{"id":960185,"date":"2026-05-14T22:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T22:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/960185\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T22:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T22:09:22","slug":"need-to-lower-your-monthly-expenses-start-by-cutting-these-four-costs-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/960185\/","title":{"rendered":"Need to lower your monthly expenses? Start by cutting these four costs, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many Americans, summer<\/a>\u2019s vibes just aren\u2019t vibing. <\/p>\n

Some 87 percent of consumers have anxiety about rising prices <\/a>and, as a result, 86 percent of them have reduced how much they spend<\/a> on everything from gas to groceries, according to consumer data firm J.D. Power. <\/p>\n

As much as Americans want to take a vacation<\/a> from the financial squeeze they\u2019re feeling, it\u2019s hard to escape the high-cost realities<\/a> they face, said Vipin Porwal, founder of shopping rewards app Smarty. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re really seeing is that many consumers are now conditioned to watch for low pricing and getting value, budgeting more carefully and making more intentional product purchases,\u201d Vipin told The Independent in an email. \u201cThis summer with tighter budgets for most consumers, every purchase is critical and every dollar counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart spending and frugal habits can shore up summer finances and provide stability<\/a> in an unstable season of the American economy. <\/p>\n

\"WhileWhile a trip to the ice cream shop can quell summer\u2019s heat, it can be one of many small, unplanned expenses that can burn through a budget (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Done with delivery<\/p>\n

Some 28 percent of Americans<\/a> use food delivery services at least once a week. While convenient, a January 2025 YouGov survey found, the added fees that food delivery comes with can slowly drain monthly income – that\u2019s why they make a good target for cutbacks, said Nathan Haas, a financial advisor and owner of Haas Trade Advisors. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere I see my clients can make the biggest cuts are in eating out and food delivery services,\u201d Hass said in an email to The Independent. \u201cBy reducing the amount of eating out and preparing meals at home most people can easily save hundreds of dollars.\u201d <\/p>\n

The average American spends around $2,841 a year on eating out<\/a> and takeout, a 2025 survey<\/a> from tech publication CNET found<\/a>. That\u2019s a per-person figure \u2013 in a household of two, cutting spending in these areas in half can save around $237 a month.<\/p>\n

Get a new grocer<\/p>\n

Consumers can save hundreds of dollars a month on their grocery bill by switching where they shop. <\/p>\n

Using Walmart as a baseline for the average cost of a trip to the grocery store, shoppers can save an average of 8.5 percent by switching to Aldi, a February 2026 study<\/a> from consumer ratings and research company Consumer Reports found. Those savings shoot up to around 21 percent at Costco and BJ\u2019s, two warehouse clubs that require a paid membership. <\/p>\n

Those who shop at Whole Foods can gain the biggest savings by switching to Aldi \u2013 their bill could drop by as much as 50 percent, according to Consumer Reports.<\/p>\n

\"SwitchingSwitching stores can cut a grocery bill in half, according to a Consumer Reports Study (Getty)<\/p>\n

Another tip \u2013 try store-brand items rather than name-brand groceries, Haas said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t like it, then no worries \u2013 you can switch back to the name brand,\u201d he said. \u201cBut people would be surprised at how many non-name brands taste the same or better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farewell to your phone company<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) have become more visible. These mobile service providers operate on big networks like T-Mobile and Verizon but have a different company name. <\/p>\n

Simply by switching from a \u201cbrand name\u201d mobile company to an MVNO like Metro by T-Mobile (uses T-Mobile\u2019s network) and Cricket Wireless (uses AT&T\u2019s network), consumers can save a substantial amount of money each month, said Thad Hwang, CEO of Goji Mobile.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost never notice a difference in coverage,\u201d Hwang said in an email to The Independent. \u201cThe only difference they notice is an extra $70 to $100 each month in savings that can be applied to other expenses like rising costs for gas, groceries and utilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Changing cellphone providers from a big-name company to Optimum, an MVNO, saved Reyna Gobel, founder of nutrition and personal finance site Wallets and Waistlines, $50 a month, she said. <\/p>\n

\"MobileMobile virtual network operators often use big-name mobile networks such as T-Mobile but offer plans at a fraction of the cost (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cI now pay around $20 monthly with Optimum versus paying $70 before the switch,\u201d she told The Independent in an email.<\/p>\n

Little leaks<\/p>\n

Summer ushers in last-minute trips to Target to buy sunscreen for a beach trip, spur-of-the-moment ice cream trips and other last-minute outings that can slowly chip away at a monthly budget. <\/p>\n

Keeping track of these unplanned expenses can help consumers identify where they\u2019re leaking money, said Dr. Erika Rasure, the chief financial wellness advisor at debt consolidation firm Beyond Finance. <\/p>\n

\u201cSummer brings a mindset of celebration and escape, which makes it easier to justify purchases that don\u2019t fit your budget,\u201d Rasure told The Independent in an email. \u201cThe dopamine rush you get from travel or experiences fades quickly when the bills arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article is sponsored by Credit Karma. We may earn a commission if you engage with their services using links in this article.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For many Americans, summer\u2019s vibes just aren\u2019t vibing. Some 87 percent of consumers have anxiety about rising prices…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":960186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3093],"tags":[268249,51,166350,557,47671,21329,1700,474,166351,44888,33662,2499,2249,363,17749,16,15,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-960185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-burbank","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-business-finance-and-industry","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-color-image","13":"tag-customer","14":"tag-economy","15":"tag-finance","16":"tag-finance-and-economy","17":"tag-horizontal","18":"tag-merchandise","19":"tag-personal-finance","20":"tag-photography","21":"tag-retail","22":"tag-store","23":"tag-uk","24":"tag-united-kingdom","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116575219585350551","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=960185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/960185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/960186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=960185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=960185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=960185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}