According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the cost of owning a home rose from $30,600 in 1940 to $119,600 in 2000, with prices adjusted for inflation. In 2016 alone, U.S. home prices rose twice as fast as the inflation rate, according to a report from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index. Conversely, the average household income has not risen commensurately with the cost of housing. The median household income in the United States reached $59,039 in 2016, its highest since 1999.
Saving money at home may be a daunting task for some, but you can take the following five easy steps to get you started.
Opt to Serve Simple Meals to Guests
Hosting friends and other family members at your home is something you can enjoy. You may think about inviting people to dinner because the evening is generally the most convenient time of day to gather. But inviting guests over for brunch could be a better option.
Instead of preparing expensive and time-intensive dishes such as steaks, casserole, roasted whole chicken or turkey, and other heavy-prep dishes, you could go for pancakes and scrambled eggs with bacon or sausages and coffee instead.
Collect Your Loose Change in a Coin Jar
From day to day, you spend cash at the store or at the train station, and you’re stuck with plenty of change at the end of the week. You can set up a large coin jar that you place at a central location at home so that everyone can drop their spare change in it.
Once the jar is full, you can take it to a supermarket or bank and exchange the coins for cash that you can use for purchases. You could also use your spare change to save up for buying gift cards.
Schedule Routine HVAC System Maintenance
Simple maintenance practices could also save you a great deal of money. For example, by performing routine maintenance inspections of your HVAC system, you can save money on your system’s operational costs. These maintenance checks could help you avoid potentially expensive repair bills.
Install Sink Water Filters and Curb Bottled Water Usage
According to Business Insider, at an average of $1.22 per gallon, people spend 300 times the cost of tap water to drink bottled water. You can cut down on the amount your family spends on drinking water by simply installing sink water filters so that you don’t have to pour so much money into buying bottled water.
Repurpose Old Household Items
Instead of disposing of items that seem no longer useful or that are broken, you can repurpose them. You can make Christmas decorations from broken CDs, turn a broken picture frame into an earring holder, and make a new bench out pieces from an old one. You can also create summer flip-flops from old ones.
Saving money does not have to seem boring. If you are committed to doing it, you may find out how much fun it can be when you have extra money for activities you want to do. And if you’re interested in how big people manage their wealth, take a look at how Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation manages their stocks and holdings.