Do you ever look at the household expenses in despair? It seems as though you try your best, yet the bills creep up, as does the cost of living. By stopping and evaluating your finances, you will be able to regain control of your expenditure, and as such, you may find that you have money to spare, which you can enjoy on treats, or put away into savings.

Create A Spreadsheet

Start a spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel. On this sheet, you need to list all of your monthly outgoings. Start with your rent or mortgage, and then work through all of the rest. 

On a separate column, put in the monthly income. If this changes every month, you should make your calculations based on the lowest that this will be. 

Include any expenditure such as food, or the costs of running any vehicles that you may own. This sheet will plot all of your necessary spending.

Go Through And Review Your Expenses 

When you go through the outgoings on your bank account, you will no doubt find that you are overspending considerably in several areas. There may be subscriptions that you are no longer enjoying the benefit of. Cancel these. If your mobile phone contract is due for renewal, it may benefit you to see what your supplier can offer you to save you money. Otherwise, start shopping around.

You may notice spending habits that you hadn’t put into perspective. If you’re buying a coffee each morning, you may not realise how much this adds up until you write it all down. 

Reduce Your Heating Costs

Your heating and electricity bill probably counts for a reasonable percentage of your monthly outgoings. As such, this is an area that you really should look at reducing costs in. 

There are many ways that you can save money here. Firstly, you could look at having more economical heating systems fitted. You may want to get a panel heater that can supply efficient energy throughout your home. 

Change Supplier

Another option is to change energy supplier. With lots of choices available on the market, there is a great deal of competition for prices. Find a sustainable supplier with green credentials that will look to provide your gas and power at a much lower price. 

Make sure you regularly check back to ensure that you are still on the best plan for you. Doing a check-up a couple of times a year could save you a considerable sum of money. The same thing can be done with your broadband provider, as well as the companies that supply your home and car insurance. 

Stick To Your Budget

Once you’ve gone through your bills and expenses, you will have a clearer idea of where you can spend money. Make sure you know what your budget is for spending out on food shopping each week, and for any luxury spending. You will need to keep your budget in focus and regularly update your expense onto your spreadsheet to keep yourself, and your household on track. 

We’re very proud to bring you this feature in association with Warme Limited. For more tips and advice, please pay a visit to our lifestyle page.