10 more money saving ideas
You probably already know most of these ideas but here’s a reminder of how you can save a few £’s
Mobile Phone Do you really need the latest model? What more can it do that your current phone can’t do? If you’re at the end of your contract, contact your phone provider and ask them to put you onto a SIM only package. You can get these for as little at £15 a month.
Branded Groceries STOP BUYING THEM! Supermarket own-brand goods are often made by the brand names anyway so you’ll get the same quality for much cheaper prices.
Ready Meals and Takeaways These are so expensive and usually full of harmful additives. It’s much cheaper to buy fresh produce, especially from shops like Lidl and Aldi (which incidentally sell a lot of British items these days) and make meals from scratch. This doesn’t have to be time-consuming – you can find 1000’s of quick recipes online that don’t need expensive ingredients. Or you could put aside an evening or weekend to batch cook a load of meals to freeze and use up when you’re in a rush.
Unused Stuff If you’re not taking things to the charity shops don’t just throw your unused stuff in the bin. www.vinted.com is now a place where you can sell more than just clothes and it’s free to sell. It’s amazing what people will buy – one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure.
Christmas It will soon be upon us! Don’t feel shy, guilty or embarrassed to tell people you’re not doing presents this year. Chances are they’ll be relieved. And tell the kids they’re on a price limit. Present swapping has got totally out of hand in recent years and children have come to expect big stuff so work out now, today, how much you can afford to spend on presents this year and start buying now rather than last minute panic buying all the pricey stuff.
Newspapers and Magazines Stop buying them – it could save you almost £1000 a year if you have one every day. There are so many free websites with all the info you need about any subject in the world. If you really can’t resist set up a local group on Facebook and organise magazine swaps.
Coffee – ditch the coffee on the way to work. Do you know this could be costing you over £800 a year if you pick one up every day. Ask your colleagues if you fancying chipping in to buy a simple coffee machine and make your own when you get to work. Better still get the boss to buy one for you!
Subscriptions Take a look at what you’re paying for and what you actually use. Do you really need Spotify (£120-£204 a year), Netflix (£84- £192 a year), Amazon Prime (£96 a year), Sky (up to £828 a year) and Apple TV (£60 a year)? You could save £100’s a year by trimming these back.
Packaging When you think you’ve come to the end of your plastic bottle or tube of suncream, moisturiser, toothpaste etc, cut the top section off the bottle - you’ll be amazed just how much is actually still left in the bottom. (Obviously don’t do this with aerosols!) It won’t save you mega money but will definitely save you a few £’s every year.
Shop around If you find something online you like the look of, never buy it straight away. Copy the description, model and make and paste it into a Google search. There’s a big chance you’ll find it cheaper somewhere else.