The older I get, the more saving money becomes a priority for me. Jacek is great with his money, he manages it so well and invests
it wisely so that he gains interest and other benefits for saving his
money, rather than spending it on impulse, like I have been prone
to do in the past... I have never
been much of a saver, money always seems to burn a hole in my pocket if
it's there too long but these days I've begun saving money to invest
in mine and my family's future.
some changes to
how I spend my money and have put plans into effect to help me be a
better saver. I have
learned to be thrifty rather than wasting money on unnecessary items or
bills. Below
are five simple money saving tips which I am following in order to save
my money and set myself and my family up for the future.
is such a great way to save money and one which is quite popular amongst the blogging community judging by all the spending ban posts I see on a weekly basis. If you're like me and have multiple
boxes and baskets full of makeup and beauty products which you have yet
to use, why not challenge yourself to a month long spending ban
and resist buying products which you really don't need.
not to spend anymore money on makeup or beauty products until I've used
up my current stash and so far I've stuck to it and have saved loads in
the process. If I do feel the need to try something new I have been
using reward schemes such as Back To MAC, Boots advantage points or
Lush's reward of a free fresh face mask if you return six empty pots -
which I have plenty of!
is something which a lot of people struggle with and I'm one of them. I always feel so in over my head when people talk about different bank account options, interest rates, etc. but once you sit down and look into them it's actually not that complicated.
However, I would only ever consider taking out a loan if you really are in need of it and are one-hundred per cent sure that you can manage the repayments. UK Credit also have a great blog called Money Life, where you will find, in their own words "stories, musings and tidbits about the weird and wonderful world of money".
about having too many things on at once. You can save a lot of money on
my monthly electricity bills by simply taking more care about what
appliances and lights you're using at one time. I no longer use the big
lights in our house unless I really have to, the table lamp gives
sufficient light. I unplug and switch off sockets when I am done using them and I try not to have the television on whilst I'm on the
laptop because I know I can't focus on both at once. These simple
changes have really helped keep our energy bills down and it's great to
know we're being energy efficient too.
(or at least I'm trying to!) and although it can be hard to stick to it
when I have so many outgoings, I am determined to put away money each
week to save up for trips that Jacek and I want to take next year. Having a plan to follow can really help to focus on
what you need
to save every week and it's great to tick off the weeks as they go by
and see your saving stash getting larger each week. If the 52-week money
saving challenge isn't for you there are other templates which you
could follow to be found on Pinterest.
you're like me and have boxes full of things you no longer use or
need but have very little space in your house why not think about
selling these items? Two years ago I cleared out our attic of
all my sons baby things and sold them at a local baby market. From doing
this I was able to pay off a lot of bills and have some money to spend
on Christmas gifts. I now need to have another clear out of things we
haven't even used. I think Ebay and Etsy are the best places for selling unwanted items and these days there's also a lot of selling apps available too. The money I make from these sales will go towards this Christmas -
every little helps for the season of good cheer!
Making a weekly meal plan is such a great thing to do as not only will
it help you become more organised when it comes to preparing meals but
it will also help you save money whilst doing the weekly shop. I always
have a list of dinners that we're going to have during the week with me
when I go food shopping, this helps me focus on what I actually need to
pick up instead of buying things we probably won't end up eating and
therefore saving us money. We also stay away from brand name products
when we can which really helps to keep the weekly food shop cost down.
