Learn to cook….yes I know you cook every evening. But try not to use instant meals from a packet or box as these are very expensive. Rather try a few recipes, swap with friends, look up the recipes on the net. It takes no longer to make spaghetti bolognaise from scratch than from a box but costs half the price, as does, chicken a la king, beef stroganoff or a stew. Use packets of soup for casserole bases as these are cheap and have similar spices to the box meals.
If you live in a complex or are friendly with the neighbours try starting a dinner club, where everyone meets at one person’s house for supper on a rotational basis. It is cheaper to feed many and you don’t have to cook every night. It is also a cheap way to socialise to boot!
Buy in bulk! Coke wholesalers, Makro, Trade centre among other offer great discounts on bulk purchases. Take advantage of specials and split the spoils and the costs with your friends and family.
Take your supper meat out the freezer in the morning and leave it in a bowl inside the microwave (to keep flies away and stay out of direct sunlight) to defrost. When you get home you do not need to run your microwave to defrost your meat.
Fix any water leaks immediately, a dripping tap can use up to 420 litres of water per year. To test for a water leak, turn off the stopcock and see if your water meter is running, it should not be.
Switch off your stopcock on the incoming water pipe if you go away. If any leaks occur or you left a tap dripping this will be of no consequence and won’t increase the cost for your vacation.
Obey the road rules. Traffic fines are an expensive unforeseen cost that if left unpaid could land you in jail. The 2 minutes you saved skipping the stop or speeding can never make up the cost of a fine.
Save for luxury purchases. Do not charge them to your credit card. If you don’t pay interest on the luxuries you buy, you can save between 17% and 25% of the cost of the item.
Pay all accounts on time! I cannot emphasis this enough. Late payment fees, interest, penalty interest and administration fees add up. Not to mention how much more you pay if you are handed over to a lawyer for collection.
Extra penalties are charged on some accounts: E.g. Electricity, there is interest on overdue amount, R 25 final notice fee and R 150 reconnection fee if disconnected. That starts to add up and is probably the equivalent to a month’s water bill.
If you cannot meet your monthly instalment, phone your creditor. They are more likely to help you if you called them rather than the other way around. They may even waiver some penalties and interest if you make a firm arrangement and stick to it. They just want their money after all.
Don’t under estimate the power of a phone call. Call every credit card supplier and ask for a reduction on your current interest rate. Use the fact that you have been a longstanding client of theirs or that you pay more than the minimum balance every month to your advantage. If your credit record is good, tell them you have been offered a card at a lower interest rate, most suppliers will match that rate.
Not all these saving tips will apply to everyone, you may already be using some. But if you are not, it’s never to late to start. Be creative with money saving ideas, try to use your savings to create further savings. If you are conscious of saving money you will be amazed at how quickly you can become debt free.
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