hi as a newly wed i think these r good ideas to follow. having stayed in hostel n lived on tight budget i think i could manage finances but after marriage, i felt it is difficult task to save money what i have learnt 1. definitely cooking at home . not only u save money u can save money but u can also new skill. also cooking does not mean that u keep on standing in kitchen making ur husband's fav dishes but both of u can try to cook a new dish together . believe me its fun to cook together , cutting veggies and making food together u can spend some time and can be therapeutic. 2. my husband is very fond of movies , so we would spend a lot of money on watching new movies. some movies were paisa wasool but others were horrible so i made a rule that we see only really super duper hit movie and rest of the movies we can catch on dvd on our couch cuddling together. and yes with home made popcorn 3. i also agree we waste a lot of money on clothes so before u go out to buy that ultra cute dress , think if u really need it. 4. we women also spend lot of money in beauty parlours but i think basic manicure , pedicure etc can be done at home and money can be saved. 5. when buying food stuff we tend to buy a lot what we dont need so make a list then only shop , also i read in rujuta diwekar book those fancy exotic foods do us no good so instead to buying a kiwi for 30 rs which will not have much nutrition buy local fruit like banana or grapes . same if u r abroad dont buy expensive mangoes when abroad 6. take a prepaid mobile connection , it is my personal experience it saves money as we know how much we can spend , also if we spend more we cant call . ask operators for various schemes like sms packs , calling abroad packs, std packs . like when every month i put some 18 rs which gives me 500 sms which r more than enough to communicate. rest i call only when its imp . so when i was using postpaid ,my rental only was 750 , now with prepaid i manage with in 500. its not that all post paid are expensive but choose a scheme which is good. 7. for friends and relatives abroad , u can use skype to call instead of phone call , its more cheaper. 8. make a budget and set aside some money for saving , its very important. 9. dont take unnecessary loans like credit cards , try to shop with cash , it limits the money u spend. 10. when u go to shop in a supermarket , many times u pick up things u dont really need and sometimes which r forced by salesmen like some new shampoo or creams so when u r going to get things billed , take a look in ur cart and see what all u really need and u can see lots of time u have something which u dont leave so u can take it out and save the money. it has personally helped me a lot. i hope it helps other's also !
I have been following this Tip for the Past one month and i have saved nearly 300- 400 rupees at the end of the Month qith which i got a Nice Kurthi... Earlier i gave my office clothes and my Son's school Uniform to the iron wala for Pressing. Now i am pressing it by myself. I am saving 300-400 bucks per month on this. I just use my Spare time to do this activity
Some Tips from me: Try to install CFL bulbs in all rooms Even 10-15W give enough light compared to 40W tubelight. For study room you can use tubelight or higher wattage CFL light. Replace your bed lamps also with 2W CFL bulbs(if you dont like too much light go for colored ones or cover it with some colored paper. saves power compared to zero bulb which is actually 10W) Switch on the stove only when you have everything set before you to start cooking. Do not switch on and keep running for things. Try to use immersion rod instead of geyser or stove for heating water Try to use pressure cooker to cook dal/vegetables. Cooks fast and saves energy Try to go for Front load machine compared to top load water usage is lesser. If possible for 1 or 2 pairs of daily wear clothes hand wash the clothes. If not possible to hand wash accumulate your load based on your washing machine capacity and wash If possible use water softeners because dirt will be cleaned easily Do not keep the tap open while brushing/shaving/cleaning utensils. While cleaning utensils, scrub few vessels and then start washing instead of 1 each that way you can save water. While washing your car/bike use bucket and cloth instead of pipe. Same applies to watering plants or cleaning floor. use water with bucket and mug instead of using pipe.
hi friends, All your tips are very helpful. what we need is little prudence and we can save considerable amount. I would like to add watching movies on weekends rather than weekends and checking price before going. Avoid using much of credit cards ;it leads us to a vicious circle. Avoid cluttering unnecessary things just because its on sale,because most of the times we are not using them.