How to Lower Monthly Bills

Are you an independent person and do you pay your bills all by yourself? If so, then, congratulations! Living alone isn’t an easy task and especially when it comes to paying your bills, you may have asked yourself How to Lower Monthly Bills or How to Reduce Monthly Bills? In my younger days, I had always wondered if I could live alone and be able to make a living or not?. I have thankfully been able to do so and I still do. The best part of living life alone on your terms is you get to do what you want and when you want.

Personally, the most satisfying therapy living alone has been when I am able to save money even after I have paid all my bills. When I tell this to my friends, they are quite taken aback. They say that they have never been able to save enough. They end up spending all their balances. This is like living paycheque to paycheque and this is what we at Your Rich Freedom – teach to avoid. Although it may seem impossible, there are always ways to save money and reduce utility bills. so here is how to reduce your monthly bills.

1. Controlling your Rent

Here is the first way to Lower Monthly Bills. If you are living in a rented property then, of course, this will contribute a higher share to your monthly costs. Unless of course, the area you live in has reasonable rental values. However, that is not the case in most cases and rent is predominantly high.

If you’re planning to stay in a rented property, if you are comfortable, try sharing your property with a close friend or colleague. This is the best way to split that huge rental expense. In case your company is paying you a house allowance then, see that your rent does not exceed this allowance. If you are lucky and are able to find a good deal, you may even save the excess of the allowance.

Ideally, the property you live in may vary as per your convenience, however, the best thing is to see that you don’t shell out way too much on paying rentals. How to avoid paying huge rent? The simplest way to do that is to ask someone who lives in the area, about the best property deals. If possible, try to do an area analysis yourself with respect to ease of access to important areas such as a bus station, school, hospital, and distance to your place of work, the power supply, water, and many more. If most of these are available nearby, you will end up saving huge costs in the long run and the rent to pay may become justifiable and worth it.

2. Watching your Food especially Groceries

I have already written an entire article on how to cut monthly bills of groceries titled How to do grocery shopping on a budget. When it comes to grocery, always buy only what is necessary and never buy more than required. In case you order food from a restaurant, see that you don’t order more than what you can chew, unless of course, if you plan on using the remaining for another meal or sharing with a friend.

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3. Do your laundry right

For most of us doing laundry, it has been a time-consuming job. Shall I tell you a simple way to Lower Monthly Bills on laundry? Okay then, these are my pro tips

Pro tip 1: always wear clothes that are easy to maintain.

Most of the clothes need to be ironed as one has to look presentable and the clothes need to be without creases so why don’t you buy an iron box? or at least learn the neatest way to fold clothes and arrange them in your wardrobe.

Pro tip 2: use hangers as it helps saves space.

Only your regular wear can be folded. So apart from ironing one needs to wash their clothes too so all you can do is see the clothes that need a wash, like jeans need not be washed often, only casual wear and your workwear needs washing.

Pro tip 3: Do not spend a lot of detergent

But wait do you spend a lot on your detergent and other laundry material, well in that case your clothes don’t need so much detergent. A little is enough and sometimes certain kitchen products for Eg.: vinegar or even salt and lime are enough to keep your clothes clean. So if you lack detergent for a day then you can manage with even basic soap or even vinegar.

Pro tip 4: Don’t go to the laundry store unnecessarily

Don’t spend too much on dry cleaning at a laundry store rather use fresh air unless the weather doesn’t permit it.

4. Do not overdo with the self-care

Grooming and self-care is every individual’s basic responsibility. I have seen many of my friends wanting to pamper themselves and end up burning their pockets. When I talk about self-care, I am referring to personal hygiene and taking care of your body.

Most women end up buying too many cosmetics and in fact, many are never used more than once. We recommend buying just the product that you need for your makeup routine and not what you wouldn’t need.

Let me give you an example. Men and women, all love perfumes no doubt; but most buy so many perfumes. This could be avoided if you use only one perfume all the time or use perfumes occasionally.

