For many people, the cost of living crisis is presenting an incredibly difficult challenge. Energy bills are soaring, and food is becoming more expensive, prompting many to make drastic changes to their financial plans. Even if you’re not being hit too hard by the cost of living crisis, though, there’s still likely to be plenty of room for optimising and improving your financial health; after all, we should all be trying to save more, right? Here are 10 tips to help you save money and have a little more left over at the end of the month!
1. Take out a loan
We know, we know – it sounds counterintuitive to say you should take out a loan if you’re looking to improve your finances. However, it might be just the thing you need. If your credit score is suffering right now, then taking out a loan and paying it back promptly can convince lenders and other creditors that you’re trustworthy, which could help you in all sorts of ways. Taking out £500 loans and paying them back quickly can result in a surprisingly significant boost to your credit score, so why not try it?
2. Stop driving
Your car is likely to be one of your biggest monthly expenses, given the current cost of petrol. Even if you’re running an electric car, you might find yourself spending more than you’d like due to energy cap rises, so why not drop your car altogether? Unless you find yourself frequently driving to out-of-the-way places not adequately served by public transport, you may find that you don’t actually need a car at all, and walking or cycling can be infinitely more beneficial for your health, too!
3. Shop for own-brand goods
This one’s a tried-and-true tip. If you’re shopping at the supermarket, try ditching your regular brands in favour of supermarket own-brand alternatives. You often won’t notice the change in taste, and if you do, you may even find that you prefer the cheaper item, as we have many times before. Own-brand goods are available for a fraction of the price of more expensive brands, and the contents are often almost identical to one another, so it’s a no-brainer.
4. Create yourself a budget
The first step to saving money is to fully understand your finances. That’s why it’s important to create a budget for yourself. To do so, simply add up all of your expenses and all of your sources of income and see how much you have left over each month. That’s really all there is to it! If you find that you’re in the red, then start looking for places that you might be able to save money. You might find some surprising avenues for cutting back on expenses.
5. Cancel unwanted subscriptions
One of the biggest ways in which service companies make money, believe it or not, is to allow your subscriptions to roll over and not remind you that they’re due. Many people set up 30-day free trials or first-month subscription offers and simply forget to cancel them, meaning they get charged for a second month they didn’t really want. Don’t let this be you; comb your bank account to make sure you’re not missing any unwanted subscriptions you can cancel.
6. Download a financial management app
Whether you’re an Android fanatic or an iOS lover, there’s a financial management app out there for you. Some great multi-platform options include Emma, Snoop, and Plum, all of which can help you to manage your money by linking up with your bank account. They’ll show you your daily balance, help you to make savings where possible, and even help you to invest your money in certain circumstances. If you’re not using an app for money management, you’re missing out.
7. Buy secondhand goods
Secondhand goods are often just as good as they would be if they were new, but they cost much less simply because ownership of an item decreases its value. There’s a commonly-held notion that a car’s value drops by a third as soon as it’s driven out of the dealership, and although it may not be true every time, it’s certainly true enough to make buying secondhand goods another no-brainer when it comes to saving money. Don’t shop new for things like electronics, clothes, and cars.
8. Sell your stuff
There’s a good chance you’ve got stuff lying around that could be ripe for selling. If you’ve got old smartphones or other tech sitting in drawers not doing much, then you may want to check if you can get something for them. Even if it’s not much, a little extra could seriously help with food or energy bills, so make your unwanted tech work for you. It’s worth having regular clearouts so that you can see if any of the stuff you’ve got hidden away could be making money for you.
9. Drop costly habits
We know that “just quit smoking” isn’t going to work; it takes much more than that to break such a powerful habit, so if you’ve tried to quit and failed before, don’t worry. However, if you are looking for ways to save money, then dropping the smoking habit is an obvious one, so if you’re able to, it’s worth considering cutting out the cigarettes. Alcohol is another extremely costly expense that you don’t need; if you’re celebrating the end of the week with drinks, then maybe swap them for something a little less expensive.
10. Use loyalty programs
Most supermarkets (and many other shops) will offer a loyalty program whereby you can get discounts when you spend a certain amount of money with that shop. If you’re visiting a supermarket or shop regularly, then you should definitely sign up for their loyalty program; after all, if you’re going there anyway, then why not make those purchases do a little extra work for you? The discounts might not seem like much, but they can really add up.
