Maintaining a roof over your head, and staying healthy are basic needs in life. If you can ensure these two things, then you’re staying ahead of things in a productive manner. Unfortunately, the costs associated with even these two simple tasks can be a bit daunting. For instance, when you are living in a home you have to take into account the costs associated with paying your mortgage, homeowners insurance, property tax, auto insurance, utilities (cable, gas, electricity, etc), and even life insurance.
Listing all of the out of pockets expenses that are associated with health-related issues would require its own article. The good thing is there are ways that you can save money on both your home and health-related expenses. Below are a few tips on how to do just this. Hopefully, this can help to relieve the financial burdens associated with both of these most basic needs (shelter and good health).
Find the correct health insurance plan.
When seeking ways to save money on your health expenses, begin first by finding a health insurance plan which works best for you. You’ll want to find a plan which can help keep your health insurance costs to a minimum while providing you with the best coverage options available. Definitely take the time to discuss with a health insurance provider the types of coverages you’ll be receiving, in addition to the costs, and out-of-pocket expenses that you will incur.
You don’t want a plan which causes you to pay more than what the coverage is taking care of. Your goal is to try and find a balance between your health needs, the costs of the plans, and what is actually being covered. This is just one way that you can save money on your health expenses.
Stop using your credit cards.
Credit cards can be both helpful, and harmful at the same time. More often than not, this is based on how often a person is using the card and their spending habits. When you are attempting to save money on your home expenses, one good tip to follow is to stop using your credit cards. Avoid using a credit card as much as possible. Secondly, if you are currently in credit card debt, one way to help your monthly home finances is to stop using your credit cards. Having to pay high-interest rates on a monthly payment for a credit card bill can prevent you from saving money when it comes to your home finances.
Work with your credit card company to find ways to lower your credit card debt, and to see about lowering your interest rate. One good thing about saving money by not using your credit card is that any extra money that you save could possibly be used to make the minimum payments needed to pay off your credit card debt. Also, look into getting a credit report to keep see what your credit score is. A credit report can be pretty helpful in saving money for your home finances. Lastly, don’t look into signing up for new credit cards.
Try to live a healthy lifestyle.
One big way to save money on health expenses is to try to live a healthy lifestyle. Though easier said than done, doing simple things like exercising and eating better can help to prevent costly health-related issues from cropping up. Try to use your everyday spending to purchase healthy food that can help you to live a better lifestyle. Fight the temptation to eat those foods which can lead to poor health. Some of the diseases which can be prevented by living a healthier lifestyle include cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, obesity, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
Starting out with a basic exercise regiment can work wonders with saving money for your health expenses. Two to three days a week with exercising is a good path to follow, and at the end of the day, you’ll find yourself saving money. Consult your doctor or physician with tips for exercising that will help towards improving your health.
Cut the Cable
The average cost for a cable tv package is approximately $217.42. Now that you’ve picked your bottom jaw up off the ground, don’t worry. There’s a cost-effective solution to this unwieldy household expense: streaming television.
Though streaming entertainment providers have their own individual costs, based on what you prefer to watch on television, their costs are considerably less than cable television. You can save up to $1000 a year by cutting the cable cord in your home. The first step you’ll want to do before cutting cable is to do the research into what other options are available. Look into such streaming platforms as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, YouTube TV, Netflix, Hulu, and Sling TV.
Now, this household expense isn’t as important as say figuring out how to find out who called you at 3 am in the morning on a repeated basis. Definitely prioritize your television watching options behind more important things in your household. When you do cut the cable, and find another provider, you will see that this is a great option to follow to help with saving money with your household expenses.
