Tips to reduce your household spending.

We South Africans may think we have stretched our household budgets to the absolute limit,but this is not always the case.Some of us spend far more money than we realise on things that need not be so expensive.

Trim your grocery bill to the absolute minimum where possible.If that means changing the store you buy from then so be it.If you really want to free up some cash shop around for the best deal and you may be surprised by how much you will save.Try and stop buying non-essential grocery items like snackfoods and sweets.All these items really add up.

Eat at home, we all know in most cases there is a huge difference between the price we would pay for a meal cooked at home and the same meal at a restaurant.Restaurants need to put a pretty big mark-up on their menus to cover all their costs and you the customer are the one to pay it.Don’t fool yourself into thinking takeaways will work out cheaper all the time, sit down and really work out how much each option costs.Don’t forget about about your takeaway coffee on the way to work each morning,if you cut these out it is also a great way to save about R10 a day.

If you do have a domestic cleaner consider reducing their work hours if possible.This will mean you having to pick up the slack and do the cleaning they don’t get to but you will be saving money along the way.

Lastly stop any other unnecessary spending on clothes and other luxuries.Suspend your satellite television service until you feel your finances have settled again.All of these belt-tightening ideas can be temporary or permanent changes in the way you run your household.

The first step in the right direction is to sit down and assess exactly what your necessities are and exactly how desperate your situation is.Many people’s financial struggles are due to the repayment of excessive debt and if you can see no solution to your trouble yourself contact your lenders and they may be able to assist you.