6 expenses you should cut down on to save money

It’s no secret that throughout the world there is a cost of living crisis. Before looking at where you can cut costs, you may want to create a monthly budget. Here you can list all your monthly expenses and compare this with your income. This budget will help you identify your spending habits to gain a better grasp of where your money is going.

Once you know where your money is going, you can start identifying the necessities and start reducing your expenses and monthly payments.

Read: How to start a budget in 6 simple steps and get a free handy budget template

After creating a budget, these are the expenses that you can consider reducing or completely eliminating from that budget, to reduce your monthly expenses and save money:

Subscriptions

Subscriptions that seem cheap initially will eventually add up. Take a look at your subscription services, such as the streaming services that you are currently paying for. If you are not using them to their full potential, it may be worth canceling them or reducing the cost by opting for a cheaper plan.

Examples of these subscriptions include Netflix, DSTV, ShowMax, YouTube Premium, Spotify and Apple Music etc. If you’re trying to cut back on some of your expenses, you should definitely look into cutting back on some of these subscriptions. 

A few questions to ask yourself when you consider the subscriptions you should cancel:

• Do I use this often enough to warrant this amount?
• Do I have a similar subscription?

Insurance Premiums 

Often, once we’ve bought the car and home and signed up for funeral cover, we never go back and check what we’re actually paying for these premiums. 

Hidden within your contract, is probably something about an annual increase of premiums. Do yourself and your pocket a favour, go back and check what you’re paying on these premiums. Following that, do some research and price comparisons so that you ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. 

At Meerkat, we can consolidate all your funeral plans into one affordable monthly premium, often resulting in you saving money. We also offer certainty of premium so you don't have to worry about an increase of your premiums.

Fill in the contact form today and we'll contact you.

Reduce the amount of takeout you buy

Of course this only applies if you are spending money on eating out or those very convenient delivery services. While the price of groceries continues to increase, eating home-cooked food is still a better financial decision for you and your family.

Check out these budget-friendly recipes from Cape Town Magazine for some inspiration for home-cooked meals.

• Before going to a grocery store, always make a shopping list and try to stick to it.
• Keep an eye out for supermarket deals, discount vouchers, and special offers and avoid impulse buying (
• If possible, opt to buy a generic or the store brand as these items are usually cheaper.
• A good idea here is to also do some research into a price comparison amongst the popular retailers. You could find that the milk is cheaper at one store, but that the meat is cheaper at a different store.

Watch out for how much you’re spending on airtime and data

1. Yes, we all need to be able to contact people and to be contactable, but consistently topping up your airtime and data can end up costing you quite a bit. 
2. It's important to track how often you buy airtime and data. If you don’t want to consider reducing your airtime and data usage, would it be cheaper to get an unlimited data plan, for example?

Gym membership

You know those fitness goals you set at the beginning of the year? Have you been sticking to them and going to the gym? Even if you have, instead of having a gym membership, can you do your workouts at home instead?

Working out at home will not only save you money with the gym membership costs, it will also save you money on fuel and not having to drive there.

Get rid of your debt

There’s only so much you can cut down on if you have an overwhelming amount of debt. One of the best ways to improve your cash flow is to reduce or get rid of your debt.

The first step to getting rid of your debt is to list all of your debt. This includes credit card debt, personal loans, store cards etc.

There are two popular ways you can try and tackle your debt:

1. Snowball Method: The snowball method involves tackling the smallest debt first and then gradually working your way up to the larger ones. This means you can build momentum, helping you focus on the smaller debts and giving you a sense of motivation to keep going.
   
   With this method, you aim to pay off your smallest debts first. The reasoning behind it is that by paying off your smallest debts first, you gain momentum to pay off your debts faster. 
2. Avalanche Method: Tackle the debt with the highest interest rate first. By doing this, you can save money in the long run as you’ll pay less in interest over time. Once the highest interest rate debt has been paid off, you can then start tackling the next highest interest rate debt.

High interest means paying more on your debt. The quicker you able to tackle these loans, the quicker you are able to get rid of your debt.

With both of these methods, once you’ve paid up one debt, you use that money as an extra amount towards tackling the next bill. 

Whichever method you choose, make sure to have a solid plan in place and stick to it. It takes dedication and hard work, but it’s possible to get out of debt and improve your financial situation.

If both of these methods seem out of reach and you seem to just be drowning in debt with no end in sight, you should consider debt counselling at Meerkat. 

We’ve helped thousands of South Africans become debt-free with our debt management solution that aims to not only help you become debt-free, but saves you money during the process too. 

Read: Debt counselling explained

What is debt counselling?

Debt counselling is a debt relief measure that was introduced by the National Credit Act to help consumers struggling to pay all their debts.

When you apply for debt counselling, a Debt Counsellor will determine whether or not you are over-indebted.

If you are found to be over-indebted, they will create a repayment plan, taking into account your daily expenses. This will help you have some breathing room during the month so that you don't have to worry about making all your monthly repayments.

Read: How do you know if you're over-indebted

Why debt counselling?

• You can save up to 50% on your monthly debt repayments.
• Your interest rates on your loans can be reduced significantly, saving you money.
• It's a regulated process that will help you take control of your finances and help you enjoy your life again.
• Your assets, including your home and your car, will be protected. No creditor can take legal action against you when you are undergoing debt counselling.

In the image below are examples of how much the Dlomo family saved when signing up for debt counselling with Meerkat:

Find out how the Dlomo family went from over-indebted with an amount of R591 157 to debt-free thanks to Meerkat.

Read: A young family went from over-indebted to debt-free thanks to Meerkat

When trying to reduce your expenses, try to find a balance between cutting back and still having the freedom to enjoy yourself. Make sure your budget is realistic and achievable.

By making your budget too strict and allowing for little to no room for entertainment, or things you enjoy doing with your money, you could be setting yourself up for failure.