15 ways to save money at home!

Money saved is money earned they say. How true! Every homemaker can change her role from money user/spender to money earner by doing her bit. These 15 tips do not call for any education or any great knowledge of finance. All that is needed is a little time and the eagerness to save money for the household. At first look, these may look like trivial stuff, but on hindsight, they could prove to be tips, which save 2-4 K a month for you!

Kitchen

1. Plan for what is to be cooked right through the day. Basic boiling of vegetables, precooking can be done together. Will save gas and precious time.

2. Don't just dump leftovers. Particularly vegetables cooked in the morning if not fully used can be kept in the fridge and slightly modified for dinner. Many a time the beans or the brinjals of the morning with a little onion, tomato and masala go quite well with the rotis in the night.

3. Keep all your spoons dry and clean. This can save your rice, wheat, dal and other stored food items from bugs and insects. Saves your groceries from wastage, apart from being hygienic.

Shopping

4.Make a shopping list before going out shopping. A shopping list will help you stay focussed and in control of your purse strings. Guaranteed!

5.Leave your credit card behind. Sure shot way to ensure you don't overspend, at least never more than what you have.

6.If you are taking kids out shopping, feed them something before stepping out. Will save you a lot of money buying snacks on the way to keep them busy and a lot of embarrassment at the shopping place.

Electricity

7. Understand the costs of cooking fuel. Most kitchens use a combination of cooking gas, electricity, kerosene, wood (???!!! not among readers of this column I guess). In most cities electricity costs can go completely out of control if it crosses certain threshold levels. You might have to carefully optimise use of the induction stove, microwave oven etc.

8. Those fans running and lights burning bright in unoccupied rooms / bathrooms, is money being flushed down the drain.  A reminder near the door that says, "Have you switched off the light (with a winking smiley)" may do the trick.

9. LED lights, power saving equipments are god's gift to mankind, really! Use them.

Children

10. If you have two children in the house — remember to utilize the elder one's outgrown clothes, toys, books, furniture. These are used for short periods and thrown away and will serve the purpose fine. Your child will not know the difference.

11. For older children, give them an allowance. They will learn to manage their expenses within limits and you can keep within your budgets.

12. Plan for important events in their life too — school, college, post graduation, marriage etc. If you save regularly early on, you can avoid borrowing or selling key assets later.

Personal care and grooming

13. Do whatever you can at home — like you may not be able to colour or trim your hair at home, but you can definitely shampoo it at home. Most grooming these days can be done with "Do it yourself at home" products.
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Before Buying a Home: Dos and Don’ts

For most middle and upper-middle class families, a house is the most expensive asset owned by them. The asset also has emotional value and therefore families should perform meticulous research before buying the same. The following is a set of must-dos before buying a house.

Due diligence of a property:

To ensure credibility of the builder, two must-have documents for a home buyer are the approved drawings of the project and the Intimation of Disapproval (IOD) which is an instruction set pertaining to construction from an authority to the builder.

Buyers looking to buy space in under-construction buildings should obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the lender, if the property is mortgaged, and a commencement certificate which is a proof that the builder has obtained all licenses and permissions from the appropriate statutory authorities. In case the buyer doesn't hold the NOC and the builder defaults on his mortgage payments, the buyer may be evicted from the property. The builder should provide a clear land title, which implies that the property is free of litigation and associated debt. A source of risk for under-construction projects is the uncertainty on completion time.

Banks and housing finance companies (HFCs) are pre-approving residential projects by carrying out property due diligence themselves. This provides credibility to the project from the buyer's perspective. Hence before opting for a loan one can check if the particular project they are interested in is pre-approved.

The buyer should ensure that the property he is evaluating has adequate water supply and there is no problem of voltage fluctuation which can damage electrical appliances.

Evaluation of hidden costs:

Buyers ought to be wary about per square feet price quoted by builders, as there are myriad hidden costs not captured in the quote. Stamp duty and registration fees are mandatory fees and amount to approximately 5% of the value of the property. Majority of urban property purchases are financed by home loans and therefore there is the cost of an insurance policy to cover the loan. Customizing the property to the buyer's tastes and preferences entails a substantial expenditure on purchase of, interior furnishing, furniture and white goods. Liabilities like unpaid telephone and electricity bills may be present in case of a second hand property.
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