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Warren Buffett once famously said, “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” Inspiration from this quote is to look for ways to save money so that you can spend or invest it for life betterment. The question is does a tenant have any scope of saving money while they have to pay what they have to pay (monthly rent, utility bills, etc.) and then the answer is emphatic yes.
In this article, we will try to explore certain ways to save money from the tenant’s point of view as the old cliché goes “Where there is a will there is a way”.
2. Look for shared accommodation: A shared accommodation is where you share the property with one or more people. Since it is a shared accommodation, you need not pay the whole rent as it gets shared between the co-tenants. This option is worth a try if you are a bachelor or living alone without your family. As a tenant, you also have to pay only a part for all your utility bills. Indeed, this is a very good option to save money.
3. Give up your garage: Certain properties come equipped with an attached garage. However, if you don’t have a vehicle, then you can tell your landlord upfront that you don’t need a garage/parking space. So, either they can use it for their personal use or they can give it to someone else on rent and earn from it. If your landlord agrees to your request then you can ask him to cut down on the monthly rent. This is one of the ways you can think about saving some money every month.
4. Plan to move in the new property during the off-season: Statistically, the demand for rental properties is high during the summer/spring time and drops significantly during winter. Since winter is a quiet time as demand for rental property is less, you can plan to move into the new property during the off-season. When demand is less, it is observed that property rent prices fall down a bit and it is probably a good idea to take this angle into consideration to save on your monthly rent. Generally, a property contract is done for a year and that means you may end-up saving handsome money.
5. Change the locality: It is no secret that the rental property prices are high as you go near the city centre or in prime locations. When looking for a property to rent, try to be judicious when selecting an area to live in. If you can afford to stay on the outskirt of the city without compromising your safety and on other needs then by all means you should consider looking for a property that is on the outskirt of the city area. This obviously will help you find properties with less rent.
6. Lookout for unfurnished or semi-furnished houses: The rental properties are available in 3 types: furnished, semi-furnished and unfurnished. For furnished properties, the rent amount is higher compared to unfurnished and semi-furnished properties. If you want to save money you can go for a semi-furnished or unfurnished house and save some money. At the same time, you can buy some furniture like a bed and wardrobe from the charity shops for a much lesser price. You can always dispose of those items at the time you end your tenancy period.
7. One-shot rent payment: If you have enough money at your disposal the think about discussing with your landlord/letting agent if they can lower the rent amount or provide any discount if you promise to pay the rent for few months or a whole year in one shot in advance. The landlord may like this idea as he/she will get the amount in bulk and can invest it in some other saving instruments. This might turn out to be a win-win situation for both.
8. Negotiate with the landlord before renewal of contract: Normally the duration of the rental agreement is of 1 year and after that it requires renewal. If you have a good rapport with your landlord, then you can try negotiating with the landlord about lowering the rental amount at the time of the renewal of your tenancy agreement. If you have kept the property in a good shape and provide him/her the confidence that you will continue to live for another year or so then the landlord may consider your demand. But it’s entirely at your landlord’s discretion.
9. Spend less on utility bills: Utility bills are the part of monthly budget of every household. Most of the time the tenants are responsible to pay for utility bills such as electricity, water, gas etc… First of all look for rental properties where utility bills are included in the rent itself so you don’t have to pay for them besides paying the rent. Having said this, it is extremely rare to find such properties.
Utility bills can shoot the moon if not used smartly but on the other hand with a little discipline and opting for smart ways while using some of the utilities, you may achieve bring down the monthly bills significantly. Some tips would be like:
- Don’t keep things such as T.V., charging cables on a stand-by. If we employ little discipline to just switch it off after use, we can save some bit of money on the electricity bill. The same thing applies to other utilities such as water and gas.
- Look for using smart controls like a smart thermostat or smart electric plugs which you can operate over the internet even when you are away from home but can still control to make sure that they are not in use.
- Keep a check on any water leakages as small leaks here and there and increase your water bill.
- If you plan to have a TV at the rental property then you will require having a TV license. Try to get a TV license for a year as you get some discount as compare to the monthly or quarterly fee for the TV license.
- If you need a broadband connection at the property and you are a working person then check for any corporate discounts to get a good deal for broadband connection.
The above points are just a few tried and tasted good ways that at some point every tenant in the past has given a go. Surely there are many more ways one can think of saving money to lower the monthly expenses. Take the clue from the points that have been discussed above and put your imagination hat to spring new ideas and strategies to save money while you pay what you have to pay.