As you know, not only those people who earn a lot become wealthy, but also those who know how to save money and increase family budget. Moreover, the issue of saving is relevant now, during the crisis, when there is a decrease in earnings. A few thousand rubles a month can save the situation, so where can you get them from? Our answer is learn right to save money!
Do not buy too many products in supermarkets
Visit supermarkets as little as possible, preferably no more than once a week. Make a list of products at home and shop in the store strictly according to the list, planning in advance family budget. American scientists have proven that more than half of the products that ended up in our cart, we buy emotionally in excess of the planned budget. A significant amount of expenses can be out-of-season vegetables. For example, tomatoes are very expensive in winter, and they can be replaced with frozen vegetables. Instead of a cart, take a basket, and if you plan spend the least amount of money- Keep shopping in hand. If you can cut down on emotional shopping and buy groceries strictly according to the list, you can save at least 500 rubles a week for the family budget. And this is 2000 rubles a month.
Pay for purchases with cash
Do not take a plastic card with you to the store. Take only a limited amount of cash with you, leave the card at home. Scientists have proven that buyers spend 20% more when paying by credit card. By planning your family budget and limiting your expenses to the exact amount of cash, you can save another 2,000 rubles a month.
Instead of buying new shoes, check out the repair shop
Everyone knows that in our country the prices for shoes, especially for high-quality ones, are very high. Therefore, if the old shoes are in need of repair, they should definitely be repaired, and not thrown away and bought new shoes.
Walk more
If your work is within walking distance, force yourself to take daily walks and save money on transport. Thus, you can improve your own health, lose weight and reduce family budget expenses from 500 rubles per month.
Shop for seasonal sales
Save on light and water
Install water meters and your water costs can be reduced by 30-50%. Install a two-tariff electric meter, then you can start washing from 23-00 at reduced rates. Unplug electrical appliances. A constantly plugged-in laptop increases your electricity costs by about 100 rubles a month. Replace incandescent bulbs with energy saving ones. On utilities, you can also save from 500 rubles a month.
Dine on homemade food
Do not be lazy in the morning to cook yourself sandwiches, cook a couple of sausages. Nowhere in the world are office workers shy about eating home-cooked meals. Savings on lunches will also be from 2000 rubles per month.
Change the way you buy
Psychologists say that when you touch products, you want to buy them more and more. Try not to touch clothes in stores with your hands. To learn how to save money and to control yourself, write down on paper the amounts that you plan to spend. Don't go shopping if you're in a bad mood. People who are upset about something spend significantly more money on purchases.
Plan your leisure time
Go to daytime shows at cinemas, which are usually half the price. If you go to the pool or gym - buy a subscription.
Plan your vacation in advance
Plan your holiday trip 2-3 months in advance. You can significantly if you purchase them in advance and directly at the office or on the airline's website.
Due to the deterioration of the financial and economic situation at enterprises, aggravated due to the manifestation of the effects of the negative trends of the global financial crisis, which has already passed into the category of an economic crisis, many companies are starting to panic reduce their costs. The management of companies sees one of the main recipes for survival in times of crisis in reducing costs. Therefore, in the pursuit of savings, even entire cost items began to be “cut off” indiscriminately. Decisions, of course, need to be made in such situations very quickly, practically, instantly. And decisions regarding costs and expenses are some of the easiest decisions that management will have to make, as they relate to what the company actually owns, cash, as opposed to making, for example, strategic, marketing, innovative decisions, making which, due to the growth of uncertainty, has become even more complex. Therefore, it is clear that the easiest way is to “tighten the belts” and “tighten the nuts”. However, an ill-considered reduction in spending, "tightening the belts" can lead to negative strategic consequences and tactical losses. In making hasty decisions to reduce costs, the categories of “good” or highly productive costs that bring a company a huge multiplier economic effect are also often overlooked. Therefore, the application of folk wisdom is fair here: “Measure seven times and cut once”!
This article does not pretend to review all solutions for optimizing expenses and expenses of all kinds, but only aims to draw the attention of company management to the fact that expenses should be treated in a balanced, wise way, and not “indiscriminately”, deleting entire articles.
It is necessary to fight for reducing not all, but only unproductive, inefficient, irrational costs. You need to ask yourself the following questions:
- How can you intensify, increase the return and efficiency of costs that the company is going to reduce.
- How will the reduction of this or that item of expenditure affect the enterprise in a year, two, three, five and ten years?
- What risks are associated with certain costs, how will cost reduction affect the likelihood of these risks?
- Does the volume of a certain cost item have a “critical weight”, what are the tasks and functions assigned to these costs?
- What are the alternative solutions? How can cost reductions be compensated?
Reducing the cost of training at seminars, courses, trainings, attending conferences and forums
Attendance by employees and managers of training programs (seminars, trainings, courses, internships), business and professional events (conferences, forums, round tables, symposia), with the correct organization of the work of an organization representative, gives the company a huge direct and indirect effect, many times covering the costs incurred.
- New technological, business, sectoral, professional knowledge is acquired that is important for the development of the enterprise.
