8 Services You Shouldn’t Be Paying For
If you live on welfare or a low income, you have to find ways to save money. Between couponing, ditching paid TV services and walking more, you might think there is not anything else you can do to save money. Not true! Look at a few of these services you can do yourself (and save a bundle in the process!)
In addition to reducing or cutting out services, it’s also a smart idea to occasional double check that you are receiving all financial benefits that you may be entitled – especially if you circumstances have changed.
Haircuts: Learn to cut your own hair or your children’s hair and save quite a bit of money. Men can save more than $10 a month by purchasing a pair of trimmers and cutting their hair themselves. Women and children can easily save upwards of $30 or more on a haircut. The same goes for coloring your hair: do it yourself and you will pay half of what you would pay at a salon.
Change your oil: Your car needs proper maintenance to ensure it lasts a long time, but oil changes can be a bit pricy. Instead of forking over $50 or more for an oil change, do it yourself. You will need to invest in an oil pan, but after that, the cost is a can of oil. Along those same lines: replace air filters, fill fluids and replace wiper blades yourself to save a few extra dollars.
Repair your clothing: Adding patches, sewing holes and hemming skills are an excellent way to save money. Good stitching will hide holes and general wear and tear so your clothes will last longer. Consider buying a few colorful yards of fabric (on sale of course) and using those to create fun patches in your kid’s clothes.
You can also learn to sew your own clothes, though the savings on this may be negligible when compared to shopping at thrift stores.
Cooking dinner: If you want to save a lot of money quickly, stop eating out. It is much cheaper to purchase groceries at the store and cook dinner for yourself. Not only will you save money, it is often easier to create healthier options at home.
Yard work: Unless you are physically unable to do the work yourself, stop paying someone else to do it and do it yourself. You can take pride in keeping your lawn trimmed and you will burn a few extra calories pushing the lawn mower around.
Car washes: Riding through the automated car washes can be entertaining and it requires no work on your part, but it is also a waste of money. Grab a bucket, sponge and soap and enjoy a sunny day to wash your car yourself. Get the kids involved for a fun family activity.
Coffee: This goes hand in hand with eating out. You can easily make your own coffee at home for a fraction of the cost of fancy coffee shops. Simply changing your coffee habits can easily save you up to $100 per month.
Repair jobs: This last one can be a little tricky. Try fixing the problem on your own before calling a professional and you could save a lot of time and money. If you are unsure how to fix the item you broke, look for how-to videos online. You can even use these videos to learn how to install tile, change an air filter and accomplish a few other household tasks you may otherwise pay for.
What other things can you cut from your monthly budget?
