According to a study conducted by the Consumers’ Organization (OCU), seven out of ten Spanish households have difficulty making ends meet. In fact, 11% cannot even make it through the month without having to dip into their savings or take out loans. Therefore, this is a problem that affects many families and has worsened in recent years due to factors such as rising inflation, increases in the CPI, and higher energy prices.
Furthermore, the solution is not always straightforward, since wage increases do not always keep pace with factors such as the aforementioned inflation. Not to mention that Spain has more than 2.7 million unemployed people. Hence the need to explore various ways to balance our economy and cut back on our usual expenses.
At CULMIA, we make it easy for you, and to that end, we’ve put together 10 tips for saving money at home. So, if you want to learn all about them… keep reading!
10 Tips for Saving Money at Home
1. Set a budget and a method for managing your money
Do you want to save money but don’t know how? The first step (and one of the most important) is to find a way to keep track of it. Knowing how much you have at any given time, how much you usually spend each month, and how much you hope to save is key to getting a clear picture of your financial situation and calculating your budget for a specific period of time.
Setting a monthly or weekly budget will allow you to plan and track your expenses, and it will help you avoid overspending or splurging on impulse purchases. So we recommend that you use a specific method to keep track of your money…because there are so many! From the classic pen-and-paper method to creating an Excel spreadsheet to help you keep track of your finances, to an app you can install on your phone.
2. Establish a savings plan
Let’s move on to the next question: How much do you want to save? Or perhaps this one fits better: How much do you think you’ll be able to save? Whichever question you choose, try to answer it as honestly and realistically as possible, because it’s important to remember that we’ll always have some unavoidable expenses and that it’s normal for other unexpected expenses to come up as time goes on.
A good way to save money is the “50-30-20 rule”. In other words, allocate 50% of your monthly income or budget to fixed expenses (such as a mortgage, electricity, gas, transportation, etc.), 30% to variable expenses (annual subscriptions, insurance, repairs, clothing purchases, etc.), and 20% to savings.
3. Cut back on nonessential expenses
Another key point is distinguishing between what we really need to live and what we don’t . Naturally, there are basic expenses such as food, the mortgage, electricity, water, etc., and other non-essential expenses, such as TV package subscriptions, entertainment expenses, travel, etc.
And while we don’t need to cut these expenses entirely, it’s certainly advisable to limit them to the point where they don’t undermine the goal we’re aiming for with these 10 tips for saving money at home. So, a good way to control our spending is to grab a metaphorical pair of scissors and start “cutting back” wherever we see it’s easiest.
4. Go grocery shopping with a prepared list
Before you go shopping—especially for essentials like groceries— try to write down a list of everything you think you need. This has many advantages, such as spending less time in the store and always keeping in mind the most important items you need.
And not only that, but this small gesture will also help us keep track of what we spend on our grocery shopping. Because the alternative is to go to the store and just wing it, throwing whatever we see into the cart—which can be a serious mistake for our wallet: not only because we might end up spending more that way, but also because we’re more likely to make a mistake and buy something we didn’t need.
5. Energy and Resource Conservation
It is estimated that, in Spain, one person spends approximately 35 euros per month on electricity, while two people spend between 50 and 55 euros, and four people spend around 70 euros. This does not include gas costs, which average an additional 25 euros for a single person, 40 euros for two people, and 60 euros for three people.
In short: household energy consumption is another area where we can take action to ease the strain on our wallets. The good news is that doing so is relatively simple, as we’ve already seen in this blog when discussing electricity and gas.
6. Reuse as much as possible
Today’s society encourages us to buy, consume, and throw away—and to repeat the cycle over and over again. But it isn’t always necessary to buy a new product to get what we need, since it’s also possible to make use of or reuse certain items without noticing much difference compared to what a newly purchased one would offer.
For example, we can try using rechargeable batteries to power certain devices, such as video games or remote controls. Or we can find new uses for cardboard packaging, use cloth bags instead of plastic bags, use leftover ingredients from one meal to make another dish later, reuse paper as a scratch pad after we’ve used it for its original purpose, and so on. There are a thousand and one ways to reuse things to save money at home!
7. Find the best value for your money (compare prices)
Among the 10 tips for saving money at home, we also suggest making a small effort before every purchasing decision we have to make. After all, we’re fortunate to live in a society where, in most cases, there’s a wide variety of options available, and companies compete to offer the most affordable products and services with the best features.
This means we shouldn’t settle for the first brand we see on a store shelf; instead, we should take a good look at what’s available, consider what each product offers, and compare prices. A good example is private-label brands, because there are specific products where they actually offer even higher quality than name-brand products.
8. Opt for homemade solutions
Should we buy a sweater or knit one ourselves? Should we buy soap at the store or make it at home? Should we make our own laundry detergent or rely on a brand? If we have the resources and are handy enough, we might come up with a way to save money at home by making what we need ourselves. That way, we’ll give our wallet a break while enjoying an interesting activity in our free time.
9. Take advantage of sales and promotions
If you plan your purchases well in advance, you’ll likely end up saving a significant amount of money. For example, if you need to make an unusual purchase, you can wait for a specific sale date (such as Black Friday) to get the best prices.
You also have the option to buy a product in advance at the supermarket when it’s on a “buy 2, get 1 free” sale. Or, if you plan to use a subscription for a long time, consider purchasing an annual pass instead of a monthly one, because generally, the longer the commitment, the lower the price you’ll pay.
Patience often pays off, because resisting the urge to buy right away and waiting for a sale to come along is usually a good idea and can really save you money.
10. Buy a sustainable home
If you’re thinking about buying a home for the future, keep in mind how much you could save by living there. This is especially true if it’s a new construction, because the housing industry is taking sustainability and health more and more seriously.
And proof of this can be found in the various certificates that demonstrate that the building meets certain standards: starting with the essential energy efficiency certificate and continuing with the CULMIA Quartz and Jade certifications, the BREEAM certificate for energy sustainability, and the LEED certificate for energy efficiency and sustainable design.
Knowing your future home’s energy consumption and features will make it easier for you to make decisions aimed at saving money and will most likely pay off in the long run.
Saving money at home is up to you
Here are our 10 tips for saving money at home. And, as you’ve seen, many of them are very easy to put into practice—they just require a little determination and time on our part. So… are you ready to give them a try starting today?
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