7 Household Expenses You Can (And Should) Cut

(tina kugler)

Looking to cut back on your spending, or just put more in savings? You might be leaking money without realizing it with some common household expenses.

Here are some tips from WiseBread that might be helpful if you’re looking to free up some cash.

1. Cable TV – it’s not as easy to cut the cord as it once was unless you live in a market with Aereo, since broadcasters have figured out what cord-cutters are up to and limited streaming access to their shows to cable subscribers. You can still save a substantial amount of money by ditching your cable provider.

2. Cleaning products and fancy toiletries – some things aren’t replaceable, but you can clean everything from a clogged drain to gross laundry to your hair with vinegar and/or baking soda.

3. Late fees. Automated payments can help with these…until the automated payments fail, of course. Set up calendar reminders on your phone (or on an old-fashioned paper calendar) so you avoid paying late fees on bills that you can afford to pay.

4. Landscaping services. Would you use the time you would normally spend doing yardwork doing something that earns more money than you pay someone else to mow your lawn? If not, don’t pay someone to do your yardwork unless you have physical limitations that prevent it.

5. Phone bills – It happens that the Wise Bread post that this list comes from was sponsored by Skype, but this is a good place to cut back. Don’t limit your cuts to long-distance–can you cut back on your texting plan by substituting a service like Google Voice to message people you text with frequently?

6. Subscriptions and memberships – Do you get any magazines you never read? Belong to professional organizations that aren’t helpful to you? Pay for a gym membership that you never use? Ditch them all.

7. Credit monitoring services - These don’t do much that you can’t do yourself by keeping a close eye on your credit reports yourself, and you can check each credit bureau’s report once a year.

7 Unnecessary Household Expenses You Can Cut Today [WiseBread]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist