Published: 01/03/2021
Money-saving doesn’t have to be hard, but they don't teach this valuable skill at school.
After the first lock down, we got serious about our savings and significantly increased how much money we put aside. If you didn’t, it might be time to look into your money choices.
Even if you’re already saving money ‘the usual way’, here are some unconventional tips to help you save even more.
Heard the old adage of ‘pay yourself first’? This applies not only to saving money but also to investing in your future.
It isn’t true that only financially well-off people can invest. In reality, investing is a great way to grow your savings even if you start with only £100 a month or less.
The sooner you start putting money into the market, the more years you have to grow your wealth. There is a lot of information available.
Perhaps one of the best money-saving tips you can adopt is to ‘live on less’. Be frugal! Don’t do this temporarily that you do when you’re on a tight budget. Make a frugal lifestyle your new normal. There are lots of tips to spend less and save more.
Do you really need to pay for three streaming services, take Ubers to work regularly or buy gourmet coffee? Maybe get a bike instead and pick your favourite streaming service and cancel the others?
Small changes that won’t feel like a big sacrifice but will reduce your overall expenses, mean you can save more. Buying second-hand and finding ways to entertain yourself that don’t involve spending money will also help you live more frugally.
No matter how much you earn, overspending will always wreck your money-saving goals. If you tend to overspend when you’re feeling sad or lonely, find other ways to entertain yourself.
Similarly, it’s true if you keep eating out regularly or shop online out of boredom when you can’t really afford to. The sooner you kick those bad habits into that aren’t helping your financial future, the better off you’ll be.
The more you can do yourself, the less you’ll spend. While you won’t want to interfere with your home’s gas or electrical systems, we can all learn some basic DIY skills, including how to repair holes in plasterboard, use a drill and fix a blocked sink or groom your pet!
These are things that a professional a few minutes to fix and would likely cost you a fortune. You can easily learn to do them yourself online, watching some YouTube videos or by taking a class.
Pushing your limits once in a while and you can ‘find’ extra money and save some more. You could try a spending freeze for a week or a month, and not allow yourself any purchases except the essentials. Could be a good habit!
Get fit. Try not driving at all for a month and bike, use the bus or walk everywhere instead.
And off the wall, do an electricity-free evening a couple of times a month. Turn everything off and spend time playing a board game by candlelight.