This month, your friends at Blue Water Credit are committed to saving you money. Last week we covered a financial checklist to savings and then 10 ways to save money on your energy bills. This week we’re going to head into the kitchen to find you ways to save money.
Before you go down this list in earnest, collect your monthly bills and put them in one place. It helps to also track all of your expenses for 30 days (you’ll be shocked what you waste money on!) Make a spreadsheet that accounts for your income and every one of your expenses, whether they’re daily, weekly, monthly, etc. From there it’s like a fun game to go down the list to see how much you can save as you keep tracking the next few months’ expenditures.
1. Watch beverage costs:
The average American spends about $650 a year on soft drinks, alone! Switch from expensive (and unhealthy) sodas and sugary drinks like ice tea and lemonade and opt for water, instead.
2. Stop spending $ on bottled water.
Speaking of water, the average person drinks 167 of those little plastic water bottles a year, for a total profit of 15 billion $ to the companies who make them. Expense aside, plastic water bottles are terrible for your health (they’ve been found to leak cancer-causing carcinogens into the water we drink,) take a huge amount of natural resources to manufacture and distribute, and are terrible for the environment (most of them end up in landfills, where they don’t break down but slowly poison our soil and water table.) The good news is that by buying a filter for your kitchen faucet, or using filtered pitchers or even a larger reusable water cooler, you’ll save a ton of money, improve your family’s health, and help Mother Earth.
3. Buy a Good Coffee Maker.
If you’re like me, you’ll NEVER consider abandoning your much-needed caffeinated beverage, but making it at home will save you buckets of money. The average American spends $1,100 a year on coffee, though I would argue us working professionals drop even more at Starbucks. A good coffee maker will cut that cost by about 1/20 and you can make it how you like. Buy a thermos and bring extra to work for that afternoon caffeine injection.
4. Plan your meals out.
If you’re like me, you waste a lot of money on eating out. In fact, the average American spends more than $2,500 a year eating out! There’s nothing wrong with going to restaurants, but it adds up quickly so it should be a special, fun outing, not just an impulse based on convenience. Pre-scheduling your nights out to eat with the family and days out at work helps you cut costs. and you’ll actually enjoy the experience more. Try being frugal Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then start rewarding yourself toward the end of the week.
5. Pack your lunch and snacks.
Just because you’re eating in doesn’t mean you have to deny yourself! Purchase some good Tupperware and pack yummy lunches for those days you’re not eating out. Throw some healthy snacks in there to munch on during the day. The Foodsaver vacuum sealer is another great device to seal leftover food for safe storage much longer.
6. Pre-cook meals.
Spend a couple hours Sunday afternoon or evening precooking meals for the week. Make big batches of several items that reheat well, like spaghetti sauce, barbecue chicken, chilis, and stews. Either freeze them for later or bring the leftovers to work Monday and Tuesday.
7. Buy nonperishable items in bulk.
Plan your next trip to Coscto, BJ’s, or Sams Club and purchase a 6-month supply of shampoo, toilet paper, soap, cleaning products, canned goods, gum, etc. You’ll save a ton of money buying such large quantities and they won’t go bad. Also try looking at the bottom of the aisle for better prices (they put what they want you to buy on eye level.) Buy generics whenever possible will save you a lot of dough, and no on will even notice at your dinner table!
8. Stop using paper towel.
Using roll after roll of paper towels can get costly and kills way too many trees. So instead use a microfiber cloth in the kitchen for cleaning and spills. They are more absorbent and you can easily wash them out in the sink – or throw them in the washing machine.
9. Unplug.
Some appliances are like energy black holes, sucking your dollar bills right into oblivion. Toaster ovens, coffee makers, mixers, kitchen radios, and fancy microwaves may look cool, but even when turned off they pull a lot of electricity to feed all of those digital displays and nice blue LED lights. Simply unplug an appliance when you aren’t using it, and you’ll save money on your electric bills and set good habits that will pay off in other areas of the home.
10. Adjust the temperature in your refrigerator.
Some people keep their fridge way too cold, even icing liquids, and wasting cash on energy bills. Your fridge is the biggest energy consumer in your kitchen so it doesn’t need to be like the last ice age – it should just properly and safely preserve your food. The recommended temperature for a fridge is 38-42 degrees, so setting it there and not turning the dial all the way down will save you money.
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