- There is an exchange of information and experience with colleagues from other enterprises and industries.
- The participant receives a strong energy impulse, allowing him to significantly increase his productivity, efficiency and initiative.
- Try to reduce the cost of participation in the event. When properly approached by the organizers of the course or conference in 9 out of 10 cases, the enterprise will be presented with a significant discount or given the opportunity to attend the event for two employees with only one participant registering.
- Take an active and proactive position during the event, trying to get the maximum benefit for the enterprise from attending a seminar or forum.
- Take a voice recorder with you to the event to be able to listen to the most valuable moments again, and then to acquaint other employees with useful information.
- Based on the results of attending each event, oblige each employee to present all the applied points discussed at the conference or seminar in the form of clear proposals for implementation in the enterprise. At the same time, the employee should not limit himself only to the work of his unit.
These are just examples of some of the recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of attending business and professional forums. And one cannot but agree that training programs and business events are an effective source of ideas, knowledge, experience, connections, innovative aspirations that are so necessary to overcome crisis situations.
Reducing communication and Internet costs
Many large industrial enterprises are reducing the limits on long-distance and international telephone calls. On the one hand, this may be correct in relation to cost overruns in departments whose competence does not include external communications. But with regard to the limits of telephone conversations for marketing, sales, supply departments, the effectiveness of which largely depends on the intensity of international communications, the situation should be exactly the opposite. But in this case, in order to increase efficiency and return on these costs, the enterprise should develop a standard or regulation on international telephone conversations that provides employees with a clear and practical tool for effective work.
Reducing the cost of the Internet, to reduce the bandwidth of the Internet connection is also not entirely reasonable. When restoring infrastructure destroyed by natural disasters in New Orleans and other affected regions of the United States, the authorities first restored high-speed wireless Internet. And the internet is free. This contributes to the growth and development of the economy. The most progressive countries have long understood that the Internet is as necessary an infrastructure as roads or broadcasting and as effective a catalyst for development as business incubators or high-tech parks. In our country, unfortunately, the cost of Internet services is one of the most expensive in the world, despite the technological simplicity of providing these services. And by the way, the World Wide Web is today an indispensable source of information resources, a provider of interactive services that allow solving many business issues, developing business processes, which is especially important during a crisis.
- This is a source of commercial, marketing, technical information, contact, management data.
- It is an effective means of communication (e-mail, ICQ, Skype, forums, blogs, networks, chats, and so on), which is an effective alternative to all traditional means of communication.
- This is a strong promotion channel (distribution of commercial and business offers, negotiations on the Internet, placement of information about the company on numerous Internet media, promotion of the company's website).
Another point is again the increase in the efficiency of using Internet traffic in order to develop the enterprise. Here we can absolutely safely say the following: our domestic manufacturing enterprises practically do not use the many opportunities provided today by the global information space. The intensity of use is out of the question, our companies still need to master the Internet in extensive ways, to try at least half of those Internet tools, carriers of unlimited possibilities that are provided to us today. Once again, the learning factor is on the agenda. Companies and employees are often simply not aware of the unlimited possibilities of working on the Internet, not to mention the fact that enterprises do not have systems, for example, Internet marketing.
The same applies to the costs of developing and creating an enterprise website. A company simply cannot do without a website. Today there is an axiom: "No on the Internet - no business"! But it is possible to develop a web resource of the same efficiency for 5000-7000 and 500-700 conventional units. Hosting is a whole order of magnitude cheaper if you order it abroad and pay with an international card or electronic money. So you have an extra ruble freed up to invest it in development and promotion. And such an order of numbers is present in the economy at every step today, the only task is to be aware and look for new solutions!
Reducing the cost of long-distance and foreign business trips
Any commercial director will confirm that it is possible to write many letters for a long time, corresponding with potential partners, spend hours on the phone, and in just a few minutes resolve the issue face to face in a personal meeting. Negotiations during business trips are one of the most effective tools for promoting the company's products and establishing business relationships with partners. Therefore, especially in the event of a crisis, the company is recommended to intensify work with business trips, send more managers to distant lands and for a longer time. As the author's experience has shown, issues related to the sale of products can be effectively solved on business trips not only by managers of marketing and sales departments, but also by heads of financial, economic and production services, thus strengthening the marketing vector of the company. Therefore, it is necessary not to reduce the cost of business trips for managers, as many enterprises are doing now, but to boldly increase the number of "forays" to foreign markets of our marketing landing force. And speaking about the effectiveness of these events, I would like to draw an analogy with the military theme. Who are they throwing behind enemy lines? That's right, the most trained, trained and experienced commandos. The seconded managers should also become such "aces", who must fulfill special tasks, on which the fate of many people today depends.
- Employees who can effectively organize their work should be sent on expensive business trips (visiting the maximum number of companies per day with the achievement of set goals during negotiations).
- The stage of serious preparation for the trip is important (calling, planning visits, preliminary, but flexible appointment of meetings).
- There should be full and clear reporting on the results of all meetings, business negotiations, stimulating the rational use of the employee's time and enterprise funds during a business trip.
