Cutting Household Expenses? Here’s the No. 1 Thing To Get Rid of First

If you’re looking to save money right now (who isn’t?!), it can be difficult to identify where to cut costs. Our lives are so hectic that almost everything we do to make them easier seems essential. But there are ways to make some changes and save some dough without sacrificing your quality of life.

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GOBankingRates spoke with experts to determine what they would get rid of and why — and the no. 1 thing was surprising. We’ve compiled their answers here, along with some runners-up so we can all make better choices when it comes to streamlining our lives.

Also here are expenses you need to slash from your budget now.

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The No. 1 Expense to Cut: Food Delivery Apps

Chrissy Grigoropoulus, founding partner at The Grigoropoulos Law Group and author of the bestselling book “LADYSHARK: How to Become a Millionaire in Your 30s,” identifies food delivery apps as the top unnecessary expense to eliminate.

“Deleting food delivery apps like DoorDash, GrubHub, Seamless and Uber will save you loads,” Grigoropoulus shared. “When you call in an order and pick it up instead, you can save as much as $40 per meal.”

This simple change can lead to big savings, especially if you’re using them multiple times a week. By opting to pick up orders directly from restaurants or cooking at home, families can significantly reduce their food-related expenses without sacrificing the enjoyment of restaurant-quality meals.

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Runners-Up: Other Key Areas to Cut Expenses

While food delivery apps top the list, there are several other areas where households can make meaningful cuts to their budgets:

1. Amazon Shopping

Grigoropoulus warns about the hidden costs of everyone’s favorite convenient online shopping: “The majority of Amazon shoppers do not realize how much they in fact spend on a daily or weekly basis with Amazon since shopping is made easy with just a few taps of the finger.”

Instead, she suggests temporarily deleting the Amazon app to regain control over impulse purchases and focus on buying what you really need.

2. Cable TV

“Cut back on cable by instead using streaming services to save over $100 per month,” Grigoropoulus said. She recommends alternatives like Max (which includes all Discovery network programming) and Disney Plus for more cost-effective entertainment options.

3. Transportation Costs

An often-overlooked way to save money is through carpooling.

“Carpool with neighbors and coworkers and cut your gas costs in half!” Grigoropoulus shared. This method not only saves money but also helps you get to know your neighbors and is environmentally friendly. Consider syncing up your grocery runs or planning trips to the post office together.

4. Home Energy Efficiency

Dena Rothmann, vice president of retail and branch banking for Travis Credit Union , offers advice for homeowners looking to cut utility costs:

– Switch to high-efficiency appliances

– Insulate water heaters

– Add weather stripping to doors and windows

– Use ceiling and standing fans instead of AC when possible

– Install motion detectors for lights

Rothmann also shares that simple changes in habits can lead to major savings: “Just changing the time of day and day of the week when you do laundry will help you avoid summertime peak energy costs, usually between 4 and 8 p.m.”

5. Unused Subscriptions

Brandon Galici, CFP at Galici Financial , likes the idea of reviewing your subscriptions — lots of people have many they don’t even use.

“These are perhaps the easiest expenses to cut because they’re not even bringing you joy or value,” he shared. “Review your subscriptions quarterly and cancel any that you haven’t used. This includes streaming services, gym memberships, and forgotten app subscriptions.”

The Importance of Intentional Spending

While cutting expenses is important, the experts we spoke to stress the importance of a balanced approach.

Aaliyah Kissick, personal finance expert and CEO of The Financial Literacy Diaries , cautions against extreme measures: “I feel like the idea of cutting an entire portion of household spending is like a fad diet. When you deprive yourself of basic human needs, it will swing back like a pendulum and may cause you to spend more later.”

Instead, Kissick recommends a more nuanced approach: “A better way to conceptualize decreasing spending is to trim spending within the categories rather than cutting an entire group.” For example, you might mainly eat at home but you can still enjoy eating out occasionally. Or, if going to the movies is important to yuo, you don’t cut back on that, but you stop getting those morning lattes because you don’t really care about them that much and there’s free coffee at work. It’s all about your lifestyle.

Galici echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the personal nature of spending: “Spending is very personal because we all value things differently. For some, the $5 coffee per day could be worth it. But if you don’t appreciate coffee much, then it likely isn’t.”

The key, according to these experts, is to identify and eliminate “unconscious” spending — meaning, the expenses that don’t align with your values or bring real joy to your life. By focusing on intentional spending and cutting back on areas that don’t provide value to you personally, you can achieve meaningful savings without feeling deprived. Win-win!

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Cutting Household Expenses? Here’s the No. 1 Thing To Get Rid of First