Money Saving Tips
Well, what a rollercoaster of a year it has been for all of us financially. Utilities, petrol, food and mortgages. It has all gotten significantly more expensive. There are however steps that most people can take to leave a bit more money in their back pocket each month.
I have come up with a list of my favourite money saving tips that I have come across from talking to our customers this year:
- Participate in the 1-day savings challenge. Save 1p on day 1, 2p on day 2, 3p on the third and so on. At the end of the year, you would have saved over £650.
- Have a no spend weekend once a month where you do free activities like walking, movie night, or free museums. The cooking for that weekend could even be done with leftovers.
- Try a cheaper holiday. I did this semi-disastrously when we decided to drive to Wales to camp in the car for a few days in April which lasted one night. My back decided that it was not a good idea, so we ended up booking a yurt on Air BnB up a Welsh mountain. That week with an outdoor shower, campfire and compost toilet was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. Your kids will love it!
- Buy wonky veg. It all tastes the same when you’ve cooked it but it’s significantly cheaper. Bonus points if it’s a rude shape.
- Don’t cancel those insurance premiums. It may look tempting, but with costs going up, that deadline to breadline for most of us is shorter. The loss of income would be truly disastrous. That being said, review what you’re paying for with a proper advisor who might be able to get you more bang for your buck.
- Change your bank account. The banks make this easy for you and often offer bonuses for doing this, sometimes up to £200.
- When you’re in the supermarket look at the unit price. For example, with washing powder look at the price per wash as this will tell you what is the cheapest.
- Don’t go food shopping on an empty stomach and make a list before you go. This avoids those impulse buys. I certainly end up coming home with a lot of crisps if I shop hungry.
- Share deals. There are plenty of websites out there where you can earn vouchers for referring friends and family for things they were likely to do anyway. At Peak, we’ve always offered £50 in vouchers for referring friends and family who use us to arrange mortgages and protection. Some of our clients earn a few hundred pounds a month.
- Switch phone and broadband providers using websites like uSwitch. We know staying put just gets us a more expensive bill each year so don’t take it sitting down.
- Skim your change. Most online banking apps allow you to round up your spending to the nearest pound and keep the difference in a savings account. It’s a nice steady way to build a savings pot.
- Cook in bulk. It’s well and truly stew season right now so a full slow cooker not only means tea but it means food containers of lunch for the week. £4 meal deals would be £20 for 5 days so you’ll see an immediate saving. Just remember to bring them home to wash up so you avoid creating a biohazard.
So what do you think? Everyone can probably take a couple of the above money saving tips on board. Even in the process of writing this I’ve been on my online banking and set up the skimming my change facility and switched my broadband. Now to head home and raid the wonky veg and reduced to clear on the way.
There are loads more out there so how about sharing them on the Peak social media pages?