The cost of living is going through the roof these days. Being able to find ways to save a few pennies here and there is becoming so important. Especially for those who live paycheck to paycheck! Or, like me, you just want to be a bit better with money. In this article we share with you our everyday money saving tips.
Direct Debits
We all have things set up on direct debit these days but it’s so easy to forget what we have coming out and if we even still use whatever it is the payment is covering. It’s worth while going through your direct debits every few months to see whats going out of your bank and stopping anything you no longer need. For example, i recently realised both myself and my husband were paying for Amazon Prime services. The packages were coming to the same place yet we were paying for it twice! That saved us £7.99 a month immediately, (£95.88 a year) just by checking.
Snacks
One simple money saving tip is to take your own food wherever you go. Going on day trips to fun and exciting places can be a great way of spending the day with friends/family. Visiting parks, or places owned by the National Trust are great ways of having a day out that don’t cost that much. However, make sure you take into consideration things such as meals out. These are generally much more costly expenses, yet can be avoided if you plan ahead.
For example, you might go to the cinema and think it’s going to cost you £10 per ticket. What you don’t take into consideration is the snacks that go with it. You might each buy a drink and some popcorn or nachos, and maybe some pic n mix if you’re feeling it. Popcorn at cinemas is known to have THE HIGHEST mark up of all foods! A bag of popcorn at the cinema might cost you £3, and the large drink another £3. Whereas if you plan ahead, you can get a drink and popcorn from a supermarket, combined, for less than £3 total! Just think how much that would save you if you go a few times a month. Or, take your own drink of bottled water with you and a few homemade snacks so it’ll cost you even less. These days cinemas don’t seem to mind you taking your own food and drink (within reason). I wouldn’t advise you take a full on picnic, but a few snacks would be fine.
Grow Your Own
Another great money saving tip is to grow your own produce. Whether you have a huge garden, an allotment patch or you live in a single bed flat, you can still grow your own fruit and veggies. All you really need is a place that gets good sunlight and some good quality soil to grow them in. Oh, and don’t forget to water them on the odd occasion too!
You also don’t have to buy seeds for everything either. Things like sweet peppers are filled with seeds inside them. All you need to do is take the seeds out, dry them out on a window sill for a few days and plant them up. Free seeds!
Beauty Treatments
I know a lot of people like to take a trip to the nail or hair salon, maybe one or twice a month. However, why not try going every other month instead and for the month in-between, do an at home treatment. You could make a proper pamper night out of it. Have a lovely hot bath with your favourite bubbles, a few candles and do your nails yourself. This way each month you can put the money yo would have spent on a treatment in to a pot to save yourself some money. Then at the end of the year, transfer it in to your bank.
Savings Accounts
One money saving tip you might not have thought of is to set yourself up a free savings account with your current bank. Then set up a direct debit from your main account to your new savings account so each month, without you having to think about it, you’re putting money in to your savings. It doesn’t have to be very much. Perhaps £100, or even £10 a month. Whatever you can spare, without putting you out. It’s a great way to start saving without you having to think about it.
Budget
Each month, give yourself an allowance. Maybe take out £100 a month to give yourself to spend on things like food, clothes…the non-essentials. If you are only spending the money you can see, you know exactly what you’re spending and what you have left each month. Perhaps you could even make it a competition with your other half. See who can save the most from their allowance each month. If you’re competitive like me and my husband, it will work wonders!!
Selling
Not a money saving tip, but a great way to earn yourself a little extra! Use online platforms to make you some extra money. Such as Facebook selling pages in your local area or even eBay to sell your old, unwanted items. You probably won’t make that much but every penny helps. Anything you do make could go right in to your savings account to help top it up.
Recycle – Upcycle
I never really did any upcycling but once i realised how much money you can save by doing so, we now do it daily! Something as simple as keeping your old squeezy bottles can save you more than you think! If you have a look in your supermarket what the price difference is between buying something in a squeezy bottle and in a glass jar, you’ll be shocked. The squeezy bottles as always more expensive and have less product in. Yet they do that because they know we all prefer the convenience of a squeezy bottle. However, if you save your old bottle, buy it in a glass jar, then simply transfer the contents into the bottle. Saved yourself money AND you can use the glass jar as a container for something else.
