Photograph Courtesy Of Ruocaled via Flickr
In this age of constantly shrinking budgets and added workloads, the need to free up every dollar and minute is vital to maintaining a healthy home and budget. Here are three ways the smart home keeper can save both time and money. You can find more general ways to save money on your monthly expenses here.
Fill Up the Dish Washer
One of the biggest money and time wasters in the kitchen comes when it is time to clean up. Doing dishes only takes ten minutes per meal, but that time adds up over the course of a month. Instead of doing the dishes twice a day, fill up the dishwasher and turn it on every other day.
This will reduce your water and dish detergent bill by seventy-five percent. In addition, you will save around ten minutes per day. Over a month, this translates to an additional five hours you will have to spend with the family.
Cut the Cord
Cable television has rapidly become one of the largest bills in a family’s entertainment budget. In addition, watching television is a good way of distracting family members from making the most of their time together.
Instead, utilize other the air transmissions to get local weather and news, and use the extra time and cash to take the family out on a nice trip to the museum. Every moment counts – repurpose time that would have been wasted and make it full of cherished memories.
Make Monthly Meals
One of the greatest money sinks a family can run across is found not in the home, but down the street at a fast food joint. The reason for this is simple, few people have enough time to make a meal from scratch every day.
Sadly, this means that the average family will be spending a great deal of money on things that are not food – for instance the advertising used to convince family members to stop at that particular restaurant.
Instead, make large meals and separate them into small containers. It is possible to make ten meals in the time it takes to make one, so create frozen packets of instant dinners. A home maker can use these to save money and time, when in a pinch for both.
Conclusion
Look at the family budget – there are almost always items on the list that only serve to drive up costs and take time away from genuine bonding moments. Identify and eliminate them to obtain the best of both.