Housing expenses take up a large amount of your budget. If you are a homeowner, the cost of maintenance, repairs, insurances and taxes can become costly. Ways to reduce housing expenses: Renters:
- If you're close to the end of your lease, find a cheaper place to live. If not, read your lease agreement carefully to find out how much it costs to break it and move out early
- Move in with your parents or other relatives to reduce housing expenses, while you work on improving your finances
- Stay where you are but get a roommate to reduce the cost
Homeowners:
- Rent out an extra room in your house
- Lease your home and move into a commune with friends. Make sure the rent you charge covers your bond repayments as well as insurance, property insurance as well as routine maintenance and repairs
- Sell your home. We know this may seem drastic but if you are paying for a house you truly cannot afford, getting out of debt is a good thing
Lowering Your Utility Bills: The costs of utilities can be very expensive, especially when they don’t have to be. We tend to waste a substantial amount of money on utilities out of habit. For example, having a really long bath every evening or keeping the heater on when you’re not in the room. Suggestions for bringing down utility bills:
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- Replace old showerheads with new low-flow heads
- Use fans not an Air Conditioner to cool your home
- Hang up clothes to dry instead of using a tumble dryer. Not only is this less expensive but hot air wears out your clothes more quickly.
- If you need to replace your washing machine get one that loads from the front rather than the top, this will save you up to 50% on energy as well as save water.
- Take showers rather than baths and limit the time of your shower.
- Never run a dishwasher that is only half full of dishes.
- Fix any leaky taps.
Reducing housing expenses can become an easy process if the above suggestions are taken into account.
