Contributed post
Saving money is what we all aim to do at one stage or another in our lives – if not all the time. It’s something we all strive for, and yet find it so difficult. We should all want to save up so that we can have a better future. Even if it’s just a few pennies here and there – it all adds up.
Discipline is the key, because let’s be honest – spending money can be a lot of fun! Clothes, food, shoes, electronics, partying, cars – whatever it may be – we love indulging. It’s very easy to say you want to start saving, but without a realistic plan of action, the chances of you really saving are pretty slim. One great drive to focus on is your future. What if an emergency happens and you need money? What if you lose your job? These are all things you need to imagine happening, because they can, at any given time.
This is also why it’s so important to plan before it’s too late. As miserable is it may seem at the time, it’s so important that you make a will – even if you’re only in your twenties – it matters. This is just a way of ensuring that anything you have saved up, and left behind, is going to who you intended it to go to. If you’re in a partnership with someone, it’s a good idea for you both to write a mirror will. What is a mirror will you ask? – It’s essentially an identical will that one of you leave to state that whatever is left goes to your other half.
Here are some of the best tips to save up, so you’re not broke in the future.
Write everything down
If you don’t keep an eye on all of your spendings, how do you expect to save anything? You need to know exactly where your issues lie, and you can only do that by having a look at exactly what you’re spending your money on. Every month, look at your expenses in your bank account and sieve through to find what’s causing such a hole in your pocket.
Live closer to work
Not everyone can do this, but if you do have the opportunity, it’d be wise to look for somewhere to live that is close to where you work. This will cut down your daily commute meaning you’ll be saving lots of money in the long run. Plus less traffic you’ll be getting stuck in.
Break everything down by the hour
Whenever you think about buying something that is a little pricey, work out exactly how many hours of work it takes to purchase it. So for example, if you’re looking at an item that costs £100 and you get paid £10 an hour, that works out to costing you 10 hours of work. Worth it?
Shop with a list
Whenever you go shopping, make sure you’ve made a list beforehand, and only buy what you noted down. It’s very easy to wander and get distracted by things that you want to buy because you feel like it. But if you only allow yourself to buy what’s on the list, you avoid this from happening.
Stay in for dinner
It’s always nice to go out for dinner, or order in if you’re exhausted from work and want a break from cooking, but if you do this often, it can really blow your budget. So if you get invited out, try and take a rain check for a while so you can save up the cash.
One good tip is to make far more dinner than you need, so you can use leftovers for when you’re too tired to cook.
Think before you buy
Buying things on impulse is one of the most common causes when it comes to overspending and can really do you some harm. What makes it worse is that these kind of purchases are usually things we don’t even need anyway. So before going ahead with the sale, give yourself 24 hours to think about it. This will calm all the inner voices down, and give you a chance to think rationally.
Use public transport
Although the buses and trains aren’t free – they’ll work out a lot cheaper when going long distances than the fuel you have to put into your car. Plus you’ll be doing a favour to the environment too by lowering emissions.
Buy online instead
Everyone shops on the internet nowadays. It saves up so much time, making it a convenient alternative to your usual way of shopping. Not only that though, it can be a lot cheaper too. Things aren’t so expensive as they usually are, plus there are tones of deals and discounts you can find online that aren’t offered when buying in store.
Stop being Santa
Sure, gifts are a lovely way to show how much you appreciate someone, but don’t do this all the time. For one, you’ll be spending a lot of money – and two, the novelty will wear off if it becomes a regular thing.
Choose generic over brand name medication
This is something everyone needs to start doing. You may find that you’re buying the popular brand names when stocking up on medications – but stop it! Piriton, for example, is a very popular medicine that helps with allergies, and is priced at around £5. If you look on the back of the packet and compare it to a generic (cheap) version – the ingredients are exactly the same. The only difference being it’s more than half the price. Likewise with flu and cold tablets, paracetamol, and ibuprofen.
Keep all of your loose change
It’s very common for people to find loose change in their pockets or the bottom of their bags, and then they use it up on some random item they don’t need, just to get rid of it. Don’t do this – save it! Invest in a piggy bank and put all of your change into it. You’d be amazed at how much money you’ll end up saving from this.