- Significantly helps employees in preparing for a business trip, the internal standard or regulations of the enterprise on this issue.
- Be sure to try to quickly put into practice all the developments, the results of business trips upon their completion. It often happens that a seconded manager has to recover and rest after a long trip. At this time, no one deals with topical issues, and a week later, completely different tasks are set.
Reducing the cost of attracting external consultants and independent experts
Looking at the problem from the outside always allows you to get much more objective, independent information needed to solve this problem. The involvement of consultants and independent experts always gives a huge external impetus to business development. This is especially true at critical moments when it is necessary to act both quickly and smartly.
Is the enterprise ready to independently develop a development program. Quickly assess the situation, weigh all the strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities, develop a strategy, develop an effective action plan? It is clear that not every company is able to do this. And those companies that can do this will never interfere with the “infusion” of new ideas, fresh thoughts, and intersectoral progressive experience. Thinking leaders pay a lot of money for this and are sure that these costs pay off many times over. As Chinese strategist Sunn Zi said, a leader who does not seek to buy information, a leader who is indecisive will never succeed. However, for all the advantages of the company's work with external consultants, the question of the effectiveness of this work again arises. Consulting companies promptly, the very first to prepare their anti-crisis proposals, and each of them offers its own anti-crisis product. Of all the variety of anti-crisis proposals, it is even more difficult to choose than before the crisis. It is clear that each consultant will at the same time maximize, actualize the importance for the enterprise of the problem in which he specializes, that is, he has the greatest professional competence. Therefore, it is necessary to try in the proposals of consultants not to miss those moments that sometimes they try to impose on an enterprise in order to sell their services. And if an enterprise has been working for a long time with an independent expert who takes an unbiased position, does not lobby the enterprise for other types of additional costs in which he himself may be directly or indirectly interested, which accompanies the activities and development of this company, then the costs of this work cannot be reduced. in no case. Good consultants are now becoming worth their weight in gold, and many Moscow consulting companies, instead of reducing staff, which is common today everywhere, are not coping with work, on the contrary, they are expanding their staff. Therefore, having a company with a time-tested, open-minded external consultant with systems thinking and progressive business development tools is a great advantage, especially during a crisis. And in no case should such an advantage be lost in difficult moments for the enterprise.
If before the beginning of the crisis the company did not have time to decide on consultants, you need to do it now and quickly. Efficiency on the example of legal consulting: the cost of a comprehensive audit of the legal system of an enterprise will cost 500-1000 dollars, but what kind of costs can it help to avoid in the future.
Reducing inventory costs
The reduction of this item of expenditure increases the logistical and production risks, which in times of crisis increase by themselves. This period is associated with the suspension of work and even the closure of many manufacturing companies. If such problems are also found in the suppliers of the enterprise, failures may also occur in carriers.
Advertising expenses
Reducing advertising costs will not lead to tactical and strategic losses only if the company finds other, cheaper and shareware methods of advertising, promotion, informing buyers, consumers, partners about their business proposals. These can be methods of "guerrilla marketing", "advertising without advertising" and so on. Lack of financial resources must necessarily be replaced by ingenuity, non-standard creative solutions, serious creative work of the entire team of the enterprise. In no case should you refuse to spend on advertising that “works well”, on those proven channels of communication with consumers that have proven to be effective. Advertising and marketing expenses, in this case, need to be redistributed in favor of these effective tools.
Reducing the cost of maintenance, repairs
Reducing this item of expenditure also increases production risks, calling into question the production processes themselves over time. How much a plant can lose from line downtime or more costly equipment repairs, saving little in the form of maintenance costs. You can save a penny and lose a ruble! In addition, equipment operating without repairs and “wearing out” during a crisis may find itself at the beginning of an economic recovery, which will certainly sooner or later replace the crisis period, already inoperable. When the economy begins to grow, the company will not be able to take advantage and opportunities of economic growth.
Reduced quality control costs
From some experts, such recommendations and advice were made: reduce the cost of products by reducing quality. And how high is the quality of goods produced at domestic enterprises? Is there a way to lower it? Is it possible to compete effectively with such quality in the world markets? Or will these products go to the domestic market protected from foreign competitors? There is nowhere to reduce the quality, it only needs to be increased or not to “translate” natural resources. Primitivization is not allowed!
Reducing staffing costs
Personnel costs should be reduced primarily in those industries in which, during the economic boom preceding the crisis, there was an unreasonable hyper-growth of wages, not supported by an increase in labor productivity and an increase in production efficiency. The decrease in these costs is primarily due to a decrease in bonuses and allowances. However, if other alternatives are not provided in material incentives, a sharp drop in already low labor productivity may occur: employees will only “go to work”. Alternatives to salaries that incentivize key employees could be ownership of the company, rewards for innovations, bonuses for special achievements, intangible measures, and so on.
