Salary not lasting long? Here’s Wendy on cutting costs

Whether belt tightening means that you’re going out to restaurants less often, or that you’re reduced to having two-minute noodles for supper, we all have choices to make when we’ve got too much month left at the end of our money.

I just loved what East Coast Drive producer Rory Petzer said on Facebook this week: "These car adverts on TV that 'dare' us to take adventures and 'live a little' and expect more from life for "ONLY R5999,00 per month." Only R5999,00. Like, only. 

Do they not read the news? Where are these people living? Do they not know what a pack of nine toilet rolls costs or the price of cheddar cheese per kilogram?”

He’s got a point, hasn’t he?

Cheese is around R80 for ordinary cheddar, R84 for gouda. 

And then there’s butter - R45 for a 500g block!  It seemed to jump from R30-something to that overnight.

So either you stop eating those dairy basics or you chase the specials. But remember to weigh up the cost of the petrol in chasing specials versus the saving on that cheese, butter, oil, or whatever.

Here are some consumer habits that are really worth acquiring if you want to save consistently: 

• The unit price is the consumer’s friend.  It tells us what the “real” price is - the per kg (in the case of Pick n Pay) or per 100g price (Shoprite, Checkers) and it is displayed on the shelf tag, along with the selling price, although smaller and harder to spot.

That price allows you to see at a glance whether the bulk pack of cereal or margarine really is cheaper than than the smaller, more convenient pack. Often it’s not.

• Avoid products with the words “quick” or convenient on them - you pay a premium for products which claim to save you time or hassle. So instant oats are a lot more expensive that the traditional kind, and the time saving is only two or three minutes.

• Avoid value-add products such as marinated chicken, as what they really are, are cost-adds. You’d be amazed how much less you spend on food if you stick to the least processed, least packaged things.

• Get into the habit of making stews and soups from unprocessed meat, beans, veggies and home-grown herbs - it’s cheaper than processed food, and usually more nutritious too. An electric pressure cooker is a really good investment, as is the cheaper, non electricity using Wonderbox, a truly wonderful South African product.

• What many people do in the hard times is get rid of the grudge purchases, like car and household insurance policies. Of course, that’s a great saving if you never need to claim, but if you have an accident or your car is stolen or your house is cleaned out by burglars you’ll be plunged into a real financial crisis without insurance. What you must do instead is negotiate all your premiums. Two weeks ago I called my short-term insurer and got the premium I pay on the two cars in my family  reduced by R250 a month by pointing out that both have depreciated in value and I haven’t claimed. Then I called a tracking company and asked why my monthly instalment had gone up, when the device was more than three years old and therefore paid off, by me. So that came down by R60. So I saved myself R310 with two brief phone calls. I’ll be re-looking at the deal I’m getting on my armed response contract next.

• Go through every line of your bank statement and look for unauthorised debit orders - they are incredibly rife, and you could be losing R100 or more from your account every month that way.

• Cellphones are another big expense. I’ve always “upgraded” my cellphone contract every two years, and got the latest handset. This month I was planning to do the same, but the quote was really high, and there’s nothing wrong with my current smartphone, so rather than paying more every month, I’m holding on to it and paying about R270 a month less, because the phone is now paid off and I’m only paying for services.

So now my monthly debit order saving is up to R580 a month, and I’m not done yet. 

• Do you need Premium DSTV or will a cheaper package or another paid service suit your needs?

• Do you need to buy coffee out as often as you do? Have you worked out what you’re spending on that alone every month?

• Another huge cost is water and electricity. If you make small changes every day, the saving over the course of a month can be substantial. Put a one-litre bottle in your cistern and don’t flush every time you use the toilet. Don’t use the hot tap when the cold will do, and put a bucket in the shower to catch the water as it’s running cold to hot - you’ll be amazed how much water you save that way.

• Switch the lights off in unoccupied rooms; turn down the temperature on your geyser.

• You can save a lot of money - in repayments, insurance and fuel - if you downgrade to a cheaper car.

• And less radically, avoiding unnecessary trips in your car, and driving less aggressively will save you a lot of petrol and reduce that big expense every month. 

It boils down to being mindful; aware of where we’re wasting our money and getting into new, more frugal habits. There are relatively huge savings to be made from relatively minor changes.