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HomeBlog BudgetingWant To Save On Household Expenses? Stop Eating Out
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Want To Save On Household Expenses? Stop Eating Out

July 25, 2015 by National Debt Relief

calculator on top of a plateDo you want to save on household expenses? Of course you do. There are so many expenses that you need to make at home. You have all your utility bills to pay off. That includes your electricity, gas and water bills. You also have your subscriptions like your cable and Internet connections. Part of your monthly expenses also includes your debt payments like your mortgages, car loan and credit cards. Add to this your food budget and you have a lot of expenses to finance on a monthly basis.

An article published on CheatSheet.com revealed that a family of four would need an estimate of $58,000 each year to live comfortably. That is around $4,833 each month. The sad thing is, the median income in the country is $52,000. That means the majority of American households are a couple of thousand dollars short. Those under the poverty level earn $24,000 a year and that puts them at a huge disadvantage when it comes to their household budget.

The good news is, there are many ways that you can save on your household expenses. You just have to know what you are willing to sacrifice in order to stay within your budget.

One of the areas that you can save on is your food budget. In fact, there is a study that reveals how you can save a lot of money each month on food – and it does not involve what you spend while grocery shopping.

Stop dining out so you can lower your monthly expenses at home

One article from Yahoo.com revealed how the prices of food served at home and those in US restaurants have increased since 2014. Based on the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of serving food at home increased by 0.6% in May – compared to 12 months before. That is a relatively small increase if you compare it to the 3% increase of eating out.

According to the article, if you really want to save on your household expenses, you need to start using your kitchen more often. You need to start eating at home – and not take out. You need to start cooking your meals from scratch and eat them at home because that will save you more money in your budget.

Based on the details provided in the USDA.gov, in May of 2015, the total food expenses that were served at home reached $60.1 billion. In comparison, the food served in restaurants reached $62.5 billion. We are spending a lot more by eating out. Since the increase in food served at home is lower than those served away from home, you will realize just how big the saving will be if you keep on eating in your house.

Here are some benefits that you will get if you start eating at home – at least, benefits that go beyond what you will save on your household expenses.

  • You can sharpen your cooking skills. What better way to be an expert in cooking than by practicing it at home? Cooking is something that everyone can do – as long as you have the patience and the determination to learn, you can cook meals for your family. Of course, your first attempts might leave a lot to be desired but you will get better in time. That is for certain.
  • You can choose what your family will eat. Another benefit is you get to choose what you will feed your family. When you eat out, everyone can choose from the menu. You can argue so they will choose healthier meals but why go through all that? When you feed them at home, they are forced to eat what you put on the table.
  • You can eat healthy meals. Speaking of healthy meals, you can guarantee that everything that you put in your plate is healthy. From the cooking oil to the seasoning and all the ingredients – all of these will be something that you have chosen. If your spouse needs to lower their cholesterol, you can control what they eat by choosing carefully what you will use in every meal.

There are other financial benefits that you will get when you start eating at home. You can save on gas because you do not have to drive to the restaurant just to eat. You do not have to leave a tip. You can do other things while you are cooking too. It saves you money and time.

If that is not enough reason to eat at home, then what is?

Tips to save on your food expenses at home

Among all your household expenses, what you spend on food is something that you can fully control. It is very easy to cut down on food costs compared to your other expenses. You do not have to take drastic measures in order to save. You can keep your family full and healthy and still save a lot on your expenses. Unlike subscriptions, you do not have to fully terminate their services in order to lower your spending. You just have to implement the right tips that will allow you to maximize what you can save on your food costs. Here are some things that you can do.

  • Consolidate your shopping schedules. There is much to gain when you consolidate your shopping schedule. You get to save your time. You also get to save on gas. It just takes a bit more planning in order to pull this off but that is more beneficial for you than you know. When you are forced to plan, you get to take more time before you make purchases. You get to think about what you will buy and it makes you think more of how much you are willing to spend. It is easier to budget your household expenses if you have less shopping schedules.
  • Buy in bulk. Since you will be having less shopping schedules, you will be forced to buy in bulk. This is a good thing because you generally pay less per piece if you buy them in huge quantities. Companies usually price bulk items cheaper because they want you to buy more of their products. So if you want to save money on your food expenses, you need to start thinking about buying in bulk. Just be careful to buy only what you know you can consume before the expiration date. If you are buying a month’s worth of bananas, for instance, not all of them should be ripe. That way, the other bananas will have more time before they are overripe. Remember this when buying your produce.
  • Plan your meals. Since you have a shopping schedule and you will be buying in bulk, it is very important to plan your meals. If you will buy in bulk, you can plan to have chicken meals for one whole week. Research recipes so you will know what ingredients you can buy in bulk. It will not only help you save on household expenses, it will also allow you to save time – since you already know what you will buy in the store. It will also help you stick to your budget. If it is not on the list, then do not buy it – or at least, think twice before you proceed with that purchase.
  • Use cash when making purchases. If you want to stick to your budget, it is very helpful to use cash during your shopping errands. Put your money in an envelope and bring that with you. It is your choice if you want to bring your credit card in case of emergencies. If you decide to bring it, make sure that you can control yourself to keep from using it for unnecessary expenses.

