Tip of the week: How to trim expenses

Chuck the plastic. Stick to cash. You’ll “pay more attention” to your spending habits, and it’ll also “soften the blow” of high credit-card rates, which can tack on thousands you’d never pay with cash.

Adjust your palate. Eating out can be a far more significant expense than you think. Start cooking at home. Eliminate the “daily $4 latte” and opt for a reusable water bottle in lieu of the plastic kind. Altogether these cuts can save more than $4,000 a year.

Patch up the house. Sealing all the “gaps and cracks” in insulation can cut your energy bill up to “30 percent.”

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Toss the land line. Use your cell phone only—you likely use it for most calls anyway.

Carpool. It saves money on fuel and tolls, it’s good for the environment, and it reduces the headaches of driving.

Source: Best Life