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10 Daily habits that will help you save money
As the saying goes, habit is the second nature. If we acquire bad financial habits, our „second nature“ will limit us financially. If we want to lead a better life, we need to change our habits. We bring you 10 simple daily habits. If you manage to adopt them in your daily life, in a couple of years you will have saved a solid amount of money.
Drip, drip, drip... That’s the sound of a dripping faucet. One drop per second. It seems like nothing. However, these drops change into buckets of water over time.
If we have too many of these „dripping faucets“ in our finances, we keep throwing money down the drain. Even Mt. Everest only grows by 4 milimeters a year, nevertheless, it is the highest mountain today.
In our last couple of blogs "12 tips on how to save hundreds of Euros MONTHLY" and "10 tips on how to reduce your WEEKLY expenses" I showed you that saving money can be simple.
Today we will focus on saving money on your regular, daily habits.
1. Turn the lights off and use LEDs
Go back to your childhood and remember what your mum used to say over and over again. Turn the lights off! Whenever you leave a room, turn the lights off – teach this habit to your children as well. Just like that, switch – simple, isn’t it?
If you keep the lights turned on in some rooms regularly for more than an hour or two daily, change the light bulbs to energy-saving LEDs. You can save tens of Euros a year in your household this way. Use up the classic bulbs in rooms where you turn the light on only seldom and for a short time (cellar, garage, pantry).
2. Learn the energy-saving rules
Buy energy-saving appliances and service them. Clean the stove doors, so you don’t have to open them when you want to have a look at your food. Defrost the refrigerator and freezer regularly, the same goes for calcium deposits in the kettle.
Use as little water as possible and use the lid when cooking. Pre-heat water in the kettle. Air the kitchen out short but intensely. Keep the washing machine full and dry your clothes in the sun. Don’t buy devices with batteries in them. If you have no other option, re-charge the batteries.
Use the microwave only for the little stuff and defrost your food enough time in advance. There are many practical tips on the Internet. Type in the Google search "how to save on energy costs" and you will come across many useful tips.
3. Turn off the TV
Is your TV always on? The same with PC and the printer? Turn off everything that you are not using at the moment, right now. All these devices are using up energy and increase your bills. Make sure that you, as well as everyone else in the family, turn off the TV after you have finished watching.
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4. Bring your own coffee and snacks
Do you drink a cup of coffee every day from your local coffee shop? Do you work in an office and once or twice a day you go and buy a snack, baguette or coke in the local grocery shop? When you are at a gas station, do you always buy something little to eat or drink?
Enjoy all these things in the same way, only buy them when making your weekly shopping. This way, you can buy these things cheaper and bring them to work with you. Brew your own coffee at home and take it with you. Besides the fact that you will save money, it’s more eco-friendly.
I am not even going to start on smoking. It’s a category by itself. If you can’t drop this bad habit, try to at least progressively decrease the amount of cigarettes you smoke by half, or switch from smoking on a daily basis to only occasionally.
5. Adjust your working hours
Traffic jams do not only cost you your time and nerves, your car is also suffering. It is burning more gas and the engine wears out faster. By changing your daily working hours you can save hundreds of hours that you can otherwise spend in a much more pleasant way. Use traffic and GPS apps in order to avoid traffic jams and you will save a lot of money on gas.
Bonus: Your mood will probably also change for the better!
6. Pack a lunch
Do you buy lunch every day at work? Meal vouchers are not always enough and often we also have to spend some of our own money. Meal vouchers are generally not perceived as money, so many people do not consider them to be a part of their budget. Even worse, if your employer contributes to your electronic meal voucher company card, you don’t even notice your expenses.
Together with my wife we spent more than 2500 Euros on lunches at work last year. By packing your own lunch you can enjoy healthier meals and increase your savings significantly. Pack the leftovers from dinner or simply take the time to prepare your own lunch!
Do you feel you might look like you are broke? While your colleagues won’t save any money and argue at home about the family budget, you will be out of debt, satisfied, and live a happy financial life.
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7. Save on heating
Heating is one of the biggest continuous expenses in your household. If you live in an apartment, buy programmable thermostatic heads for your heating system. They are not expensive and you can adjust the heating according to your daily habits. Do not keep the heating on while you are at work on a holiday.
If your doors or windows are not air tight, try to fix it.
8. Use faucets with low flow rate
Is your water bill too high? Use shower heads and faucets with low flow rate. They can save you from 20 up to 50% of water. Do not bathe in a bathtub, keep your showers short, or shower in cold water.
The flushing system is equally important. If you are able to set a volume of the water used for flushing, you can save up to 50% of water used for flushing. Water is precious and expensive, do not waste it.
9. Stop buying bottled water
Water is almost for free everywhere. The consumption of bottled water in my household has decreased by more than 90%. It is more eco-friendly, healthier, and you will even save money. Slovak tap water is practically the healthiest in the World. Sweetened beverages are, from the point of view of nutrition and the amount of fast sugars, an absolute catastrophe.
Don’t forget to bring your own water wherever you go, so you don’t have to buy it later, or always keep an empty bottle. It’s not a shame to fill your water bottle at the toilet at a gas station or wherever you can. I do it too!
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10. Embrace the 24-hour rule
Spontaneous shopping is the worst enemy of your wallet. If something has caught your eye, give yourself at least 24 hours to think about the purchase. Think about whether you really need the item or service in question.
Don’t give to emotions if you go shopping with your kids. Always explain to them how the circulation of money works, so they don’t stop at every single item and rant about how they just must have it.
And keep in mind, if you want to further your financial education and improve your financial situation, download our mobile app Finax: „Finance and investing“ today and get access to all our blogs, videos, and podcasts all in one place.