With regard to downsizing, the economists of the future would be more likely to react to such a decision as modern physicians today regard the "bleeding" practiced "successfully" by doctors of the Middle Ages. Here we will not touch on the macroeconomic consequences of mass layoffs, unemployment, falling consumer demand and the processes leading to an aggravation of the crisis. Today there are numerous examples of big cuts, for example, in the IT business. How much money did it take to find and hire even the most ordinary programmer? How much money is invested in his education? How much effort and money is directed by the company for team building, motivation, development of corporate culture, professional development? And now, together with the employees, investments in human personnel are leaving the company, know-how is leaving, information is leaving. And all this with the advent of the era of information technology becomes the main factor of competitiveness, a source of innovation. There is a second point here: what happens to the employees who remain in the company? People understand that they may be next, they cease to trust management, the level of loyalty rushes to zero. Will they believe at the next corporate meeting the fiery speeches of top management about a friendly and cohesive team? And what then are statements about the social responsibility of business worth?
Similar to "bleeding" during staff cuts, firstly, the company loses valuable resources, and secondly, the enterprise "weakens its body." E. W. Deming, the author of the Japanese miracle, proved that the efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness of both the entire business and the individual employee depend only on the management, the management system built in the company, and not on the employees themselves. Any employee, the most lagging behind, can be “put” in such a system where he will demonstrate the highest results. Staff needs to be trained! And as the proverb says: "There are no bad students, there are bad teachers"! Of course, all this is not easy. To preserve the team, you need to think in intensive, fundamental, deep, systemic categories and principles, and during the period of the economic boom that preceded the crisis, we got used to only superficial, extensive thinking. And to think, and take the initiative, and look for ways out of the crisis, it is necessary not only for management, but also for the staff themselves. It must be taken into account that many people have forgotten how to think, strain their brains, fight for efficiency, and work hard in the Stakhanov way. In many industries, people are accustomed to quick, easy, big money, without measuring their own contribution to getting this money, creating real value for the client and for society. In the near future, many workers will have to come down to earth again in terms of their financial and material needs and work much more and for much less money than before.
One of the most effective recommendations: to maximize and intensively use the (often) dormant intellectual and creative potential of the staff, to stimulate entrepreneurship, rationalization, and innovation at all levels of the organization.
It should also be remembered that the cost of maintaining personnel is not limited to the payment of wages and related social and tax payments. Calculate, for example, how much it costs to rent a workspace and the lost profits from renting out that space. There is a good solution: the transfer of at least part of the office staff to "virtual" or "home", which has already found wide application in the West, and which many have already managed to use. Thanks to the development of modern information technologies, it is possible to organize the work of knowledge workers in such a way that all staff work at home, and management and communications are carried out using the Internet. This type of work organization has a lot of advantages, both for employees and for the company. Among the obvious shortcomings: discipline. However, if the employee is not disciplined and not organized, does he work efficiently in the company's office itself?
Costs to be reduced
"Universal" expenses that can be safely reduced without any significant losses in the long and short term.
- Elimination of losses in production: saving fuel, electricity, raw materials, materials. The introduction of “lean manufacturing” technologies is a very loud word for many enterprises with our still Soviet culture. However, we need to strive for this, the crisis is pushing us towards this.
- Reducing the cost of "maintaining high status." It could also be moving to a less prestigious and less expensive office. "Consolidation" of services, divisions, personnel in the occupied premises, the rejection of excess space and their leasing, subleasing, and so on. It can also be a reduction in the cost of company vehicles, if it is equipped with expensive and uneconomical business class cars (fuel consumption, maintenance costs), due to the transition to “compact cars”, a reduction in company vehicles
- Refusal to pay dividends to founders and shareholders in favor of strengthening financial positions, creating a stabilization fund for the enterprise, for the company's survival in a crisis period. This also includes the rejection of "indiscriminate" payments of bonuses and allowances. However, the funds saved through these measures should be invested in development, and not “squandered”.
- A whole section of so-called "hidden or implicit costs" that everyone forgets about. This is the cost of lost or lost profits. These costs are not reflected in any reports, so no one fights with them. At the same time, if we go to any large industrial enterprise, will we see that every square meter of space and every machine is used efficiently and rationally? And if you rent out the unnecessary or organize production groups, cooperatives, brigades from the “superfluous” people at the enterprise and help them master new areas of work, then you can not only save money, but also earn money.
- Stationery, office expenses - the article is not big, but, as they say: "A penny saves a ruble"! Our people are used to saving paper by printing on drafts, saving cartridges by switching printers to economical printing modes, which everyone did 10 years ago. This also includes elementary frugality in relation to electricity, water, heat, and so on.
- Expenses for purchased components, materials. The generally accepted mechanism in the entire civilized world is considered to be a gradual systematic decrease in the cost of the mechanisms of nodes, and components of long-produced samples. All Japanese companies agree with their suppliers on price reduction schedules and quality improvement plans for purchased products. Therefore, our enterprises can also conclude with suppliers not only contracts and supply agreements, but also long-term agreements on the quality of supplied goods (control and development) and schedules for the gradual reduction in the purchase cost of components.
- Of course, this also includes spending on areas that appeared on the wave of the previous economic boom and hyper-growth of the B2B sector industry. Today, probably, not a single director will have a question: “Should I pay tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to a creative agency for the logo and slogan of a subsidiary, or work on this task on my own”?
