Without anyone to share living expenses with, bills can soon rack up. There’s a lot to be said for living solo though and these tips will help those living alone to save money
Cut Your Water Bills
Most water companies get their unmetered water bills by setting water rates and estimating the number of people living in a property based on the number of bedrooms. So if you live alone in a property with more than one bedroom you may be able to save by getting a water meter installed, especially as you have total control over how much water you use.
If you are economical with your water usage, i.e. you tend to shower rather than have a bath and are generally waste little water then this could help cut costs by having a water meter even further.
Most water companies will install a meter and allow you to switch back without charge within 12 months should you find that you are spending more than before, so check this is the case if you decide to switch.
Cut your food costs
Changing the way you buy your food could cut your costs considerably over the long term.
Use Your Freezer to Save Money
While toiletries and cleaning products can all be bought and stored easily, other items such as meat and dairy items need to be frozen.
Supermarkets often target families and couples with multi-buy offers, but rather than trying to consume three packs of sausages in a week, there is no reason why you can not take advantage of these offers and freeze the extra food ready to eat at a later date.
A lot of recipes produce a meal for two, make the meal and freeze half for another day.
As well as freezing, you can take advantage of bargain offers on cream to make your own butter and surplus milk can be used to easily make your own cottage cheese
Shop with a friend
A great way of making the most of the savings available through bulk buy discounts is to shop with a friend. This way you can both benefit from the multi-buy offers from the supermarket by splitting the produce and the cost!
Avoid waste
Living by yourself allows you to be totally in charge of the kitchen and plan your diet with more precision. Making meal plans, and writing an itemised shopping list before you visit the supermarket is a good way to minimise wastage so you spend less on food.
It also means you can make a note of the best before and use by dates and ensure that you eat your food before it perishes.
Check your benefits
Many benefits are based not only on your individual wage but also on total household income.
So that means that, if you live by yourself, you could be eligible for financial assistance that you are not receiving.
For this reason it’s definitely worth double checking your eligibility for benefits even if you don’t think you’d be entitled to receive anything. There’s a useful government website online benefit checker here.
This article is based on a larger article to be found on the excellent money.co.uk website
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