4 Tips to Slash Your Household Spending

There are plenty of occasions when we need to reduce our outgoings. Sometimes it’s because we received
an unexpected bill, other times it’s so that we can save up for something special like a new home, a
holiday, a new car, or a wedding.

Whatever your reason, here are some simple ways you can cut your household spending.

Check Your Cupboards

Food is one of the biggest household expenses, especially if you have several people living under your
roof. This makes it a big target for saving cash with plenty of different things you can cut.

Very often when we go grocery shopping we buy things that end up in our cupboards, refrigerator and
freezer that are never completely used up (or opened at all). You will likely find that you have plenty of
food that you can use up before you spend any more on buying more. The American FDA says that food
kept in a freezer should be safe “indefinitely” when it’s stored below -18° C (0° F).

Tinned and dried food is often ok for longer than you think too. The US Department of Agriculture says
that the majority of “shelf-stable foods” will remain safe “indefinitely”.

You may not be cooking up gourmet meals when using these ingredients, but you won’t have to spend a
penny to do so!

Play Free Games

Entertainment is another big area of spending for most people. Thankfully, there are many ways you can
reduce it. One of these ways is to seek out free alternatives to the games you would otherwise buy.

There are plenty of online and mobile games that you can play for free. Most app developers create free-
to-play games that give users the option of paying for extra features, lives, or customisations through in-
app microtransactions.

Popular free-to-play gaming apps include first-person shooters like Call of Duty: Mobile and Fortnite.
They contain all of the features that their PC and console versions have, including online multiplayer
modes. Fortnite even has cross-platform play, so you can battle your friends from your phone while they
use their Xbox One.

There are also plenty of classic card and board games like PokerStars and Scrabble Go. With PokerStars,
you’ll get free play chips when you sign up, which you can use in tournaments and other games. It also
has cross-platform play that allows you to compete against players on the desktop version. Scrabble Go is relatively new and brings the classic version and other Scrabble inspired games in a format that lets you play with friends without having to be in the same room.

Stream Movies and TV for Free

You can also find ways to watch movies and TV shows for free. Most streaming platforms, including
Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu offer a free trial of between 7 days and one month.
There is also an infinite amount of content on YouTube that you can get for free. Everything from small
independent documentaries to hours of eSports streaming, all free and available on just about every
device you could watch to watch it on.

If you use these wisely you’ll have months of content for free and you’ll be able to cancel that expensive
cable package at the same time.

Bulk Buy to Get Economies of Scale

This trick only works if you have the cash to commit to large bulk purchases, but if you do, you could
save significant amounts in the long term. Shops like Costco have built their business on selling products
in bulk, offering you a small saving in return. You can also find bulk savings on products like dried food and cleaning products online through websites like Amazon.

The downside to doing this is that you need to store it at home. While storing a few extra packs of toilet
roll may not take up too much space, 3 month’s worth of pasta, tinned food, and cleaning products will
quickly begin to fill up your kitchen.

You can also make bulk purchases in regular stores if you find that items have been put on sale. You can
often make savings of 5-50% by doing this, which is much more than you’d receive in interest from a
bank.