Basic necessities and household products from soap to towels to window cleaner can get expensive. With the already high cost of living it can start to feel like you’re throwing money down a bottomless well. Thankfully there are a number of excellent tips to save huge amounts of money on household essentials. Here’s the guide.
What Household Items Are You Spending Money On?
Step one is to write down and track which household items you are spending money on each month. Also note down if you used a special coupon, bulk discount or other savings tactic on the items. Tally up how much this adds up to and now you have a starting point to work from. Don’t be surprised if the total amount you’re spending is quite a lot higher than you expected.¹
Name Brands Aren’t Your Friend
In many cases name brands are displayed more prominently in stores, from pharmacies to grocery stores. That’s because big brands pay more money to have their products shown more prominently. Think for yourself and don’t fall for it. Walk down the aisle and buy generic household items whether that means pots and pans, dish detergent, toilet paper, generic medications, toothbrushes and even furniture or tools. You don’t need to get the latest flashiest products with big advertisements. Instead, seek out products which are often of equivalent quality among the generic and house brand items.²
Home Is Where The Savings Are
Instead of picking up a convenient latte or coffee and biscotti in the morning from your favorite – overpriced – coffee chain, consider buying coffee and snacks at home and a reusable mug. The same goes for taking meals to work and snacks. Buy items in bulk and cook at home. Buy multi-packs of toothpaste, cleaning fluid and toilet paper instead of shelling out money every week or two when you run out. There’s no need to buy essentials like food from high-priced delis around the corner from your work when you can make sandwiches ahead of time for 90% less and bring them to work.²
Think Smart, Save Big
There are major savings available to those who think smart. One of the keys is to try to use less disposable items. Disposable, packaged items are made for convenience and they end up wasting a lot of money. Instead of paper towels, use cloth towels. Instead of paper napkins use washable cloth napkins. Rip up old clothes to use as cleaning rags instead of buying pristine new cleaning cloths at the store. Use plastic grocery bags for trash bags instead of buying expensive garbage bags at the store. Don’t buy bottled water, invest in a water filter instead and enjoy months of water instead of heaping plastic into the environment and emptying out your wallet.³
Coupon Superstar
Coupons and rebates are your friend, whether that means clipping them out of physical newspapers and printing them off from online or scanning UPCs from your smart phone. Even if every coupon only saves you 50 cents, over months this can really add up. Be on the lookout for special bulk deals and become a coupon superstar. Sometimes excellent deals come up that don’t last forever due to overstocking or a product being discontinued. These can be the perfect opportunity to load up and save big.¹
Not Everything Has To Be Bought
Another excellent way to save money on essentials and household items is to consider renting some things. Power tools including pressure washers, drills, saws or floor buffers don’t have to be purchased. Instead, go to the local hardware store and rent them. Even high powered vacuums, steam cleaners or special sewing machines and other items can end up being much cheaper to rent than to buy.²
[1] https://www.moneycrashers.com/save-money-household-items/
[2] https://www.thebalance.com/everyday-ways-to-save-453944
[3] https://toughnickel.com/frugal-living/Saving-Money-on-10-Common-Household-Items-I-Rarely-Buy-Them