How to Reduce Household Expenses

With the holidays coming soon, many consumers are wondering how they are going to afford to buy gifts for everyone on their list. With more and more people declaring bankruptcy, it's obvious that people are getting deeper in debt. Here are a few simple steps that can be taken to reduce expenses, and thereby have money to pay off their debt.

Look at how your money is being spent. If you are not tracking your finances, you should be. Otherwise you may be spending a lot more than you think. Once you begin tracking your money, you will know exactly where you can cut back.

Drop down in programming. Chances are that your cable or satellite bill is higher than it should be. Maybe you have a favorite program that comes on a premium channel. This is acceptable. Keep the channel for as long as the show is on, and then cancel it. Sign up to receive email from the channel, and you will know exactly when to subscribe again. What is not acceptable is having a favorite show on every night on a different channel, so that you must keep the highest level of programming offered. It's time to decide which one is your favorite and rent the others when they are released on DVD. By dropping a premium channel, you can usually save about $10. Some satellite and cable companies charge for changing your programming, or will charge only for dropping a channel. After only three months, you are ahead. If you can make this a permanent change, you will save a lot of money. And if you can content yourself with only local channels and renting movies, you will save approximately $60-$100 a month.

Lose the package deal. It can be tempting to sign up for the package that comes with a cell phone, home phone, cable, internet, and long distance. But beware. Many of these packages are not truly saving you money. They may have a higher speed internet than you would use if you were buying it separately, and thereby cost you more money. Or they may provide services you would never use. Do not go for the package deal just because it says it saves you money. Research it to find out whether it is actually cheaper to pay for each one separately.

Lose the phone. There are not many places where it makes sense to have long distance, a cell phone, and a home phone. See which one suits your needs and stick with it. Cell phones typically cost more than home phones, but if all your calls are made on the road, there is no reason to keep the home phone. Likewise, if you rarely leave home, consider whether you really need an expensive cell phone plan. Or possibly you make a lot of calls from home, but they are all local. Once you determine your needs, you will know what you should get rid of.

Stop eating out. If you are addicted to eating out because it is much easier than cooking after a long day of work, you may be surprised at how much money you are spending at restaurants. With lunches costing between $4 and $9, and dinners costing $5 to $30 for an average dinner for one person, you can see how these figures can add up very quickly. Bring your lunch to work with you, and limit yourself to eating out at dinner once a month. This includes fast food. If you do this one simple step, you could save $500-$1000 a month.

Cancel the gym membership. There is no reason to pay for a gym membership when you can do sit-ups and run outside for free. On cloudy days, there are exercise tapes or balance balls that can be used. Or invest in one quality piece of exercise equipment that you will use consistently. Chances are, your budget will be ahead in less than 6 months, even with an expensive piece of equipment.

Reduce your clothing budget. Make sure your family has the staples that they will need. Then for one month, do not buy a single item of clothing. The trick with this suggestion is to not buy twice as many clothes the month before or the month after. If you can repeat this hint every other month, you could save quite a bit of money every year.

Hopefully these tips have provided you with a way to reduce your expenses so that you can get out of debt quicker. If nothing else, perhaps they have inspired you to think of the ways in which you waste money. Solve these problem areas, and you will solve your budget issues.