Expenses that the company will have to increase
Costs that a business would be better off incurring in order to minimize risks and reduce costs that the firm might otherwise incur in the future.
- Costs associated with the economic security of the enterprise. It is necessary to carry out a set of preventive measures to eliminate many risks, the likelihood of which increases during periods of crisis. It is recommended to strengthen the enterprise's risk management system, legal system, security system, anti-crisis PR system, and so on. Carry out due diligence procedures for all aspects of the company's activities. Conduct an anti-crisis audit of the information security system.
- Spending or investing in human resources. These are costs primarily for maintaining morale (corporate ideology, internal anti-crisis PR), since no matter how much an enterprise cuts costs, the crisis cannot be overcome without support and brilliance in the eyes of employees. And the crisis provides excellent opportunities for team building. This also includes the costs of retraining and retraining of personnel, which is also indispensable. Many European companies that sent their employees on unpaid leave for 1-2 months organized corporate training programs for personnel for this period, retraining, retraining and retraining for other areas and areas of activity to prepare people to perform other work, solve other problems.
- Expenses for marketing, conducting marketing and scientific research, for developing new products, designing and introducing new types of products into production, expenses for forming our own commodity distribution network independent of external credit injections. All this is critically necessary for companies intending to work both during and after the crisis, and not to wind down business in the near future.
- Expenses for the development of the enterprise in the form of remuneration and payments for rationalization proposals, for the introduction of new less resource-intensive and resource-saving technologies, for the optimization of business processes that allow increasing the efficiency of production and the company's business.
- The costs required for the reorganization and renewal of the business, the introduction of innovations and the development of enterprises. The economy and business after the crisis will not remain the same as they were before the “collapse”. The business world will change dramatically, as it always does, there will again be a redistribution of resources: financial, industrial, intellectual, there will be changes in the balance of power in the market and in politics. Almost all business analysts and top managers of large companies are trying to find a new way and even a new business paradigm. Therefore, each enterprise will have to go through its own path of changes in the organizational structure, corporate culture, building relationships in many areas, and this, in turn, will require investments.
- Expenses for business integration, organization and financing of business and industry unions, associations, clubs. Even large and very strong companies will find themselves in a difficult situation in the near future, in which it is easier to solve many issues in cooperation with their former competitors, coordinating the entire industry. Many things can now be solved much more effectively if we act together, together, thinking about the effect for the entire sectoral, regional and general economic system. Coordination of actions, common interests, joint solution of complex issues in government bodies, association for joint purchases of raw materials and materials, supply, production, marketing cooperation and economies of scale will give companies a number of additional advantages during this period. However, this is impossible without the full and active work of the apparatus, the coordinating body of such a union or association, which needs an appropriate budget.
Cost management at an enterprise during a crisis should not be budgetary or automatic, when articles are allocated and limits are brought, but “manual”, when the feasibility of each payment is studied, the effectiveness of all costs separately. Cost management must balance tactical needs and strategic objectives, finding a happy medium between them.
The crisis, the reduction of expenses at the enterprise give employees and managers of departments a good opportunity to explain their omissions and not achieve their goals. To prevent this from happening, you can use the approach practiced in many Japanese enterprises in management: this is work with pairs of opposites. When setting goals, dual, sometimes even mutually exclusive goals should be set: reduce cost and improve quality, reduce weight and increase sustainability, and so on. This will not give people the opportunity to write off all their shortcomings as cost reduction. And, besides, it also helps the Japanese to find fundamentally new solutions that lie outside of these pairs of opposites that limit the mental field.
It is important to find wise solutions, characterized as a "golden mean". As Henry Ford said 100 years ago, spending management should be neither greedy nor extravagant. Both of these extremes lead to cost overruns, causing new problems immediately or after some time and even greater costs to solve them.
I would also like to warn managers and warn that “tightening the screws” and “tightening the belts” is not enough for the company to get out of the crisis. This is just one of the directions in which we should move today. For the survival of the enterprise, a whole system of measures is needed:
- Reducing costs, reducing wasteful costs, that is, in fact, "tightening the screws".
- Increasing economic efficiency and return on all costs, resources and investments.
- Increasing the profitable component of the business, intensifying marketing activities.
- Search for alternative solutions to replace cost-intensive solutions with "cost-free" and "low-cost" options.
- Development of business systems (production, marketing, logistics, HR, R&D, etc.), rationalization activities, optimization of business processes.
- Search and adoption of fundamentally new fundamental decisions on the organization and conduct of economic activity, up to a change in the business paradigm.
Currently, at the global, national, regional, sectoral, corporate levels, attempts are being made to neutralize the negative consequences of the global financial crisis. However, at all these levels, measures are used and decisions are taken that are the causes of the current situation, that is, which gradually led to the crisis. And if the emphasis on supporting the banking system and stimulating consumption can give a positive result in the short term (for individual elements of the system, and not for the entire system), then this is not for long. As Albert Einstein said: “It is impossible to solve a problem at the same level at which it arose. You need to rise above this problem by rising to the next level.” And if fundamentally new solutions are not found that will radically change the economic model and economic management systems, then the crisis will grow from the category of the world economic into the category of the global crisis of civilization. In addition, crises of this magnitude and depth always lead to the discovery of new technical solutions, new technologies, new energy sources, new labor organization systems, and renewal in many areas, sectors and sectors of the economy. And even if we do not come up with fundamentally new approaches to work ourselves, then at least we should not miss a change in the business paradigm and not again be beyond the boundaries of opportunities and prospects.
