January feels like the longest month to most and everyone plans their goals for the year. This could be about making money or trimming the household bills to a more manageable level.
For us, I’ve looked at our income already and planned ways to boost this. Now though, my attention has moved towards our household bills. I have found throughout this journey that it is easier to spend £20-£30 a month more than planned without even trying. All those little amounts soon start to build up over time, so nipping it in the bud early is good.
If you have look at your income and have now moved over to your household bills, here are my tips on how to give them a quick audit. Getting them back on track will ease the stress on the budget.
- Give your outgoings an audit – Did you forget about that monthly subscription going out for a service you are not using? Maybe you are paying far too much for your insurance. Whatever it may be, having a check through your bank statement and outgoings is the place to start. I have a full list of what we pay out monthly and yearly, no surprises here hopefully!
- Be strict – Now I’m never going to tell you to cancel all your little treats. However, if you are planning to save money on your outgoings you are going to have to set a limit. For me, I’ve cancelled subscription my football clubs radio but kept Spotify family. As all of us use this and I listen to music all the time whilst working from home. Keep what works for you, but not everything!
- Meal plan – Food is the biggest expense in our house (excluding the mortgage) and in recent months we have spent far more than planned. We are now back on track, using what we have in the house first and meal planning the rest. Picking things up on offer is good, but only if it was something you were planning to buy! I have written about saving money on meal planning here if you want to get started.
- Take note of big expenses – Sorting out your outgoings is great, but only if you have a track of them all. Lots of us have payments that go out once a year for example. Making sure that is in the budget going forward is the way to stop unexpected expenses.
- Shop around – I hate to say it, but loyalty counts for nothing these days when it comes to services. You should never automatically renew things such as tv packages and insurances. The likelihood is, they will be on a more expensive You need to shop around for a better deal, that 30 minutes of your time could save you hundreds over the year.
When it comes to trimming the household bills, you don’t need to look to save chunks of the budget. Small snips across the board will soon add up. Here is another great post on saving money over the year.
