What most families don’t realize is how much they spend on accumulated marginal costs- they don’t understand how much small and little expenses add up into one enormous expense. For example, why spend at all on the house or car rags when old, holey t-shirts can do just as well?
Why Save At The Margins?
What does that even mean? Saving “marginally” means to save cash by shaving off extra costs from current expenses. To make it more transparent, think of a leaky faucet that drips every few seconds. Each drop, taken by itself, is so small that it looks like only a bit of water is lost. But place a bucket under the faucet, and it will begin to fill. Multiply the volume of water by 365 days, and the amount lost will be staggering.
Every drop of water lost to the leaky faucet is like a marginal cost. I am spending a few dollars and cents more here, and there may not seem like much. But as they add up, the volume of additional dollars and cents spent will increase as well. Saving on the margins is an effective way to improve the household lifestyle.
There are some objects, especially appliances, that are more cost-efficient in the long run while more expensive at the initial output. These usually include stove ranges, dryers, washing machines, and so forth. However, without cutting down on marginal costs, those objects may remain out of reach, or at least hard to sustain payments on. A suggestion is that cuts on minimal costs first on products that you can replace with cheaper or home-made options.
Save on Garden Products
Buying every trending fertilizer, pesticide, and weed killer on the market is not cost-efficient. The average cost of fertilizer is around $270, a pesticide can cost up to $300, and weed killer up to $100-all expenditures that occur more than once a year. If the household is already saving on vegetables with their garden, you keep more on garden maintenance.
Coffee grounds are an unexpectedly cost-efficient fertilizer. Every day, after the morning brew, the grounds can be set in water under the sun for a few minutes and then poured as liquid fertilizer. Eggshells, a natural part of the breakfast tradition, can be washed, dried, ground, and sprinkled as fertilizer.
For pesticides, lime juice and vinegar sprayed on plants are significant. It won’t harm them, is natural, and causes no harm to pets. Sprinkling Epsom salts very lightly on leaves is also a natural way to keep off pests. Also, garlic and onion are easy-to-find kitchen spices that, when pureed, can be wiped on plant leaves to kill aphids and other bugs.
Save on Pet Products
Flea and tick medications, whether shampoos, pills, or liquids, can cost anywhere from $40 to 200 dollars a year, depending on what is preferred; instead of buying flea and tick medicine from a veterinarian’s (those only last a month or so), use common home ingredients. Garlic in the pet’s food, and rosemary around his sleeping place, are just as effective.
Pet containment is always a problem. After all, not all households can afford a 6-foot-high privacy fence with no cracks, costing an average of $2,000-2,400 for materials, labor, and tools. One smart saver is an invisible dog fence. A sturdy in-ground dog fence saves over $1000, less if the household tackles it together. A sturdy wireless dog fence will save more than $1,500.
For his toys, creativity is vital. Knotted rugs do well for tug-of-war, and there are always old tennis balls to throw. Tough rubber toys with no small parts for chew toys, so the dog leaves shoes alone. If there’s a problem with easily bored dogs, its set of toys can be placed on rotation so that he will always enjoy them. Pieces of yarn and string are suitable for all cats-and they are relatively easy to find around the house.
Cutting Costs = Effective Living
Saving on the margins is the trickiest part of cost-cutting. After all, like drops from a leaky pipe, each one separately is insignificant. Comfort has a lot to do with it: why keep coffee grounds when there is pre-prepared fertilizer? Why repurpose an old tennis ball when pet stores sell cheap sets of dog toys? However, saving at the margins is one way to maintain a sustainable lifestyle and effectively plan for larger, more essential household expenses.