Personal hygiene is very important. But it does not mean you need to go to an expensive salon and spend so much just for grooming yourself. Instead, invest in products that help you save on your salon day, and by doing that you can save. Always compare the cost with other salons and decide what is best.

5. Focus to avoid shock on large electricity bills

While living alone, you may be doing many household tasks all by yourself. In this process, quite often people forget to switch off the lights and electric gadgets. This results in inflating your electricity bills. This can be avoided by keeping a reminder in case you tend to forget.

Using good quality products for lighting as well as good quality laptops, washing machines, air conditioners, and a fridge can help you in reducing the consumption of too much power.

For example, when I purchased a high-graded washing machine by Bosch, my electricity bill did not surge up at all by huge amounts. I think the reason for this is that the machine consumes power effectively. This can go in saving you little money every month forever.

Also, use your gadgets wisely so that you needn’t keep them charging always. For example, switch off your wifi when you sleep. You will not be using it anyway. Simple tips like this can go a long way.

6. Say goodbye to that unproductive debt (including credit cards)

Now most of us may have a credit card. If you have built a good financial sense, you will leverage this debt for your benefit. However, most often if undisciplined financially, we can unknowingly use it too much that we burn a hole in our pockets. And when the payment is due, we are in a shock to see the bill. I am speaking from experience. This had happened to me and that is the reason why I stopped using my credit card for quite some time.

It may seem like a luxury to own a credit card, including the benefits of having one. But the only con is that it’s an easy way to spend more than required. I realized I spent a lot using my credit card thinking ill pay it later even when I may not be able to afford it. that’s when I made up my mind to not own a credit card.

But wait, those who still use one always ask the vendor for the right offers and claims that you can make as a customer from your credit card agent. If you have an EMI option to pay bills then use it keeping in mind the rate of interest charged on it. However, paying small amounts is more satisfactory and safe than paying a lump sum bill amount.

How to save money? Set aside a budget and keep that amount in your credit card balance. Thus you will be able to spend wisely and also save for the next period.

Also, never take debt unless the cost of interest is justified enough to take it. Debt to create an asset is acceptable but not to create a liability. You may wonder what is an asset and a liability. If you have read our personal book recommendations on Top 3 Best Personal Finance Books for 2021, you would have known by now. If you haven’t read them, do not worry. We will be out with another blog post on this topic.

7. Drive that fuel down

Well, this one takes a lot from our pockets. Owning a vehicle myself It has been a difficult task to manage the expenditure spent on fuel. So do you know what I did? I switched to using my vehicle only thrice a week and most of the time I use public transport or would rather walk to the venue if it’s nearby or rather a carpool if possible. By doing so I have been able to save a lot and also has helped me to have a sustainable living.

Always know your earning capacity. If you earn just enough, then, spend it wisely. If you earn more than enough, then, start saving that extra income instead of spending it all. Let me tell you what I have done with the extra money I earn. I always transfer it to my best friend’s account (who I trust with my life btw. Do not keep your money with just any friend as you do not know what the future repercussions are). I ask her to keep the money with her for my emergency funds. I do this with only short-term emergency funds I like to keep. This acts as a backup for me as she has a strong financial discipline and does not spend like me and helps me control my shopping. When an emergency comes up, I will take it back. This method helps only if you have someone trusted to keep your money.

P.S. If you keep bigger emergency funds, open a seperate bank account. You can benefit from the higher interest.

I hope these simple tips and tricks will help you in the long run. Thank us later if you managed to save by following these tips.

I hope you enjoyed reading How to Retire Early and Young? and hope these tips will help you on your goal to Your rich freedom. Check out Your Rich Freedom for more interesting content.

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Disclaimer: The content of this blog is based on our personal experience in our race to achieve Our Rich Freedom and are writing this blog with the hope that it helps you reach Your Rich Freedom just like us. Please note that all the content on www.yourrichfreedom.com is for general information and entertainment purposes only. None of the content on this blog is Financial advice. Please reach out to a certified financial advisor before making any financial decisions.