The period we have entered is not easy, but as a result, imagine how we will learn to manage the costs and efficiency of our companies! How many progressive solutions will be found during this time, which we would not even be looking for if not for the crisis! And we will look at the past periods as a time of inefficient business and missed opportunities and ask ourselves why we thought so little about efficiency and development before.
Every family sooner or later faces a problem: how to cut costs. Indeed, very often unreasonable spending, in which there is not enough money even for food or travel, leads to complete bankruptcy. In this article, we will look at various ways to save money. Useful tips will help rethink the whole essence of the family budget.
What is undesirable to do
Almost all people with a shortage of funds begin to look for additional ways to earn money in addition to their main job. Of course, this is a very good option, but only on the condition that you have time for sleep, personal life and hobbies. In addition, you will not be able to work without rest for a long time. Fatigue in any case will make itself felt.
Undoubtedly, additional sources of income are a very good opportunity to have a large amount of money. But without the skills of their proper distribution, this will be meaningless. So let's look at the main ways to cut costs while enjoying your life.
Spending analysis
Usually, spending analysis helps you clearly understand how much money you spent and how much you earned. At the beginning of keeping such records, you will see some difficulties, but after a few months, believe me, you will even begin to enjoy it.
Carrying out this analysis daily, you will begin to understand where the money you earned has gone. Thus, saving the family budget will help you sort out your funds. You will be able to see what you spent money on in vain and next time you will not make such mistakes.
Unnecessary costs
Most often, people go shopping immediately after receiving a salary. After all, what could be more pleasant than pampering yourself or your loved one with a pleasant little thing? In principle, there is nothing wrong with such purchases. However, it is still better to pay attention to some nuances.
Don't go to the store after getting paid. After all, it is at such a moment that you have a considerable amount of money, which means that you can also spend a lot. It is better to wait a bit, make a list of things of primary importance, and only then make a purchase. Also, in no case do not forget about the need to pay utilities and loans. Set aside money from your paycheck for them right away.
Subsidies for utility bills
Be sure to find out about the possibility of obtaining a subsidy for your family. This is a great way to save money in harsh winters. Contact the relevant centers not only on your own behalf, but also register your parents there.
Believe me, having received a subsidy, you can significantly reduce your family expenses, and finally go on a trip or fulfill any other old dream. Subsidies for utility bills are a significant government assistance to your family.
Minimize your use of credit cards
On the one hand, what's the difference in what way to pay for your purchase. But, on the other hand, there is still a difference. Of course, it is much more convenient to make a purchase via the Internet by paying by bank transfer, but when you go to the store yourself, for example, for groceries, you risk spending much more if you have a credit card with you. If you pay with cash, you will be able to stop much faster when your cart is full.
Please note that it is best to buy groceries a week in advance. So you will visit the store much less often, which means that there will be less spending. Of course, perishable products are an exception.
Discounts and discounts
If it seems to you that having a discount card is not so profitable, then you are very much mistaken. This is especially true if you often go to the same stores. Having a discount card with you, you can easily understand how to cut costs without much effort.
If you visit the gym, it is better to buy an annual subscription right away, this will also allow you to save a considerable amount of money.
Buy in bulk
Some groceries and household items can be bought in bulk. This greatly affects the savings of the family budget. Of course, no one is talking about buying any product for several years in advance. But, for example, it is quite possible to buy sugar, cereals or sunflower oil in bulk. This also includes household chemicals. If you're wondering how to cut costs, shopping in bulk is a great way to figure things out for yourself.
Shopping out of season
If you do not follow fashion, but love good and high-quality things, then the best way to save money is to buy winter clothes in summer and summer clothes in winter. In the hot season, you can buy a coat or boots at a discount of about fifty percent.
And on some sales, the discount may be even greater. The main thing is to make sure that things are of high quality, otherwise you will not only not save money, but also incur additional expenses.
Advantages of online stores
Many families are interested in what they can save on. And this interest is fully justified. After all, with the money saved, you can fulfill your dream, and simply significantly improve your standard of living.
Economists recommend not to bypass online shopping. In them you can buy the usual things, but much cheaper. Very often, people save good amounts of money by buying even furniture on the Internet. It is worth considering that you can save money even on shipping. After all, some providers provide it for free. Do not be lazy and find out more information about shopping in online stores.
Savings on utilities
If you are still wondering what you can save on, then utilities are exactly the cell of the budget that you should pay special attention to. Install meters for gas and water. Believe me, one waste will help you spend money rationally in the future.
Also, do not forget about the possibility of obtaining a subsidy. Planning a family budget starts with small things, so take the issue of saving on utilities with all seriousness.
