10 Ways to Reduce Your Expenses and still Maintain Your Standard of Living

You can keep your car, your mobile phone, credit cards, and the air-conditioners at home but you can still reduce your monthly expenses. Here are the ten ways to do it:


1. Free TV instead of subscription: You still can watch all your favorite programs without subscribing to Astro and the like. By the way, do you have all the time in the world to sit all day long to watch TV? Watch less or stop watching and move more or do other meaningful things.

2. Get books from the library instead of buying: After reading a book you may not want to read again. Loan the books from the library and return after reading. There will be fewer books to take up space at home to collect dust. Magazines are also available free in your local library

3. Eat at normal restaurants instead of high-end ones: The quality of food is the same if not better but you have to pay 15% more (10% service charge and 5 % service tax in Malaysia).

4. Grocery shopping: Buy house-brand items instead of popular brands. House- brand goods are quality products but they cost very much less.

5. Avoid branded items: Shop for the less exclusive brands instead of those expensive brands for items ranging from household items to apparel and footwear. Look for durability and comfort instead of just the brand.

6. Use less air-conditioner but fan more: Switch on the air-conditioner for a limited time and then let the fan do the job to circulate the cool air inside the room. 

7. Walk more but drive less: Take the opportunity to move your body more often to shape up and use the car less to save petrol and maintenance cost. 

8. Jog or home gym instead of club membership: Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine when you jog instead of a paid membership in a stuffy room with many people perspiring. You can save even more by getting your own home gym. There is no need to travel and waste petrol and you can do it at home anytime you want 

9. Use your credit cards to save but avoid credit: There is no need to cut your plastic cards. Credit cards are great saving tools. You will end up paying less for petrol and grocery items. Just pay fully and promptly every time.

10. Communicate: Talk less with a mobile phone but a tweet or write more on the wall. Spend less on the phone bill and communicate more online for free. 


You maintain your current lifestyle but you reduce your expenses tremendously and you also get healthier.  

Source: http://www.allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com/2010/09/10-ways-to-reduce-your-expenses-and.html