Paring back expenses on the road and at home - Part 2

In Part 1 I talked about paring back expenses on the road.  In Part 2 I’ll tackle paring back expenses at home.  Ready, set, go…..

Now, what you can do to help cut expenses at home.

Your home is your largest expenditure you’ll ever have.  Think about the size of your family and the size of your home.  Do you really need all that space?  What about the maintenance and care of the yard?  Downsizing could save you money and time.  Plus a small yard to mow might also be appreciated by the spouse.  Insurance costs could also be lower on a small home as well as utilities.  Increasing your deductible can also help cut your insurance costs. .

Speaking of insurance, what about your car at home.  How many vehicles are you insuring and are they all being used?  Consider selling vehicles you no longer use.  They take up space and cost your money to insure.  Don’t forget to look at the “safe driver” discounts available and “good student” savings if you have a teenage driver in the house.  Good grades do count for something in the insurance world too 

Getting rid of the old gas guzzler would greatly help with the cost to fill the home vehicle.  Being more efficient with running errands around town.  Do everything in one day if possible and make one big trip out of it instead of back and forth every day.  Keep your vehicle(s) tuned up and in good working order.  Don’t forget about your car tires and checking them for low tire pressure.  Just like your big rig, low tire pressure on your car will eat into your miles per gallon you get.

Saving on the clothing.

If you aren’t too picky, consignment stores, thrift stores and yard sales are much cheaper than a retail store especially for kids play cloths.  You can sometimes find some very nice clothing at these places for very little money.  Kids seem to grow faster than you can buy cloths or wear through them at record speed.

Watch for sales and take advantage of them.  Never pay full price for anything, the next sale is just around the corner.  Some stores won’t be undercut, but be prepared to prove a sale price at another store to get a matching deal.

Cruise sale racks.  Look through all the sizes as these racks get mixed up often and you never know what you’ll find where.

Utilities

Your home utilities can also be streamlined a bit.  More and more people are opting for having ONLY a cell phone, including me.  Getting rid of our home phone saved me $50 a month in our home budget.  That’s $600 in a year in my pocket.  If you have kids with cell phones, do you really need that home line too.  Think about it and decide for your own family what you do or don’t need.

Heating and cooling can also be cut.  Lower your thermostat in the winter when no one is home during the day and allow the sun in to help warm up your home naturally for FREE.   Lower the thermostat even more at night in the winter.  Throw another blanket or two on the bed and sleep better in cooler temps.

Now during the warmer months don’t crank the air conditioning so cold that you need to scrap the frost of your windows to see out.  You decide what you can tolerate for heat and adjust accordingly.  Unlike the winter when you want the sun coming into your home, close off your home during the summer from the sun.  If you are running air conditioning, the sun is heating up your home and making the air conditioning run longer and harder.  

Don’t go grocery shopping when you are hungry!  Everything looks good, smells good and you’ll buy more than you ever expected even with a grocery list in hand.  I speak from experience, trust me I know.  And taking kids with you can be even worse.

Make a list and stick to it.  Menu plan, use coupons and take advantage of sales.  Buy things in-season and shop at Farmer’s Markets where available.  Have you ever thought of planting a garden?  It’s good exercise and very rewarding at harvest time.

Some of these things are geared to families and some will work for the single person too.  You decide. 

Easy Truckin is brought to you by Easy Trucking Software. We hope you enjoy it.