6 EASY WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES

Money, unfortunately, doesn't grow on trees. As our economy continues to lurch from crisis to crisis many households are struggling to maintain incomes. At some point thinking about how we can reduce our outgoings is a smart plan, even if it's only in preparation for the worst.

Here at Low.ie we care about helping people save money so we're starting to put together a collection of information abou how to save money on your household outgoings. Here's 6 easy tips to get you started.

Have Internet, phone and TV service? Move all of your accounts to one provider and you might be able to save seriously on the combined cost. Sometimes your bundling might be placing mobile phones, internet and landline services together.

Check with the various providers to see if they provide a bundle that could save you money.

Do you really need the premium cable or satellite package that you subscribe to? Is Sky Sports or Movies costing you lunch every day? Are you getting a real benefit from Netflix or other online subscriptions?

Examine your list of monthly expenses, and determine what you can live without – short term or long term.

Groceries can take a big bite out of a budget, but they don't have to take a big bite out of yours. If you want to start getting to grips with your grocery spending, start clipping coupons, shopping the sales, and shop in cheaper stores.  Does it matter if you shop in Lidl over Dunnes? Can you afford to be a snob about buying your food?

Top tip: Most stores have a "reduced to clear" section for food that is close to sell by, If you're shopping for today's meals then you can get some real bargains.

Insurance is necessary, but costly. Often we stick with one provider because of inertia. Shop around for a better car insurance rate, and you may just shave hundreds of euro off your current premium. Can't find a better rate? Talk to your current provider to see if there are discounts that you are missing out on. Do they offer a multi-car discount for customers with multiple policies? A student discount? A good driver discount? If you have homeowners insurance, Health Insurance or Life Insurance be sure to review those policies as well.

(We don't like to blow our own horn, but at Low.ie we slash commission's by between 80% and 100% to give you a cheaper premium. So, if you want to reduce your Life Insurance costs, you might want to get in touch.)

Do you dread opening your utility bills each month? If so, there's a lot that you can do to reduce your bill. Install a programmable thermostat, and set it to run less when no one is home; turn off lights when they aren't in use; wash your laundry in cold water; turn down the temperature on your hot water heater. Start looking around, and you'll find lots of ways to reduce your energy consumption and your energy bills.

A big tip is this one, if you spend a lot of time at home during the day reduce the number of cups of tea you drink. Boiling the kettle consumes way more electricity than you'd imagine

You don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun, so examine your entertainment spending; and see if there are places where you can make cuts. Could you rent movies instead of seeing them in the theatre? Enjoy free concerts instead of paid concerts? Check out books at the library instead of buying them? Go on a picnic instead of eating out? Challenge yourself to have more fun for less money – and see where you end up.

These are only scratching the surface of ways you can save yourself money in your everyday life. Stay tuned to the blog to see more cost saving tips.