There’s no question that everyone is looking for ways to tighten their belts these days; even if you are on comfortable financial footing, you may have noticed that frugality and budgeting make for a simpler life style. One of the biggest expenses every person faces, month in and month out, is housing. Not only do you have to pay rent or a mortgage, you have to pay utilities (in a time of rising energy costs — ouch!) as well as at least a few maintenance costs. But, for most of us, there are a few spots that we can reduce the amount of money we need to budget for our monthly housing needs.

1. Reduce utilities. The majority of American homes have a passing familiarity with energy efficiency at best. The fastest bill that you can cut is your utilities: even without upgrading to energy efficient appliances, you can still make a significant dent in your bill. Start by turning off and unplugging appliances you aren’t using — and make an effort to use less appliances in general. Rather than running your dryer, hang up a load of laundry or two to dry. Little tricks like this can significantly cut an energy bill.
2. Choose a smaller space. Smaller homes (apartments or houses) are often cheaper in just about every way. Of course, choosing a smaller space can be expensive — if you need to actually move all your stuff to a smaller home. You can get a portion of the benefit, though, by using a smaller portion of your home. For instance, if you aren’t using your guest room on a regular basis, why bother to heat it or cool it — or even plug in the clock radio in there? Simply shutting down a room that you don’t actually use can save you a little bit of cash.
3. Get a roommate. If you really aren’t using that room, why not rent it out? Bringing a roommate into your home can cut some significant costs. If you, in turn, are renting your home, you may need to check that your lease allows you to do so, but if you own your home, you can bring in as many boarders are you want.
4. Get rid of storage units. Even if your storage unit is a room in your home, you’re still losing money on that space (hey! you could be renting it out to a roommate!). But it’s much worse if you’re renting a storage unit just to house all your junk. The majority of storage units are used to hold junk that you don’t need — I’ve seen people pull a dumpster up to their storage unit and just pitch everything numerous times. And you may even be able to make some money off your stuff — try eBay or Craigslist.