These tips will really help you with your household budget. If you want more tips, here is a video from the Inside Edition about a frugal mom. She gives us tips on how you can save money on your usual expenses.

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Moderate National Debt Relief Caller: Charlotte Transcribed WE 1/24/2021 Charlotte: Before I begin, I have to let you know that our call may be recorded. Can you tell me, how did you first hear about our National Debt Relief? JOAN: Oh, I don't know. I don't remember. I don't know how I heard about it. Charlotte: What made you decide to work with them? JOAN: Well, obviously, I needed to consolidate my debt. Charlotte: Tell me about the service program that they provided you with. JOAN: Well, I'm not done. But for me, it’s costly. What I did not like about it was that they add on. They say it's going to be X amount of dollars. But then what they do is they say, “Oh, well, we found another creditor that you need to…” So that'll be at a different part of the month and I don't like staggered bills. If I'm gonna pay a bill, whether it's to the phone company, the insurance company, whatever it might be, I want to pay that bill once a month. That's the only drawback. Charlotte: So let me get this. Normally, they are collecting the bills upfront. And then they work to get them paid off at a different rate. So everything wasn't collected all at once, if that's what I'm hearing correctly. JOAN: No, no, no. Every month, money is taken out of your account. And they pay X amount of dollars. Like let's say you owe $5,000 with Citibank, $500 in Credit One, whatever. They work out a deal with them and then they say, “Well, you have to pay $350 a month.” And they'll pay $20 a month towards -- they give you like around about how long it's going to take. Two years, two and a half years. And then they work it out that way. Charlotte: Now, what did you think about your negotiator? JOAN: I don't know. I just called up. It's a completely different department. So when you call up to sign up, it's very different. I don't remember that. It's just that they collected all the information. It was easy for me. I didn't have to go through and find whatever bills I wanted to put in the debt relief. They did that. Charlotte: So say you have questions or concerns. How did you get your questions or concerns addressed? JOAN: I would just ask and they answered it. They're very helpful like that. They'll answer any questions you have. And if they don’t know, they will find out. Charlotte: So was there not a particular person that you spoke with? JOAN: No, you don’t have one person that you deal with that just handles your account. Once you do – they’re like headhunters. Until you sign up, you're going to have that one person and even other people calling. Once your name is out there, they're going to keep calling you. So, once you sign up, then it's whoever answers the phone. It’s customer service. Charlotte: How comfortable did you feel working with National Debt Relief through this process? JOAN: I felt very comfortable, very safe. I was not worried about anything. Charlotte: Is there anything about this process that you would have liked to seen handled differently? JOAN: Yes. The way the payments come out. I'd rather have them one instead of … Charlotte: Everywhere. JOAN: Right. Well, not everywhere. For the most part, the bulk of them were. But then if there's one here, one there, they don't just extend it to another payment. And then the payments change, like the payment amount. You could pay $20 for six months, and then all of a sudden, it's $80 for the next three months, so you really don't know. Charlotte: So if you have to rate this experience on a scale of one to five, five is you’d recommend to friends, one you're pretty dissatisfied… JOAN: No. I would definitely recommend it to a friend. Charlotte: How would you say working with National Debt Relief has impact your life? JOAN: Well, it did help until I hit a speed bump. I'm in the middle of a divorce and my husband closed our checking account, of course. But so far, as a matter of fact, that's why I thought you were calling. I have to postpone the next month, so hopefully, they'll be able to postpone it, because I've been postponing it for a few months. Charlotte: Would it be okay if I posted your comments as a review on our public website for National Debt Relief? Because you did give us some really good feedback. JOAN: Yes, but not using my name. Charlotte: Okay, I will make it anonymous for you. I will also send over a link so that you can have it as a record for yourself at jdola20@yahoo.com. JOAN: Yes, but do not put that public. Charlotte: Oh, no, no, no. That doesn't go public. Definitely. How would you say working with National Debt Relief has impact your life. JOAN: Well, really, it would have helped if I could have stayed on the program. Charlotte: We’re recorded.

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