23 Tips to Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown: If you’re trying to save money.

You may be wondering how you can reduce your expenses.

Try to determine how much money you have to spend, create goals for yourself.

And analyze your spending to reduce your expenses to start saving money today.

These changes might seem hard at first.

But switching up your daily life in small ways will add up over time.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown
Reduce Expenses during Lockdown: https://africanarguments.org

See also: Making Money as Hubby

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

1. Add up your bills and expenses.

It is important to determine how much money you are spending each month.

Add up all of your expenses, like your mortgage or rent, car payment, insurance payment, and grocery bill.

  • Include every expense that you have, no matter how small it is.

2. Subtract your expenses from your income to see how much is left.

Look at your income, and then subtract all expenses that you have to pay.

Once you have subtracted all of those bills from your income.

You are left with how much money you have left over to spend.

See also:21 Best Tools for Arts Business in Nigeria

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

3. Write down every time you spend money.

It can be easy to lose track of how much money you spend on a daily basis.

Keep a note in your phone or on paper and write down each time you spend money, no matter how small.

You can review what you are actually spending money on and then decide what you can cut back on.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

4. Create goals for your money.

If you’d like to pay off a debt, set aside money, or save up for a large purchase or trip.

Make those a goal for your money. If you have a goal in mind.

You can start tracking your spending better and meeting deadlines that you set for yourself.

This will help you stop spending money unnecessarily.

  • Don’t get discouraged if you don’t meet your goals in the timeline that you set for yourself.

Read on:11 Reasons to Start Tiger Nut Business in Nigeria

5. Avoid unnecessary purchases.

It can be tempting to buy cigarettes or coffee every day.

But those small purchases add up over time.

Try to avoid spending money on things that you don’t absolutely need.

Until you are sure that you can afford them.

  • Make sure that paying your bills is your number one priority with your money.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

6. Use public transportation as often as possible.

Public transportation is good for the environment and for your wallet.

Look into whether or not public transportation is cheaper than driving your own vehicle.

It could help you save on gas and vehicle upkeep costs.

See also: 17 Tips to Open Bus Service Mini Company in Nigeria

7. Carpool to work with your coworkers.

If you live near your coworkers, see if you can start a carpool schedule with them.

Ask if you can switch off days driving to work.

And pick your coworkers up when it’s your turn to drive.

This will save you gas money and vehicle upkeep expenses.

  • Be sure to do your part in the carpool schedule so that you are not taking advantage of your coworkers.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

8. Check your tire pressure before you drive.

Your car tires have an optimal PSI that they should be at in order to use gas efficiently.

Use a tire pressure gauge to determine what PSI your tires are at.

And check the manual of your vehicle to see what your optimal PSI is.

This will save on fuel costs over time.

  • If your tire pressure is low, you can fill up your tires at an air pump at most gas stations.

Read on: 17 Tips to Open Fertilizer Services Mini Company in Ghambia

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

9. Sell your vehicle if you rarely use it.

If you don’t use your car often, or if you have a vehicle that you don’t drive.

Sell it to get some money in your pocket and reduce expenses like gas and upkeep.

  • Check the Kelly Blue Book value of your car before you sell it so you know how much it is worth.

10. Set your thermostat to an “away” setting when you leave the house.

Turn your thermostat to 65 °F (18 °C) in the winter and 80 °F (27 °C) in the summer to keep your house warm or cool while you are gone.

Check the settings on your thermostat to see if you can program it to do this automatically.

  • You can also set your thermostat to a less extreme setting when you are sleeping.

See also:17 Tips Industrial Services Mini Company in Nigeria

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

11. Buy energy efficient light bulbs.

Replace the light bulbs in your home with bulbs that have an “Energy Star” rating.

These bulbs will cost more up front.

But they use energy more efficiently and will save you money in the long run.

  • You can buy energy efficient light bulbs at most home goods and hardware stores.

12. Unplug your electronics when you aren’t using them.

Even if your devices are off, they are still using energy if they are plugged in.

Unplug your phone, laptop, or other chargeable devices from the wall.

When they are not in use to save money on your electricity bill.

  • Unplugging your devices also gives you protection from power surges.

Read on:18 Tips to Open Printing/Publishing Mini Company in Nigeria

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

13. Take 5 or 10 minute showers.

Taking a shower uses multiple gallons of water each time.

Keep your shower time short by using fewer products.

And soaping up right away once you step in the shower.

Keep your water temperature lukewarm to encourage you to get out quicker, as well.

This will save you money on your water bill over time.

