Wendy has been looking more consciously at her income and expenses lately. She sees that there is a lot she can save on. She shares her insights about her.
I never paid attention to the little ones. It didn’t matter if I had $ 200 or $ 2000 in my account – it went well. Saving and searching for offers I found for (Sorry for my french) old type socks and goat wool. But now that I save a lot and pay my student debt, I also have to believe it. And I admit, it’s pretty fun to find creative ways to save money.
1. Save energy
Our fixed energy contract expires in December 2023. Until then we pay € 150 per month. My boyfriend and I will take energy saving measures. We can’t do everything in our rented house, but we have glued a radiator film behind the heating. There is now a time switch on the WiFi connection, which turns off between 11pm and 7am. We take shorter showers and now use a space-saving shower head. It actually works really well!
I no longer set the washing machine at sixty degrees for towels, but at forty degrees. Clothes now last half an hour at thirty instead of forty degrees. All a little lower. The position is now that we receive € 900 from the energy supplier. Even if the cold months are yet to come, in the end we will have a few hundred euros back. Ka-ching!
2. Save on transportation
Jeroen recently changed jobs and was able to rent a car from the company. We didn’t. Together with a parking permit and extra petrol, it costs us € 300 more per month. Plus that he would still deliver 200 euros a month if he wanted to rent. That’s a savings of € 500. Hadn’t I been so aware of money before? Then we definitely would have done it. But the Toyota Aygo that we already have, still works well. So: big savings.
3. Save on food
We are true gourmets and we love luxury food. Delicious croissants in that French bakery, fresh fish at the market or just order food. Now we make a shopping list every week and stick to it getting better and better. We also get fruit and vegetables from the market which makes a huge difference to the supermarket. We eat less meat. Thanks to these choices we save from € 50 to € 60 per week.
4. Save on food and travel
As true Burgundians we love too go out for dinner and weekends out of town. We have been abroad four times last year. We also went out to eat several times. Now we do it less and make it fun at home. We choose more consciously where we really want to go. Shall we save for a weekend away? On the other hand, you eat less out or eat less in the city. You will definitely save € 100 per month.
5. Save on subscriptions
Now we live together and this means for us: no more double subscriptions. Two separate Netflix accounts are not required. We also opt for one or at most two streaming services. This also saves us around € 30 each month.
Do what works
We can in particular go shopping and order food. The hospitality sector is also becoming more expensive. Cooking together at home is just as fun. What I’ve noticed is that you don’t have to be a super saver right away. If you normally spend money and make informed choices, you will go a long way. What works for you? The solution is much closer than you think.
