System 08: Household running costs
The quiet budget: cleaning, laundry, water, pets, maintenance and the small consumables that leak money a few dollars at a time.
The system guide
Working guides in this system
Household running costs Cleaning Products and the Cupboard of Almost-Empty Bottles Cutting cleaning spending down to a few versatile products, used up fully, with the specialty bottles bought rarely and on purpose. Household running costs Furnishing a Room on a Plan, Not on Impulse Furnishing room by room with a list, a layout and a buying order, so secondhand finds and sales fit a plan instead of starting a pile. Household running costs Garden and Outdoor Costs, Kept Seasonal Planning garden spending by season: plants, water, tools and outdoor living, bought in season and maintained rather than replaced. Household running costs Home Maintenance That Prevents the Big Bills The small, scheduled jobs - filters, seals, gutters, alarms - that stop cheap problems becoming expensive repairs. Household running costs Household Admin: Postage, Printing and the Small Fees Taming the administrative drip: postage, printing, late fees, paper and records, with systems that make the default the cheap option. Household running costs Household Consumables: A Standing List Stops the Repeat Buys Building one list of everything the house uses up, with stock levels, so consumables are bought once, on time, at planned prices. Household running costs Laundry Costs Per Load: Powder, Pods and Habits Working out what a load actually costs across detergent, water, energy and machine wear, and which habits move that number. Household running costs Pet Costs: Food, Vet Visits and Everything Between Planning the predictable parts of pet ownership - food, routine vet care, insurance decisions, supplies - so the surprises are rarer and smaller. Household running costs Toiletries and the Bathroom Shelf Audit Auditing the bathroom shelf, finishing products before replacing them, and setting defaults for the items the household uses daily. Household running costs Tools and Equipment: Buy, Borrow or Rent? A simple frequency and cost test for deciding whether a tool should be owned, borrowed, rented or hired in with its operator. Household running costs Water Use at Home: Where It Goes and What It Costs Where household water actually goes - leaks, toilets, showers, laundry - and the order to tackle it in, from the EPA WaterSense picture.