A few words about electrical appliances
Tell me honestly, do you turn off electrical appliances when you leave for work? Unfortunately, most of humanity does not do this. And very much in vain! Unplug all electrical appliances that you do not use every minute. This includes a washing machine, TV and other appliances. Thus, you can save money not only on the consumption of kilowatts, but also protect your equipment from short circuits.
Savings on medicines
Family budget planning depends on many factors. In this case, every little thing matters. Be sure to pay attention to the purchase of medicines. It has long been no secret that many doctors receive a percentage from pharmacies when they recommend drugs of certain brands.
If you do not want to face such problems, ask your doctor directly if there are other cheaper analogues of this remedy. Most often, all expensive medicines have them. If the doctor kept silent about this, analyze information from other available and reliable sources.
Payment for communication, Internet
In this article, we look at how to reduce family budget expenses. Have you ever wondered how much money you spend for using the Internet and mobile communications? Today there is a huge competition in the world, so you have every chance to find a good provider who will have to pay much less for the Internet. The same can be said about the use of a mobile phone.
Also pay attention to the use of paid channels. Do you really watch TV that often? Maybe you should stop watching paid channels altogether?
The presence of a piggy bank
It is very important to understand all the principles of how to reduce family expenses. We really ignore some possibilities, which can lead to extremely ridiculous situations. In childhood, probably, each of us had a piggy bank. So money was collected for a bicycle or another very important thing. So is it worth refusing to have a much-needed accessory now?
Putting aside even the smallest amounts of money can save you from situations where there is no money for travel or bread. Buy a piggy bank and you won't regret it. This will be a very useful purchase.
Avoid loans
If you are wondering how to reduce your expenses to a minimum, then forget about such a thing as a loan. This is especially true for shopping for clothes or money for a vacation. After all, you will rest now, but a year will pass, and you will want to do it again. And the credit for the last trip has not been paid yet.
Try to avoid such situations, especially considering that the economic situation in the world is rather unstable. What will you do if you are unable to repay the loan? Better be a little patient and make a purchase at your own expense.
Learn to save with every paycheck
In order not to face unpleasant situations, start saving money for a rainy day. Ten percent of family income is not a very large amount. If you stick to the savings strategies described above and put aside money from every paycheck, you will notice that finding money for a vacation or something else is not so difficult.
Don't Forget About Deposits
Set a goal for yourself, what exactly you save money for. So you will be much less tempted to spend them. You will especially want to do this if they are in your home.
Therefore, the best solution would be to open a bank deposit. And if you are a little versed in economics, then invest them in securities or engage in stock trading. Thus, you will not only start saving, but also receive additional cash. At first, the income will not be very large, but over time, their growth and stability will confirm the correctness of your choice.
However, not in all cases it is necessary to think about reducing costs. If the family has a very small income, then you need to think about increasing income. But understanding the question of how to reduce food costs, especially when it is not good for your body, is necessary in any case. Think about your spending, and you will understand that in all situations you can find the right way out. The main thing is to learn to control yourself. Your life is in your hands.
Unfortunately, when our country entered the era of developing capitalism, many people found themselves at or even below the poverty line. Retirees, health workers, teachers. Therefore, the question of how to save on food is far from idle for many of us, but very relevant. First of all, it is worth considering which articles will help reduce costs in our family budget.
Much depends on what useful skills we have. For example, if someone in the family knows how to sew, this can help reduce clothing costs. From improvised materials, you can make not only interior items, but also furniture. Thus, you do not have to buy expensive headsets, and things made by yourself are much more pleasing. And then the question of how to save disappears. You can also cut costs, for example, put counters everywhere, monitor the timely turning off of lights and electrical appliances, buy irons, kettles and other household appliances with low energy consumption.
If, nevertheless, the question of how to calculate the family budget so that it lasts until the next salary remains, you can think about other ways to save. For example, in Russia, fuel is relatively cheap, but in the West (for example, in France, Germany) it is unprofitable to drive a car everywhere because of the high cost. It is customary to use public transport more often
switch to bikes. Better for health and for the wallet.
Often, puzzling over the fact, we do not see obvious solutions. The first piece of advice that can be given is: try to make your life easier. Do not chase after culinary delights, firstly, it is troublesome and long (well, unless someone likes to stand at the stove for hours or mess around in the kitchen), and secondly, it is not very useful. Analyzing your diet, you can understand how to save on food: for example, switch to simpler dishes. For example, you can not make stuffed with prunes, or a complex cake, which will require a lot of whipped cream, candied fruit, eggs, condensed milk, and so on. Instead, you can boil the meat and serve with vegetables. And for dessert, make a simple cookie. In fact, the body does not need and even harmful complex dishes, and energy for life and proper development can be obtained from the simplest products.
The second advice is to consider how much money is spent on "empty calories" and "for pleasure." Let's take a simple example: if we are concerned about how to save on food, instead of a large bag of chips, it is better to buy a pack (4 servings) of buckwheat. One bag of cereal is enough for a side dish for two people. You can serve porridge with fried vegetables (and even better boiled: both faster and cheaper, and you don’t have to spend money on fat or oil for frying), boiled meat or a little white cheese (such as Adyghe or feta). In general, all frying, especially deep-frying, is best kept to a minimum: firstly, it consumes a very large amount of oil, and secondly, fried foods are much more harmful to digestion and health. It is better to cook on the grill without fat.
