolley
The cost of living has risen yet again and 2013 promises for it to only get worse. Follow my quick guide on ways for you to save money on the main cost to your bank account – the home.
Travel
Do you drive to work? If so, could you walk/cycle instead? If the answer to both of those for you is yes, then you really are losing lots of money by hopping in that car of yours every day.
Petrol prices continue their monthly rise so a tenner top-up will no longer cover you as far as it would have done in the past. Road tax, motor insurance and MOT are just some of the daily expenses inflicted by a car, so not only will you save on petrol but you’ll be reducing the likelihood of a costly MOT.
A bike does come with its own expenses but only at a fraction of that of a car. Things like a bike lock, lights, saddlebag, mudguards and even panniers can be available relatively cheaply, but if you were to splash the cash then all the above would be an excellent long term investment.
Heating
It’s going to be cold for a few more months yet so the tendency may be to keep the heating on a lot longer than maybe necessary.
What I’ve found to be very helpful are portable electric heaters which, when dotted around various parts of the house, can be very effective in quickly heating the home. Of course the more powerful they are the more they cost to run, typically a 3KW heater on full blast for an hour will cost around 45p. Your gas/electricity supplier would find that hard to compete with.
The Weekly Food Shop
With today’s prices in the supermarket, you’re probably finding it more difficult to hunt for those amazing bargains at the shops. I always find myself scrutinising special offers nowadays to see if I’m not being conned!
I’ve found that you don’t need to buy the brands of certain items sometimes as they tend to be very unnecessarily overpriced. Especially for items like tinned tomatoes which can be used for a great deal of meals, and as a healthy substitute to some of the pasta/curry sauces you can get.
Lighting
If you haven’t done so already then you need to get all the bulbs in your house switched to energy saving light bulbs. They can cut down on the energy bill by a considerable amount and they last much longer than conventional ones too.
Do you have any great money saving tips you want to share? Comment below with your thrifty ideas!
Bio: Estelle Page is a mum of two who often blogs for Alert Electrical.
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