Money Saving Tips for Families from Daily Activities

Practical Guide to Families to Save Money on Daily Activities

In this article, we are discussing about some of the best tips and practices to save money from your daily activities.

While preparing these tips, I have taken special care to not affect to the life standard of a family. 

There are many money saving tips articles can be found in this blog on saving money in different situations and through different activities.

I am frequently updating ‘How-to save money” articles with this blog. This section combines a set of money saving tips for different situations and picked by researching well to suite to each situation.

One can possibly save money from any activities.

One major point to remember is, money saving is not an activity to save chunk of money within an hour or days. But, it’s a process by adding some perfect controls and rules to our life to get more clarity on our daily, weekly and monthly expenses.

Saving money through reducing or controlling personal or family activities doesn’t mean to drop any regular plan or life standard you or your family have.

Until and unless, you are not working hard to become debt free, you can move further by maintaining present life standards intact.

Saving money means to identify the loopholes when dealing with money and control it.

While practicing any of these money tips, make sure to avoid any money saving rule or process being in place that may make other family members unhappy by directly or indirectly affecting to any facilities or activities they are enjoying.

Below are the set of well-studied, practical money saving tips to save money from day to day activities:

Importance of Having a Budget:

Having a right monthly budget in place, one can easily control the inflows and outflows of money. Budgeting not only help us to identify unnecessary expenses but, gives a clear picture to the future requirements and saving.

Save money from Facilities

1. You can still be luxurious but, add control on anything not necessary. For Example, disconnect additional landlines or hand phone connections to reduce bill and save money. Have a policy on subscriptions of various services to family.

2. Identify any unused facilities like additional internet connections, additional newspapers, books subscriptions etc. One internet connection and one newspaper is sufficient. Cancel unnecessary connections and subscriptions. Explore the lending possibilities of books and newspapers than to replace subscription of the same.

3. If possible, try to get bundle facilities like cable, phone and internet together. Such packages would help to save money to a great extend as well as avoiding multiple vendors.

4. Cancel memberships with gym or club that re not using or not a regular visitor to these places. Do not consider such memberships are the part of showing status.

Possible savings from monthly service bills:

The most enhancing feature or a family budgeting is, the person never run out of money for necessities. By allocating money in advance to meet all monthly expenses, possible late payment penalties can be avoided. Find some saving possibilities below:

1. An important rule: Never apply for any service without collecting information on all available similar services in the market and comparing to identify a best possible one.

2. Never delay paying your loan, credit card bills as early as possible immediately upon getting the bill in your hand.

3. Pay your utility bills like water, power and gas etc. in the same day or next day as soon as the bill arrived, to avoid possible fine and penalties on late payments.

4. Identify any bills that invites penalties if paying after the free days. Never delay paying such bills immediately after receiving the same, considering the countries you are live in.

5. We have a well-maintained tongue. Why don’t we use it to ask for any possible discounts or deduction on bills related to credit cards, cable, internet, phone connection etc.? A simple word some time gives us huge money saving possibilities.

6. Never give any money to banks as fees or any special benefit you are getting from them, but not required for you. Whenever dealing with bank, have a clear idea on the services and facilities they are offering along with details of fees for each services.

Save money from utilities

1. Important point to remember: All the members in a family should have awareness on this activity or your effort will not succeed as expected.

2. Never keep any electronic items as working or sleepy mode if not using the same. Power it off.

3. Use and get benefit from power savers like LED lamps or the one with latest technology.

4. Install and take maximum advantages from solar panels.

5. Maintain green home. Have enough air circulations inside through right ventilation for summer and have enough heat inside when closing ventilation for winter.

6. Never use power eaters like electric heaters, water heaters etc. Point 4 can help you on this.

7. Iron boxes are one of the major culprits to bring the utility bills to the next heights. Have practice of using iron boxes once in a week than daily.

8. Maintain cooling of refrigerators and always leave it as filled, to take maximum advantages from the power utilizing to work. Do defrosting time to time to maintain operational abilities.

