Ok, here are some things to consider:
Do you have cable? If so, cancel it and get a Roku Box and Hulu Plus. If you want movies get
Amazon Prime or Netflix. Average cable bill is $80 per month around here or $960 per year. Even of you got all three services, you would end up at about $280 per year, but you most likely wouldn't need all three.
Do you have a land line and cell phones? If so, ditch the landline. Where we live, the cheapest landline is about $40 per month. This adds up to a savings of $480 per year. Also, check for the most current cell phone plans and make sure that you aren't over paying. You should be paying no more than $35 per line for unlimited talk and text or $45 per line for unlimited talk, text & web. Do your kids have cell phones? Many companies will now let you have two phones on the unlimited plans and the others with something like 500 anytime minutes, unlimited text, night & weekends and mobile to mobile for around $5 per month.
Are you shopping the clearance items at your grocery stores? You can have very large savings by doing so. If the items are on it because they are about to expire, remember most items can be frozen for a month to a year. In many cases its on here because the box cutter they used to open the case cut into the product, but the inner seal is still sealed. You can also combine these days with coupons. For those that love in an area with Fresh & Easy markets, they don't accept manufacturer's coupons, but sign up for their friends card and make sure you put what you are going to buy on as bonus items. They will also send you coupons for something like $5 off of $20, the exact amount varies each time. Additionally if say something is normally $6.99 each or 2 for for 10, you would normally get $1.99 off of each one of you bought 2 of them. Of they are on the clearance rack for $1.00 and you buy two of them, you will still get $1.99 of of each one, essentially resulting in an overage of $1.98 that you can use on other items in the store, the system won't usually give you cash back though. By using this technique, I have walked out with four shopping bags filled with groceries for $0.10. You can usually do similar deals with coupons at other stores.
Shop for unprocessed, GMO free foods. While slightly more expensive to start, you will find that you will end up eating smaller portions and being full faster, causing you to eat fewer calories. This will reduce healthcare costs as well, not just because of the weight loss, but because of eliminating the GMO foods. Also, look at whole grains that are high in protein, such as Quinoa, Amaranth and don't forget other items like Flax And Chia seeds. You can use these items to reduce your meat costs, increase nutritional value and reduce fat an cholesterol. But make sure the whole grains are GMO free, this is especially true for wheat. You can also mix things like Quinoa in with you meat to stretch it if you family doesn't like the flavor it's self. Overall by doing these things, you will probably save around 35% of your current food costs and reduce your healthcare costs by about 50%, as you will need fewer medications, doctor's visits, etc. but dot forget your fresh veggies. If you can't get fresh, flash frozen is ok as long as there are no additives and it is GMO free. But fresh is always better.
Out here we have a seconds store that sells stuff that the box got damaged, the product is fine but because the box is damaged, the regular stores won't sell it. I figure I am going to throw the box away anyway and then I can buy these items at a fraction of the cost. Look for similar stores near you.
For everything else, if you have a smartphone download an App called Redlaser and scan everything you are thinking about buying, it will tell you if there are local or online stores with a lower price.
When buying online, use Google Chrome and install an extension called Invisible Hand as well as one that will tell you if coupons are available for the site you are on. I do this and always start with Amazon.
Sign up for cash back sites like BigCrumbs or fatwallet and use them whenever possible.
Also sign up for the automatic cash back sites like iDine, Plink, UPromise, etc. that you can simply enter your credit card number and it will automatically track your purchases and give you cash back on qualifying purchases.
Use a rewards card like the Disney Visa rewards card for all purchases, but do not charge more than you can pay off each month and pay it off each month.
Never purchase something just because it is a good deal. Only purchase what you need.
Recycle your cans and bottles by taking them to a recycle facility that pays you instead of putting them in your recycle bin.
Sign up for RecycleBank and get rewarded for your other recycling as well as that of your neighbors. The more people in your neighborhood that sign up, the more you will get.
Use Swagbucks instead of google. You get pouts for your searches and they can be redeemed for Amazon gift cards. I average about $300 a year in gift cards. They will also give points for shopping and their sites are different than other rewards sites.
These are a few things that you can do to reduce expenses. There are many, many others that can be done as well.