The third tip is to cook several dishes from one product. Think it's impossible? And here you are wrong. For example, a kilogram of whole chicken costs less than a kilogram of fillets or legs. At the same time, we will make one dish from the fillet, and if you buy a chicken carcass, you can cook a very tasty soup in broth, and use the meat for another dish, for example, for a salad. Also try to abandon semi-finished products and ready-made meals in favor of self-cooking. Barbecue, already marinated, will cost more than barbecue meat and self-marinating, besides, you will have the opportunity to make sure the product is fresh.
Well, the last advice. Pay attention to prices. In fact, in large stores, the lack of price tags is not only an oversight of the staff. This is designed to ensure that the buyer will not find out the price, but simply put the product that he likes in the basket. And only then at the checkout it turns out that we have to pay a little more than we planned. Products from different manufacturers most often differ not only and not so much in quality as in price. The latter depends on how much a given manufacturer spends on advertising, promotions, the corresponding position on the shelf and other means of promotion. The buyer ultimately pays for all this. Please note that the same product can be about twenty to thirty percent more expensive in a shopping center than in a shop around the corner, where, of course, the choice is more modest, but the markup is also lower.
Many families is that they can not make ends meet and begin to live in debt. This happens for one reason - people live beyond their means, there are more of them than them. If all your earned money disappears in an unknown direction and you do not have enough money to pay, then you need to urgently take action and choose one of the options.
- or increase income
- or cut costs
There is no other way!
The first option, as a rule, cannot always solve this problem. With the growth of income, expenses grow proportionally, new needs appear, expenses for status and image things increase.
It's okay to strive to increase your income, but reducing your expenses and bringing them in line with your income is a guaranteed way to solve your financial problems.
The basic law of the home economy is to live within your means, expenses should be less than income.
Ideally, your current expenses should not exceed 60-70% of your income, and the excess should be regularly set aside for future goals (accumulation fund, investments).
How to reduce family expenses?
For almost all families, the main items of expenditure are approximately the same - these are utilities, food, medicine, education, clothing, entertainment, etc.
For many of these items, spending can be significantly (and at the same time painlessly) reduced, thereby freeing up funds for.
What do we usually spend money on?
The structure of expenses of an average family is clearly shown in the picture (this is just an example of expenditure items, read below about the optimal share for each item).
Family budget expenditures depend on the level of economic development of the country and on the level of well-being of citizens.
This dependence was discovered and described in the last century by the German statistician Ernest Engel, and it was called Engel's law. The essence of the law is that with the growth of family incomes, the share of expenditures on food decreases, the share of expenditures on clothing, housing and utilities change little, and the share of expenditures on satisfaction of cultural and other non-material benefits increases noticeably.
Therefore, depending on the level of income in different families, the ratio of expenditure items may differ.
The rich will have a much smaller share of food expenditures than the poor. But on average, the structure of expenses in most families remains approximately the same, differing only in quantitative terms.
In order to understand where you can and should save, and where not, you need to:
1. Find out the structure of your expenses, determine what share each of the items occupies and find out what you spend the most money on. To do this, you need to keep a record of your expenses for several months, record and analyze all your expenses.
2. Determine the 2-3 most expensive budget items that you can regulate yourself (usually food, clothing and footwear, household expenses) and it is on these items that you need to save, that is, reduce costs. It is quite difficult to save on such budget items as rent and debts, because. as a rule, these are fixed payments.
And it makes no sense at all to optimize expenses, the share of which in your budget is less than 5% - saving on pennies will practically not change the situation, but it can deprive you of small pleasures.
According to the Pareto principle, only 20% of the items of expenditure account for 80% of all expenses. Our main task is simply to determine these very costly "20%". They need to be reduced, this will ensure the most effective and rational budget savings, which means it will guarantee a reduction in family expenses and optimize the family budget.
According to most financial advisers for an average family with an average income, the optimal ratio of expenses is distributed as follows.
Food expenses should not exceed 25%,
for clothes and shoes - 10-15%,
for household expenses - 10-15%,
for medicine -5-10%,
for education -5-10%,
for leisure and entertainment -10%,
for transport -5%,
for gifts -5%,
for one-time large expenses (vacation, household appliances) - 20-25%.
These are the metrics you should be aiming for! If an overspending is obtained for some item, it makes sense to think about optimizing and saving costs for these items.
Reduce your costs by buying cheaper substitutes (without sacrificing the end result, of course) or avoid unnecessary purchases altogether.
Look at interesting examples of cost reduction in infographics from GoVisual, of course, I do not agree with all the options, but the approach to the problem of cost optimization is very correct.
Maybe you can take note of something and you can reduce family expenses?
Click the picture to enlarge.
Health, money and good luck to you!
See you soon on the pages of the Economic Council blog
