Money: Home Habits That Could Be Saving Your Wallet
With the current economy, inflation has people reaching for their wallets to pull out larger sums each time. The price of goods is being felt in every aspect of life but here are some home habits you can use to tighten the belt:
You’re Using Too Much Laundry Detergent
Unless you use industrial-sized laundry machines (which most people don’t), there’s a good chance you’re probably one of the many who fill that cup up way too high on laundry soap. Do you know how much you’re actually supposed to use? 1.5-2 tablespoons or 30 mL, that’s it! Yep, the same amount of laundry soap should be put into a home laundry machine as the dose of cough syrup you take when you’re sick. Do you know why the laundry detergent company gives you such a large cap? They know that if you think you put more soap in, your clothes will come out cleaner. From there, you’ll be at the store more often buying more of their products. They get the profit, you get a thinner wallet.
Stop Paying For Fabric Softener
Speaking of laundry, I’m one of the people that love soft, comfy, socks, especially right out of the dryer. So we’ve been taught all our lives that if you want your clothes to be unmistakably soft, you have to use the fabric softener. Here’s a little home-kept secret, distilled white vinegar will do the same thing at half the cost! It’s safer than all the chemicals used. It will actually aid in cleaning. The best part is, that your clothes won’t take on that vinegar smell because it will be so diluted. If you add it to your final rinse cycle you don’t need those fancy bottles of fabric softener.
More Money-Saving Tips: Saving At The Grocery Store
Stop Using So Much Tooth Paste
Just like the laundry soap, you’re probably using too much toothpaste. We’ve all seen those wonderful commercials that show the demonstration going from one end of the toothpaste to the other. Do you know what that gets you? A large chunk of toothpaste falls off the brush as soon as you start brushing and gets spit down the drain. Take a look at the end of your toothpaste tube. That opening at the end of it is about how much toothpaste you should put on your toothbrush and just as high. Another instance of it not getting any cleaner just because you used more.
Don’t Buy Mouth Wash
Listerine cost $5-6 dollars for a large bottle and sure it can make your mouth feel all warm and tingly. Guess what, there’s an alternative. Do you want to know what does the same thing as mouthwash is for about $1.29 a bottle? Hydrogen peroxide, you just don’t get that minty fresh flavor. Water down a 50/50 mix of water and peroxide and all the bacteria that kill bad breath will go more quietly than the $6 bottle of Listerine.
Too Much Facial Scrub/Moisturizer
So many people are programmed to want good skin. Blemish cream, lotions, and moisturizers are easy to burn through if you don’t know how to apply them. With a good moisturizer, the old saying “a little dab will do ya” applies here. Take the tip of your finger, about the length of your fingerprint, and just dip it in the substance. That’s enough to cover one whole side of your face. Then do the same with the other side. You don’t need to squeeze a palm full of product in your hand. It’s just going to waste. SO much of your daily products go to waste because you’ve been programmed to use them a certain way. Do you know who that benefits? The company that has you buying double the amount. But they make out, because they put the directions on the back that you don’t read.
Men Especially, For The Love Of God, Stop Using So Much Cologne/Perfume
Listen, I get no one wants to go out for a night on the town and smell like the day’s work. However, some of you need to chill out on the body sprays. Your cologne should be a scent enhancer, not masking the fact you didn’t take a shower. Here’s the thing 3-4 sprays tops is it. One on the wrist and rub them together. If you’re at dinner, you’re going to be passing food, or should you be out to dance, or even if you talk with your hands they’ll probably be the close to whomever you’re around the most. Two, on the neck but rub it on both sides, just in case things get intimate. Third, depending on the length of your torso 1-2 and be done. If you’re using more than that, you should’ve washed yourself and your clothes before you went out.
There are so many ways you’re a product of consumerism and now is the time you can be saving money. There are a ton of ways to save money once you break the bad habits of commercial branding. You don’t need to be cheap to be economical, but there are better ways to accomplish the same thing.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
