From cable bills to everyday spending habits, these 9 tips will help you to save more at home, spend less and get on the fast track to financial success!
Are you ready to start taking control of your money? By making just a few small changes it’ll help you to save more at home, so that you can get your spending and savings back on track!
9 ways to help you save more at home, every month!
Set goals
Since primary school, we have been taught to set ourselves goals… whether it’s to learn the 4 times table, score 2 goals in P.E., get a C on your science exam or even ace that job interview. But it’s not the goal that’s the important part, it’s the journey you take to achieve that goal.
Setting yourself goals to help your financial situation is a habit everyone should learn. Set yourself a small goal by putting £20 a month into a savings account, once you’ve become comfortable with this amount start to increase it. To help you stay motivated you could write your financial goals on post it notes and stick them in obvious places where you can see them often… such as you fridge or bathroom mirror.
Budget
The word budget has always had a negative feel about it, it’s not about depriving yourself or taking things away! It’s about allowing yourself to take control of your life. It’s not as hard as you think! Even taking those little steps makes a huge difference. To give you a better understanding of how to budget, check out our favorite articles, written by Clark:
6 reasons why budgeting is easier than you think
How to manage your money the old-fashioned way
Do you really need that?
Before you make a purchase or commit to a purchase plan, ask yourself… do you really need that? Impulse purchasing is a common mistake shoppers make every day, it’s hard to resist certain products that you’ve had your eye on but remember, it all adds up at the end!
Every so often, it’s a good idea to track your purchasing history to see exactly where your money is going. An easy way to do this is by using budgeting apps like BillGuard.com or Mint.com, however, you could go down the old-fashioned route by adding it all up from your monthly bank statement.
Is it really so important that you need the new iPhone or Samsung phone every time a new version gets released? Be sensible!
Cut monthly bills
Monthly expenses can be a massive pain if we’re not careful. If you’re really serious about cutting expenses in your home you need to start considering the least important luxuries. Take your tv for example, everyone loves to come home from a long day at work, kick their feet up and stick the tv on. But have you checked how much you’re paying a month? The most popular host is SKY TV, and if you want the sports section and movies you have to pay extra, but what if you could get all of those on one smaller payment? Do some research, we’re positive you could find yourself a cheaper alternative and still be happy.
With technology advancing landlines/home telephones are becoming increasingly unpopular. Take a look at your bills, how much do you pay to keep a home phone that you don’t actually use? It used to be that to have internet you had to have a landline in your house, that’s still the case except you don’t have to pay for the phones anymore. Ring up your provider!
The best way to converse your water bill is by only having showers in your house. Get yourself a water-saving shower head and you’ll not only reduce the time it takes for you to have a wash but you’re saving water and your own money!
Out with the old, in with the new! (groceries)
We hear horror stories about people spending up to £300 a week on groceries – and that’s just for two people! The good news is, it only requires little time, a few sacrifices and some practice to get used to a better, cost-efficient shopping list.
In our opinion, the best way to ease yourself into spending less is to visit Aldi. With such lower costing options and quality food, Aldi is a massive favourite among the large supermarket brands. Save yourself more money by growing your own vegetables with a salad kit! There are plenty of cost – efficient ways to a better food diet.
For more tips, check out this article by Grazia Daily .
Totally extra
If you really want to hit it hard… NEVER PAY FULL PRICE! Seriously. The key to this is making sure it’s something you absolutely need and if you can purchase it second hand or in the sale. It’s recognizing the importance of your money vs your needs.
Lunchbox
Get into the routine of preparing your own food. Not only will you be saving money but you’ll be helping yourself to trim down which can sometimes be difficult if you’ve got a busy schedule! Instead of ordering yourself a £20.00 Domino’s pepperoni pizza get one of Aldi’s finest! Only 99p!
Or for fun, check out the difference with making one when shopping at Tesco…
- Pizza base: £3 (for 2)
- Tomato puree / tinned tomatoes: 50p / 50p
- Grated mozzarella cheese / grated cheese: £1.90 / £1.90
- Pepperoni: £1
In total you’re only paying £6.40, rather than the whopping double double digits! And you get a fun evening out of it.
Reduce your energy costs
You can do this by using a programmable thermostat, replacing your light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs and keeping an eye on your water heater! By reducing your expenses you’ll be left with more money to save…
Check your car insurance
You’re so used to the monthly amount leaving your bank account you probably don’t even notice it anymore right? But what if we told you, you could be missing out on savings that you didn’t even know about!
Have a look around, give it a google, do a bit of browsing because you might find that there are better companies with cheaper plans to benefit you!
Track your spending
This ties in with your budgeting plan, to keep you on course for budgeting, you need to be tracking your expenses to be in-control of your money. This means tracking exactly how much is coming in and what is going out and where it’s going. Then you can decide what’s necessary and what isn’t which will be the key to making smart financial decisions.
If you aren’t aware of what’s happening to your money it’s going to become very difficult to make sure that you’re prepared for your big goals… such as retirement savings and even shorter-term goals like buying a house and building a life insurance account for your family.
For more on budgeting, check out our previous blog about the value of cash in your life! With all of these in play we hope that you will find it easier to save more at home allowing you on the path to financial success! Although some of these points may seem obvious you’d be surprised how many people actually take them on board and the effects they have. Try them out and let us know how you get on!
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