Household chores and expenses aren’t a lot of fun. However, they add up to a lot of time and money over the years. With a little work, it’s possible to save a lot of time and money in your household. We never seem to have as much time and money as we’d like. Every little bit helps!
Save time and money in your household with these strategies:
- Buy items in the off-season. Buy next season’s bathing suit at the end of summer. Buy a gas grill in the fall. Buy a motorcycle in the winter. Wait for the big sales and take full advantage of them. There is a season for many items, as well as a sale at the end.
- Use a timer. A simple digital timer is one of the most important devices you can own if you want to save time. If you think it should take you 15 minutes to vacuum a large room, give yourself 10 minutes and notice how well you focus on the task. Everything gets done quicker when you use a timer.
- Clean your barbecue grill in the oven. Instead of scrubbing your outdoor grill with a wire brush and harsh chemicals, take the cooking surface and put it in your oven at 500 degrees. Everything will cook off in short order. Nothing could be simpler, and you’ll save a lot of time.
- Buy a Sunday paper. The news doesn’t change that much that you need to get the paper every day. So much news is available online for free that newspapers are nearly obsolete. However, the Sunday paper is loaded with coupons and sales notices. The Sunday paper can pay for itself many times over.
- Visit the dollar store. For simple items like paper towels, soap, tape, pencils, and cleaning supplies, the local dollar store is hard to beat. Plan a trip and take note of the available items and how much you’ll save.
- Grow your own herbs. Herbs are expensive, and dried herbs never seem to taste as good as fresh. Herbs are also one of those things you only notice you need when a recipe calls for them. This often results in a trip to the store for just that single item. Most herbs are easy and inexpensive to grow.
- Use energy efficient light bulbs. This type of bulb is becoming less expensive all the time. They still aren’t cheap, but the cost is small compared to the longevity. They use much less electricity than incandescent bulbs. You’ll save a lot of time and money over time.
- Buy your own coffee supplies. Starbucks and similar stores are expensive for what you get. A little espresso and 2 cups of hot milk aren’t worth $5+. For a small investment, you can buy your own equipment and make your own fancy coffee for a fraction of the cost.
Your household is costing you more time and money than it should. With a few tweaks, you could save more of both and spend them somewhere more enjoyable. Spend some time looking at your expenses, with regards to both money and time. Look for ways to cut back on both. We could all use more time and money.