Operating manual available with electronic equipment and appliances, would have information on how to maintain operational abilities. Read such manuals carefully.

9. Have a practice of switching off the main or place a master switch to switch off all the electronic items when going out. A master switch, controlling connections to all the major electronic equipment, other than refrigerators, would be a good idea.

If in place, can control all the points, other than what you really want to work, in a single action during members are unavailable in the home.

10. Maximize the usage of water. Have wastewater management by converting wastewater to good purposes like watering garden etc. It is possible to convert the wastewater to the toilets too.

In any green home, facilities to collect the rainwater for daily use is available. Set controls to the water tanks and connections to control losing of water.  

11. If an over tank installed and regularly pumping water to it for home requirements, install tank with maximum possible size to avoid frequent pumping and thus losing money on power. Interconnected group of multiple small tanks also a good option to consider.

12. As a bonus, controlling usage of electrical and electronics items between 7 pm to 10 pm and at least for 10 minutes would help to save lots of money. These are the peak hours with maximum use of electricity.

Selecting this time to go out with family by switching of all lights and electronics also a good option. Refer point #9 for further. Maintain “a person an item” within peak hours. Whether a bulb, electronic equipment or other.

13. Maintain vehicles in well condition by practicing daily checkouts before start from home. This will help to save gas or fuel to maximum because of maintaining right condition as instructed in the operating manual by the vehicle manufacturer. As a best practice, never share the vehicle with anyone else.

14. Have a practice of washing dishes by hand, at least 3 times in a week instead of using a dishwasher. This would save considerable money on electric bills.

15. Practice hand washing of cloths at least in the weekends. This would give rest to the washing machine and electricity meter too.

Saving money from home activities

1. Rule No 1: Never rent a service for anything that can-do self.  i.e. home cleaning.

2. Maintain a collection of tools for activities like small repairs inside the home, minor plumbing, electrical work, pipe work, maintenance related to garage, garden etc., Avoid calling service personal for such simple jobs.

3. Practice using quality items. Using quality items never cost money by the means of regular service and maintenance. Utilize the free services offering by the manufacturers.

4. Never purchase any items that are not for regular use. Instead, check the availability of such items with neighbors or friends. For example, mice trap.

5. Why do you want to go for wash cars? This will be done free at the time of regular service or paying little amount that taking it particularly to wash. Instead, wash self. If you don’t like to wash, then park the vehicle outside. Snow or rain will wash better than service centers can.

6. Have a right waste management in place. Produce compost and use it in the garden. Save money from clearing waste and buying compost.

Save money from shopping activities

1. Rule to remember: Have a clear plan before starting for shopping.

2. Bonus rule: Shop only for those items, not in the home or cannot be prepared at home.

3. Never buy electronics items in the same day of launching. Wait for some time. Get opinion from people using the items. New arrivals generally coming with big price tag and may later come down.

4. Utilize discount coupons and purchase points intelligently.

5. If you maintain a vegetable garden as hobby, no need to go out to purchase vegetables.

6. Weekdays are best for shop owners to give discounts. So, plan shopping in the weekdays.

7. Identify the best shop providing maximum discounts. Have knowledge on all shops and its price differences. Free time visits are best to understand such.

8. It is best to prepare food inside home than buying from outside. Avoid frequent eating out too.

9. Remember, buying large in quantity is always economical.

10. Any item that is not for regular use and not having resale value, select a good one from secondary shop than buying as new.

That’s it. You can search and read enormous number of money saving tips in the net. But it is difficult to identify working tips. My promise, all the above tips are well working tips and can practice by any person at any time.

Reality check with money tips:

1. No one in the world ever practiced all the available money tips.

2. There are thousands of money tips available everywhere but working money tips are very few.

3. Money tips implementation should happen gradually. No money saving tips works at the same moment of implementation.

4. Real savings of money means not reducing your life standards but giving more clarity to life by identifying right requirements and avoiding the one not required.

5. Unexpected money requirements are everywhere. Consider having Emergency fund or other money source.

Wish you all the success!!