Five financial tips for household budgeting

Managing and maintaining a household involves numerous expenses, from major costly repairs down to purchases on everyday consumable items. While your actual mortgage or rent payment will typically be the largest expense associated with housing, these other costs can add up. These five household budgeting tips will keep your wallet and house in check.

What you’ll learn:

• Tip #1: Buy in bulk
• Tip #2: Put money away for repairs
• Tip #3: Heat or cool your home for less
• Tip #4: Cook meals at home
• Tip #5: Cheaper doesn’t equal financially savvy

Tip #1: Buy in bulk

If you have storage space, buying non-perishable, consumable goods in bulk is an easy way to save. Everyday items such as toilet paper, paper towels, toiletries, cleaning supplies and more can often be bought in bulk packages at a significant per-unit discount. For example, a six-pack of toilet paper might cost $6, but a 36-pack costs $30, effectively giving you a six-pack for “free.”

This does require both spending more money upfront and having the storage space to put the extra items, but it can save you significant amounts of money. It also saves you time since you’ll need to make less trips to the store to pick up new supplies.

Tip #2: Put money away for repairs

For many homeowners, expensive repairs come out of nowhere and create financial woes. While there will always be repairs that truly can’t be predicted, many home repairs can be prepared for. Most appliances, as well as aspects of your home’s structure such as the roof, have rough timelines for when they are expected to need repair or be replaced.

Be aware of those timelines and put money away in a fund every month to pay for these expenses when they inevitably come up. For example, if you expect to need a new A/C in around five years, save enough money to fully pay for that new A/C by the time that date comes around. This way, you’ll rarely be financially caught off guard when something breaks or needs to be fixed.

Tip #3: Heat or cool your home for less

Cooling your home in the summer or heating it in winter can be a large expense, especially if you live in a particularly cold or hot climate. Thankfully, there are ways to help keep your home (or at least your body) at an ideal temperature without blasting the A/C or the furnace.

To save on cooling your home:

• Open windows
• Close the blinds
• Take advantage of fans
• Use a programmable thermostat
• Use a modern, high-efficiency A/C

To save on heating your home:

• Ensure windows are shut tight
• Open curtains while it’s sunny
• Use a programmable thermostat
• Wear additional layers rather than heating the home itself

Tip #4: Cook meals at home

Cooking at home rather than dining out or getting takeout is one of the most repeated financial tips, but for good reason. Eating out is great as an occasional treat but can quickly eat up huge portions of your budget if done regularly.

You don’t need to be a professional chef or have the kitchen of one to make tasty, healthy meals at home. A few kitchen appliances you likely already have and some basic staple ingredients is all you need to get started.

If you struggle to find motivation to cook at home, there a few things you can try. First, stick to simple recipes or pre-packaged meals from the grocery store. While the latter will be more expensive than making food from scratch, it will almost always be cheaper than eating out. Meal prep services are also an option to consider. Finally, if you are pressed for time most nights, try making a large quantity of food over the weekend that you can eat throughout the week.

Tip #5: Cheaper doesn’t equal financially savvy

A common mistake among homeowners trying to reduce their expenses is buying the cheapest option. This does save money in the short-term, but often results in greater expenses later on.

Imagine you need a new desk chair. You could buy a $50 chair that is uncomfortable and wears out within a year. Or, you could spend $500 on a quality chair that feels great to sit in and can last for multiple decades. Sure, that nice chair is way more expensive upfront, but once you buy it, you won’t need to buy another desk chair for a very long time. Plus, your quality of life will dramatically increase using it.

This idea can be applied to so many products you use: From appliances and tools to clothes and technology. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should always buy the most expensive option, either. Most products reach a point of diminishing returns, where the most expensive options are only marginally better than their mid-priced counterparts. Do your research on individual products to determine what that point is.

By following these five household financial tips, you can reduce numerous expenses across your budget. Maintaining a household will always require regular purchases, but these tips will reduce how much you need to spend while maintaining a great quality of life.