How to Reduce Household Bills?

The regular household bills, on their own, might seem small. However, their cumulative effect can have a huge impact on your personal finance. Following are some ways how you can reduce household bills. Over time, these small savings will turn into significant savings.

Grocery on a Budget

According to Statistic Canada, Canada's national statistical agency, an average Canadian family spends around $240 on food, each month per person. This falls in accordance with the Credit Counseling Society's recommendation of allocating $200 to $250 for food per person on a monthly basis. However, personal financial experts in Canada suggest that a family of 4 can aim to spend only $125 on groceries, per week.

• Buy generic brands - Going with generic brands instead of branded food can save you up to 25% on your grocery bill. Branded Cheerios may taste better, however, when it comes to items like flour, sugar, bleach, salt, and so on, you may go with generic brands.
• Avoid impulse spending - Make a grocery list, and stick to it. This will help you avoid spending on food items that you really do not need.
• Shop at discount stores - If you buy from discount grocery stores such as the Real Canadian SuperStore, you would be able to save up to 10% on your grocery bills.
• Stockpile groceries when they are on sale - By doing this, you will be able to skip shopping for groceries once every month. This will save you a lot of money.

Save on Energy Bills

You may cut down on your energy bill with the following tips provided by Toronto Hydro.

• Minimize phantom power - Even if you do not use your electronic devices, they would draw electricity as long as they are plugged in. so, use a power bar nad plug all your devices to it, and when you leave the house, just turn the entire power bar off, and thus save on this phantom power.
• Use LED lights - You will be able to bring down your electricity usage by up to 75% with the help of LED lights.
• Programmable thermostat - Programming your thermostat to be at 18° while you are sleeping or when you are not in the house can bring down the heating cost up to 10%.
• Laundry - Use cold water instead of hot water for washing clothes.
• Weather stripping - Sealing in heat by weather stripping your doors and covering the windows will help to prevent air leakages, which account for 25% of heating costs.

Minimize Entertainment Expenses

If you are using your gym only once a week or going to your country club only once a month, then you are just wasting money. Canceling the membership will help you to save money. You may downgrade your cable TV package from premium to basic or you may cancel the cable subscription altogether and resort to DVDs and Netflix. You may also cancel your magazine and newspaper subscriptions, and start visiting your local library.

Minimize Transportation Expenses

If you have 2 cars, then sell one. You will be able to cut down on insurance, maintenance, and fuel expenses. You can resort to public transportation as well. You can also consider carpooling, share a ride with your friends to work. If you cannot do without  a car, make sure it is maintained properly. For instance, always keep the tires properly inflated. This will ensure the optimal gas mileage.

Save on Debt

Saving on debts will help you to save on monthly expenses. Refinancing your home or your automobile at a lower interest rate will help you to save money over the life of the loans, as well as reduce monthly payments. Consolidate your loans if possible. you may opt for a flex loan from Cashco Financial to do that. A balance transfer is a good idea if you are carrying a debt with a rate of interest. Many banks offer a reduction in the interest rates if you sign up for automatic debt repayment plans.

Reduce Phone Bills

You may cancel your landline and just use your cell phones. You may also cancel the data plan for your smartphone, and resort to public hot spots. This will help to reduce the household bill as well.

A few other ways to cut down household bills, in general, include moving to a less expensive area, giving up smoking and drinking, minimizing grooming expenses, and doing the household chores yourself.