Another thing i’ve noticed lately is we all BUY bin bags! We are buying something to put our rubbish in, to then chuck out straight away. This seems like SUCH a waste of money to me. Why buy something brand new to throw away as soon as you’ve bought it? Surely this doesn’t make any sense at all. Why not use an old grocery bag (we all have tonnes of them lying around). Or, put your rubbish into something that’s already going in the bin. An old crisp packet, the packet your loaf of bread came in. They might not be as ‘fancy’ as a proper bin bag. At around £2 per roll, think of how much you’ll save over the years!
Use Your Leftovers
I remember when i was younger, my mum would always say not to waste anything. Back then i just thought she was nagging, but now i’m right there with her! For example, if you use half a piece of a garlic clove in a meal, don’t throw the rest away! If you decant a little olive oil into a glass jar and place the leftover bit of garlic in the oil. Put it in the fridge and there you have garlic infused oil. This is perfect for putting on bread/toast, or a quick was to add amazing flavour to a dish or in the frying pan. Garlic mushrooms on toast, yum! Once it’s been in the fridge for a bit, it will turn more like a butter/spread but as soon as you use it, it will go back to being an oil. Leave it out of the fridge if you want it to stay as an oil.
Use Your Freezer
Probably the best money saving tip is to make use of your freezer space. We obviously do all use our freezers but most of us aren’t making the most of them as much as we could be. For example, if you have some fresh fruit or vegetables about to go off and no way to use them all up in time, wash and cut the items up and put them in the freezer. This way you have much longer to use them, and it’s a treat way to have bits and bobs ready to be used as and when you need them. I had a tray of mushrooms that were starting to go a bit too brown and i couldn’t use them all up, so i sliced them up, put them in a tub and now have them ready to go in the freezer. Great for adding to sauces or to have mushrooms on toast!
One other tip i love to tell people about when it comes to using your freezer is to buy in bulk if things are on offer. We eat a lot of the Heck chicken sausages as they are low in fat and high in protein but they are kinda pricey. So, when they’re on offer, i buy maybe 3 or 4 packs and stick them in the freezer. Then all you do is take them out the day before and put in the fridge to defrost. A great way to save money!
Batch Cooking
Another example of utilising your freezer is when batch cooking. Say you cook up a HUGE batch of bolognase sauce, use what you need for that meal, then put the rest in tubs or plastic food bags, label them up and stick them in the freezer. Perfect for when you need a quick meal or you just can’t be bothered to make something. You’ve then got your very own supermarket of ready meals right there in your freezer. I often do this with sauces, soups, gravy, chilli con carne…all ready to be heated up in the microwave for yummy, healthy meals.
Make Your Own
Instead of buying gifts, you can make some beautiful gifts for people that don’t take long to do and will seem so much more thoughtful. For example, you could make some homemade jams using your leftover glass jars. Or perhaps you could bake them some muffins or make a little foodie hamper with all of their favourite things that you’ve made. Gifts should be all about the thought that goes in to them. Not how much you spend on the gift. Spending money is easy! Creating something unique and thoughtful from the heart is priceless.
If you look around your house, especially anything you have in your throw away pile, you’d be surprised at what you can turn things in to. All you have to do is think outside the box and get creative.
Make Things Last
I don’t mean make a tiny packet of crisps last for two snacks! More like plan ahead with your meals and spread one thing out over a few days. For example, if you have a roast chicken dinner on Sunday, buy one large chicken instead of chicken for just that meal. This way you’ll have leftovers that you can use for Monday night dinner as well. Perhaps you can turn the leftovers in to a chicken curry, a lunchtime chicken sandwich or a soup or something. It will save you so much money, plus you’ve already cooked the chicken so the next evening meal will be much quicker to make. More time for you to spend with the family or having some you time. Win, win!
Magpie Syndrome
This one has helped me save, probably hundreds of pounds over the years! What i do now is instead of buying something as soon as i see it is i put it in my basket and leave it. If i remember it or go back to it a few days later, it means i really want/need it. However, the amount of times i’ve thought i REALLY need something, then totally forget about it in my basket is crazy! Don’t be an impulse buyer (magpie) and buy as soon as you see it, or let others influence you to buy what you don’t need. Put it in your basket and see if you go back to it. If not, you weren’t really that bothered in the first place, you just had magpie syndrome!
Magpie syndrome – You see something new and shiny and have to have it.
What are some of your everyday money saving tips?
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