Disclaimer : this blog post is primarily written for Belgian readers.
It’s always nice to save money without sacrificing joy in life.
Here are 6 simple tips:
- Water from the tap
- Medication
- Books
- Look in your closet first
- Compare energy suppliers
- Online purchases
Water from the tap
Tap water is perfectly drinkable and much cheaper than bottled water. The price difference is enormous.
I calculated the difference between tap water and bottled water :
- Water from the tap costs 0.43 Euro cents per liter (1).
- The cheapest bottled water I found costs 0,17 Euro per liter.
Conclusion : bottled water costs 40 times (!) more than tap water.
The average Belgian drinks 134 liters of bottled water per year (2). If you drink tap water instead of bottled water, you can save about 22 Euros per person per year.
Medication
If you are ill and the doctor prescribes medication, ask for generic drugs as much as possible. These are much cheaper than the original medicine.
A generic drug is an existing drug whose patent has expired.
On the FAGG website we read : “All medicines that have a marketing authorization, both original medicines and generic medicines meet the same scientific standards, meet the same criteria of quality, safety and efficacy and are controlled in the same way.” (3)
For painkillers, the same principle applies : you can ask at the pharmacy for paracetamol (instead of Dafalgan) or ibuprofen (instead of Brufen).
Books
I used to buy every book I wanted to read until I discovered the library. For 10 Euros a year I can borrow enough books, even more books than I can read :-).
Recently I found an even cheaper solution, the “Internet Archive” : https://archive.org/. This is an online non-profit library with millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and more.
Look in your closet first
Research (4) has shown that Belgians throw away the most textiles of all EU countries. We throw away 15 kg (!) per person per year. Most of it is thrown away or burned, only a small part is recycled or gets a second life. Before you buy new clothes, look at your closet. You might discover a sweater, t-shirt, or dress that you didn’t know was hanging in your closet anymore.
Do you find clothes in your closet that are no longer worn? You can sell (and buy) second-hand clothes at the secondhand store (duh!) or online at Vinted for example.
When you enter the clothing store, also check the ‘sale’/’discount’ corner first.
Compare energy suppliers
Look at your energy contracts (electricity and/or gas) at least once a year. In Flanders, you can use the V-Test or a comparison site like www.mijnenergie.be to make this comparison. Call your current energy supplier to ask for a discount.
Online purchases
Avoid impulse purchases by leaving your items in your online shopping cart for a few days. Don’t need the item after a few days? Throw it out of your shopping basket ;-).
Some online stores also offer discount codes, and you can find these by entering the name of the store + “coupon code” in google.
Do you have any other tips for saving? Let us know in the comments!
This info is for informational, educational and entertainment purposes only, and does not constitute financial, accounting, or legal advice. Please do your own research (disclaimer).
Sources :
(1) Gemiddelde waterprijs. (n.d.). Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij. Consulted on June 19, 2021, https://www.vmm.be/data/gemiddelde-waterprijs
(2) FIEB – VIWF. (2020, May 8). Cijfers & trends – FIEB – VIWF. https://www.fieb-viwf.be/nl/cijfers-trends-2/
(3) Wat is een “generisch” geneesmiddel ? | FAGG. (2021, June 18). www.fagg.be . https://www.fagg.be/nl/public_information/medicament_generique
(4) The Biggest Textile Waste Polluters in Europe. (n.d.). LABFRESH. Consulted on June 19, 2021, https://labfresh.eu/pages/fashion-waste-index?lang=nl&locale=en