July is National Savings Month in South Africa. Here is a bumper list of savings ideas to either get you going or to boost what you are already doing. Choose as many as you want and let’s save!
In your home
- Switch off the geyser for most of the day. You only need it to heat up water before your shower or bath.
- Switch off lights in empty rooms.
- Don’t boil the kettle all the time. Instead, keep hot water hot in a thermos flask for several electricity-saving cups of tea.
- Unplug appliances: Even when they’re turned off, appliances and electronics on standby draw electricity that can amount to between 10% and 20% of your electricity bill.
- In winter, use electric blankets rather than a heater in the bedroom. A small heater easily uses four times as much electricity as an electric blanket.
- The stove is one of the heaviest users of electricity. When cooking, match pots and pans to plates of equal size. A small pot on a large plate means the heat around the pot is wasted.
- It’s always cheaper to use a kettle for boiling water than a pot on the stove.
- Plan your meals: writing out which meal you will cook on which night in advance, will help you to only buy what you need and to not grab takeaways because you’ve run out of time or ideas.
- Clean your house with old-school methods like bicarbonate of soda or vinegar and lemon juice instead of expensive cleaning products.
- Buy good quality dishwashing liquid. The cheapest brands are not very concentrated, which means you use more of it and have to buy it more often.
For your health
- Want to save money fast? Stop smoking!
- Drink water, instead of expensive and unhealthy soft drinks.
- Cooking your own food is healthier and more cost effective than eating takeaways.
- Replace chips or sweets with fruit or raw veggies, such as tomatoes, carrot sticks, cucumbers or sugarsnap peas, as snacks.
- Cut down on alcohol. Your body and your bank account will thank you.
- You don’t need a gym subscription to get fit. Walk or jog around your neighbourhood or even around your office building in your lunch hour, or buy a skipping rope to get your heart rate up. You can also do online fitness classes.
- Save on medical expenses by going to a GP that charges medical aid rates.
- If you don’t have a medical aid, negotiate discounts on doctors’ visits in exchange for paying cash.
- Always ask for generic medicines – they are usually much cheaper.
- Visit a pharmacy clinic instead of a GP for mild complaints – it will cost you much less.
Transport tips
- Form a carpool for getting to and from work, or to get your children to and from school.
- Think before you drive. Plan your day and week to cut out unnecessary trips, and look for opportunities to walk instead of drive somewhere.
- Park in free zones, such as open parking instead of undercover at shopping centres.
- Drive wisely: Make sure your tire pressure is right. Don’t brake too harshly. Stay within the speed limits. These are all things that can extend the life of your car AND keep fuel costs down.
- Keep your car well maintained to avoid huge repair bills in future. By caring for your car, you’ll keep it in good service for longer.
- Check your car’s wheel alignment and shock absorbers. When they are in good working order, your car uses far less fuel.
- Rotate and balance your car’s tyres every 10 000km to ensure even wear. This will help you get the most out of a set of tyres.
- Check your tyre pressure regularly. If the tyres are underinflated, your car uses more fuel. Considering it costs nothing to put air in your tyres, this is the easiest way to save money.
- Be aware of when the fuel price goes up (or hopefully comes down!) so that you can time filling up as best you can.
- Stick to the speed limit. Driving faster to shorten the journey time is a false economy – it wastes fuel and you could end up with a speeding fine, and you don’t actually save much time. For example, you will possibly save 20 minutes over 320km travelling at an average 128km/h instead of 112km/h but the additional fuel could be as much as R120.
