Our monthly budgets are composed of rent, electricity, telephone, internet and multimedia subscriptions. Discover the tips to optimize your budget and save hundreds or thousands of euros.
💸 Main expense items.
Our average monthly expenses are over 1000 euros per month. They have risen sharply over the past thirty years, since in the 1960s these expenses were less than 12% of the budget, whereas today they are about 30%. This significant increase obviously reflects a loss of purchasing power. The first item of expenditure is obviously real estate, with rents or loan repayments approaching 650€. This has always been the main item, but with the increase in real estate prices, the share has proportionally increased again.
The next largest expense items are transportation, with an average of 223 euros for vehicles, maintenance and gasoline, or for public transportation. Then the cost of care and health in general, including the cost of your mutual insurance company for a little over a hundred euros. Finally, we find all the internet and telephone subscription fees (free, orange, sfr…), and the video and music streaming services, such as netflix and spotify.
The study by CSA Research – LesFurets, published on Monday, November 23, 2020, also indicates that young workers aged 25 to 34 have the highest expenses in relation to their monthly budgetThe reason for this is that it is expensive to get them started in the workforce and their incomes are lower. For them, it is important to reduce expenses, or to optimize them in order to enjoy a good quality of life for the same price.
💰 Where do I start to reduce my costs?
Among the expenses we have listed, the most impacting is the rent, but paradoxically it is the one that is the most incompressible: it will indeed be difficult to find a lower rent than your current apartment, and very tedious to move. Transportation is also a bit incompressible, even if a few tricks can reduce it. We will therefore focus first on digital spending.
Reduce your digital subscription costs
📞 Wifi and phone
The most common digital subscriptions are wifi and telephone. To save money on these items, you can start by looking for good offers, for example on vente privée, which offers several times a year free offers with a year almost free for new subscribers. If you already have your subscription, you should know that it is now possible to change your subscription easily, without any fees, and with number portability. By visiting a site like Ariase for internet or Monpetitforfait, you can find more interesting offers.
Potential savings: 10 to 30€ per month, or about 240€ per year.
📺 Netflix, Spotify, Newspapers and Games…
Streaming audio and video has become a must, and now you may need to own several (Amazon Prime video, Disney+…) to be able to follow the movies and series your friends recommend. The alternative? Switch to family or multiscreen subscriptions, and share them with family and friends. By having your money automatically refunded with a site like Sharesub, you only pay for 1 in 4 or 1 in 6 seats. The cost of subscriptions disappears, and you can even treat yourself to more services.
If you already have a subscription, change it to a family offer and propose it on the site, it will quickly find subscribers. Or search through the ones already offered.
Potential savings: 13 to 35€ per month, or up to 350€ per year. And more if you are a big consumer, without any inconvenience !
⚡ Cancel your unnecessary subscriptions
Your gym continues to charge you every month when you and I both know you’ll never set foot in it again? But to cancel this subscription, you have to go through the famous painful step: send a registered letter.
Ideel allows you to manage your subscriptions in a few clicks and for the price of a registered letter, takes care of all your cancellation procedures. For example, you want to cancel your subscription to KeepCool? Simply create an account on Ideel, enter your KeepCool subscription details and click on the “cancel” button. Ideel will then take care of everything and keep you informed of the various steps involved in cancelling your subscription.
Reduce your transportation costs
🚗 Car and gasoline
For the car and the gasoline, little solution if it is unavoidable. Insurance comparison services such as the Furets can eventually save you some money each year, but it will be moderate.
Daily carpooling also saves money, as does sharing a pass. Blablacar has launched the Blablalines service, dedicated to daily trips, with a very practical application.
Potential savings: from 50 to 150€ per month. Potentially 1000€ per year, with some effort.
🚴♂️ Changing modes of transportation?
If you don’t live too far from your work, cycling is an inexpensive alternative to driving and even public transportation. Considering that it also gives you a workout, which is good for your summer body 💪 it’s all a winner. The psychological barrier is the most important one to overcome, because even in winter or in the rain, it is possible to do it with the right equipment: a good bike, a pannier that contains the rain gear, and this equipment will include a raincoat and rain pants. With the increase in bike paths, and in the summer, it’s a dream come true. Especially since it can also save you a lot of time every day. Finally, if your employer offers it, you can benefit from kilometre allowances for cycling. And with that, your budget can go straight to zero.
Our advice: the simple bike up to 5/6km distance from work, and the electric bike up to 10/12km. Take the time to choose the best route.
Potential savings: 40 to 250€ per month. With some effort but also with pleasure if your journey is suitable.
🏠 What about my housing?
This is the last and most incompressible item. If you don’t have a place to live yet and are preparing to move in, sharing a place can save you 5 to 20% depending on the city, but it requires a lot of conditions to be met and will require you to make some compromises in your lifestyle. However, if it suits you, it is also the opportunity to share the wifi, the netflix subscription…
If not, you can try a comparison of electricity and gas energy offers. The savings will be around 10%, but beware of random offers in the first year, which can escalate in subsequent years. Everyday gestures, such as turning down the heat when you leave the house or installing a timer, are the best ways to reduce the bill a little.
💰 A micro-credit in case of a hard blow at the end of the month
With all these expenses, it is not impossible to run out of money at the end of the month. To finance unforeseen events or financial emergencies and if you do not have a sufficient budget, you can take out a quick loan in 24 hours on specialized online platforms. These small credits are often available for small amounts, ranging from 50 to 1000 euros and the repayment is fast, in a few months. If you have a hard time at the end of the month, these microloans are a real boost, they tide you over and don’t affect your budget in the long run!”
Here, we hope you have found some ideas to reduce your monthly budget. We’re sure you’ll know what to do with the savings!