  • Set a timer on your phone to remind you when your time is up.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

14. Cancel your cable if you don’t watch it.

With the prevalence of streaming services, many people don’t watch TV as often as they used to.

If you have noticed that you don’t watch cable anymore.

Cancel your subscription to save money on your monthly expenses.

  • When you call to cancel your cable.
  • Your provider might try to get you to keep your subscription so that they still get your money.
  • Be polite but firm with them.
  • Cancel any subscription services that you aren’t using, as well.
  • These will often take out automatic monthly payments from your account that you might not even notice.

Read on: 17 Tips to Open Stock Clearance Mini Company in Nigeria

15. Make a shopping list before you go to the store and stick to it.

A shopping list gives you a clear idea of what you need and eliminates unnecessary purchases.

Take a look around your kitchen to determine what you need before you go to the store.

And try to stick to your list as you shop.

Try not to go grocery shopping when you are hungry.

You are more likely to buy unnecessary items if you haven’t eaten recently.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

16. Buy fresh foods that are in season.

They will cost less than the fresh food flown in from the other side of the world.

Since the customer has to pay for the fuel that got the food there.

Research the area that you live in to see what produce is in season.

Local produce will often have a sign telling you where it has been grown.

Read on: 17 Tips to Open Boat/Ship Mini Company in Nigeria

17. Cook meals at home as often as possible.

Restaurant food is much more expensive than making a meal at home.

Go out to eat as little as possible, and try to make most of your meals at home.

  • Try cooking meals ahead of time and then putting them in the fridge to reheat later.
  • This will save you time and make it more likely that you won’t go out to eat.
  • Make your lunches at home and take them to work with you so that you are less tempted to spend money on fast food.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

18. Make your coffee at home instead of buying it.

Buying coffee can cost you as much as $7 a day.

Invest in a coffee pot and a thermos to make your own coffee and bring it with you to save money.

  • If you like flavored coffee, you can buy syrups and flavored creamers to make your coffee taste good.

See also:31 Best Ways to Start Building Plasterboards Business in Nigeria

19. Create an emergency fund.

If you don’t already have you an adequate emergency fund set aside.

Specify a goal for how much money you want to add to it every month.

Your fund should be kept in a savings account with your bank.

  • While normally it’s recommended that a two-income couple keep three months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund, during a downturn the recommended amount is six months’ worth instead.
  • This is especially important if you’re in an industry that gets hit hard by a recession (e.g., construction, financial services, food) and if you’re a one-income family.
  • Dual-income families may be safe with three or four months’ worth of savings.
  • If you’re self-employed, you should set aside up to a year’s worth of expenses.

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

20. Pay off debt.

You should always work to be debt free.

But when a recession is coming it’s even more important to do so.

Focus first on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate.

Which is usually your credit card debt.

From here, pay off debts with lower interests rates as you can.

Read on: 21 Tips to Open Security Locks Mini Company in Nigeria

Working to lower your debt as much as possible.

Reducing your debts will lower your monthly expenses.

And give you a better chance of surviving any Pandemic.

If you lose your job or need to cut down on spending.

  • Money saved from not having to pay debt repayments can then be saved for your emergency fund or otherwise saved.
  • Saved money can be invested in securities when their prices drop during  any Pandemic.

See also: 23 Tips to Open Building Plasterboards Mini Company in Nigeria

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

21. Create additional income streams.

In  any Pandemic, there’s always the chance that you might lose your job. Your primary focuses should be to keep your current job and be ready to enter the market again for a new one if you lose it (keep an updated resume, investigate job opportunities, etc.). However, you can also increase your financial security by creating separate income streams. These can be a second job, an online business, or any form of passive income.

  • Even if you can only make an additional #500 or #1,000 per month, this extra income can help you get through tough time if your primary source of income dries up.

22. Talk it over.

Sit down with every member of your household and go over your finances.

How you resolve and differences in your approach to money.

Will have a profound effect on your relationship’s chances of succeeding.

  • Now is the perfect time to set an example for your children.
  • And show them how a family can pull together during tough times and everyone can chip in.

See also: 32 Tips to Open Ironmongery Business in Nigeria

Reduce Expenses during Lockdown

23. Analyze your spending.

If you find you’re having trouble getting by on the amount of money you bring in.

Start by getting a sense for where that money is going.

Jot down a list of your known monthly expenses, like rent, utilities, transportation, etc.

Then use your three most recent months of credit card.

And bank statements to categorize your other spending into food.

Household necessities, healthcare, entertainment, or other.

Figure out on average how much you spend each month in each category, and use this as a baseline.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like