CENTRE COUNTY — If you read my last article, you have a monthly budget and a pretty good idea of where your money is coming from and where it’s going. My guess is you found groceries and utilities to be some of your biggest expenses. Here are some suggestions about how to possibly trim costs in those areas.
For groceries, I would suggest getting a membership to something like Sam’s Club. While it’s an upfront cost, the savings I get from filling up my 17-gallon tank throughout the year pay for the membership.
One word of caution, you will still need to run out to other grocery stores to fill out your weekly shopping, so while at Sam’s Club, focus on non-perishable items, such as beans, pasta, coffee, soup or things that will last in the freezer for a while. I try to head to the Club only once a month so I avoid extra spending and the temptation of the TVs right at the entrance.
An alternative to Sam’s is setting up subscriptions for groceries via Amazon, where you can often save around 10% per item. Just make sure to cancel the subscription(s) when you no longer need the item. Being more mindful of the groceries can also make it easier to meal prep and avoid eating out as much. I know this is cliche advice, but that’s because it does work.
For utilities, I am thinking of electricity, internet, water and cellphone. Without drastic cuts to electricity or water usage, you probably won’t see much in the way of savings, so just take the nice hot shower.
To save on the phone bill, try to stay on or get on a friends and family plan. Maybe you can’t get all the features or the newest phones, but it’s worth the savings. You should also research if there are benefits that come with your phone plan: deals on streaming, coupons at restaurants, cheaper hotel stays. If not, look into competitors who might have those extras built into their plan.
As for the internet, I have a personal rule where I don’t pay more than $40/month for the service. If that means taking a lower speed, I will manage. For the vast majority of your internet usage, you don’t need more than 25 Mbs, so don’t pay for extra. If you are getting cable through your internet provider, find out if you can save money by getting rid of the cable add-on.
If you want to keep the cable that’s fine, but in that case, look at the video streaming services you pay for monthly. Picking between cable and streaming is an easy way to save money. Most of us can’t absorb that much content in one month, especially with all the free content on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. Really take the time to investigate how many subscriptions you have a month, whether these are for streaming services (Hulu, AppleTV+, etc.), or music services: Spotify, Amazon Music, SoundCloud.
My suggestion is to keep one video service, you can alternate which one it is every few months, but just keep one. Finally, whether it’s video or audio streaming just go with the ad-supported plans which are cheaper or sometimes free.
Another alternative to streaming from Netflix or Amazon is your local PBS channel, where you can get streaming for around $5 a month and because it’s public media, there are no commercial breaks! Another cost-effective method is to get content from your local public library via DVDs or through apps like Kanopy.
Keep in mind, these are merely suggestions and not all of them will fit your lifestyle. At the end of the day, as much as saving matters, it also really matters what you are saving for; having a clear goal or purchase in mind will make it much easier to save.
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Ash Idrisy graduated from Penn State in 2015 with a Ph.D. in theoretical Astrophysics and has lived in State College since 2010. He has been managing multiple investment accounts for the past 15 years and runs a business intelligence consulting firm: Eden Analytics LLC. You can find more of his content for free at ashidrisy.substack.com.
