Do you waste money?
I bet most of you said no to that question but I wonder if your answer will be the same after you’ve read this list of 11 ways that people waste money every day….
Food Waste is a big one because, according to the stats from Love Food Hate Waste, families in the UK thow away around 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every single year and and at least half of this could have been eaten. That’s a scary fact isn’t it – even more so when you consider that this wastage cost the average family with children around £700 a year which is £60 ish every month. I’ve written before about ten ways to avoid food waste here so I won’t go into the details but I’d urge you to have a read and see if there’s anything you can do to avoid wasting food in your house.
Throwing food out when it’s past it’s Best Before date is something that I’m sure lots of us do but if you understand the difference between use by dates and best before dates then you can learn when you can still eat food past it’s due date.
Buying Brand name products could mean you’re spending more than you need to on your weekly shop. Most supermarkets have at least three different types of products these days – the premium brand product, the own brand product and the value product version. I’d recommend you try the own brand if you’re currently buying the premium version and the value if you’re currently buying the own brand and I bet that you can’t tell the difference a lot of the time. There are exceptions though and there’d be a mutiny in my house if I bought anything other than Heinz ketchup and beans and Hellmans Mayo. 😉
Take notice of how much washing powder you need and then use about two thirds of the recommended amount – I bet you don’t see the difference in your washing but you will in your pocket as your washing powder or liquid will last MUCH longer.
Calling expensive 0845 and 0870 numbers can add a small fortune on to your bill but there are sites out there that can help you find a local rate version of the number you want for most companies so your call will either be included in your free minutes or at the very list will be a lot cheaper. Find out more ways to save on your phone bill here.
A poorly insulated house is literally like burning money as you’re paying to heat a house that’s not retaining any of the heat which means you’re going to keep trying to keep the house warm and it’s going to keep letting out the heat. You need to find any hotspots where heat is escaping and fix them – things like drafty doors and windows are prime examples and really easy to fix.
Leaving things on standby isn’t a huge money drain but The Energy Saving Trust estimate that it costs the average household around £80 a year so it’s definitely a great area to save. Drill it into to everyone that they need to turn off appliances when they’re not in use!
Buying all sorts of different cleaning products is unnecessary when one cleaner can probably do most jobs around the house. Stardrops is my all time favourite cleaning product and it’s amazingly versatile and really cheap too but you can easily make your own homemade cleaner which saves you even more.
Buying pre-prepared fruit and veg definitely costs more most of the time so obviously the solution here is to not buy the pre-prepared versions. I’ll be honest though and say that I do sometimes buy them for soup as it’s so much easier to buy ready peeled and chopped sweet potato and butternut squash and I always buy frozen chopped onion which is one of life’s great inventions!
Buying bottled water is something that I do as Miss Frugal and her Dad are determined that they don’t like our water (I’m hanging my head in shame now). I buy it on offer though and aren’t tied to a particular brand and I often refill the bottles with normal water and pop them back in the fridge. I do think it’s a waste of money though so do as I say and not as I do for this one. 😉
Not paying your bills by Direct Debit is just plain silly (unless you have a good reason, then it’s OK ;-)) because you’re risking a late payment if you forget to pay which usually incurs a charge as well as having an affect on your credit file too. It’s not even just that though, lots of companies give you a small discount for paying by Direct Debit and no matter how small, it’s better in your pocket isn’t it?
Have I missed any that you can think of?
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