10 top tips to saving money
Whether you want to improve your home, buy a new car, start up a business or even visit your loved ones, you will need money.
Saving money is therefore important, but it can be difficult to do, particularly when you already have a stack of outgoing expenses.
Most people resort to cutting back completely on all their spending, but this sometimes might feel like you never get to enjoy your hard earned wages.
Luckily, there are some other methods you could try out that might help you to save up some money for your future plans.
1. Collect spare change
Loose change can often be forgotten, particularly if it is not a large amount. But, this change can accumulate over time.
Collecting any loose change that you have in your pockets or your house could therefore be useful. Afterwards, you can take this change to your local bank and deposit it in your savings account.
Implementing this method can help you to stack up a large sum of money, without needing to cut down on your spending habits.
2. Plan for food shops
Shopping can be a big expense, particularly when you are not sure what items you actually need.
Some people can end up spending a substantial amount of money on food that they already have in their homes.
To prevent this from occurring, you could check what you already have in your house prior to shopping. This will help you plan out the items you actually need.
In doing so, this would reduce the amount of money that is spent on unnecessary items, which in turn could help you to save more in the long-term.
3. Assess subscriptions
Often, people get subscriptions and end up never using them, for example gym memberships. This is essentially throwing your money away.
If you are wanting to save more money, it is important for you to assess all of the subscriptions you have and determine whether you should continue to pay for this service if you do not see yourself using it in the future.
4. Monitor your spending and bills
One of the most common methods people use to save money is monitoring their spending habits and bills.
By doing this, you can easily track how much money you are spending in particular areas and cut back where you need to.
It also allows you to understand how much money you require each month for your outgoing expenses, which may enable you to engage in more accurate budgeting practices.
In turn, this may allow you to increase your savings further in the future.
5. Switch loans and credit cards onto lower interest rates
If your credit cards or loans are on high interest rates, you could reduce your monthly outgoings and the amount of interest you pay back in the long by switching.
There are still many credit card providers that offer 0% APR deals or loan providers that can consolidate a range of credit accounts at higher rates into one new lower interest rate loan.
Just watch out for early redemption charges on existing loans and transfer and set up fees on any new finance to make sure you are not paying more overall.
6. Think carefully about big purchases
Big purchases can put a large dent in your pocket, but if you plan them carefully you may be able to take advantage of ‘sale’ periods.
For example, the January sales have lots of different items available at a reduced price.
If you were to wait until this point to make the big purchases you need to, then you may end up being able to save more money.
7. Research discounts online
Many online sites give consumers access to discounts, allowing them to obtain products and services at a lower price.
Applying discounts consecutively may give you the opportunity to save more money each month.
Therefore, it is important when making purchases or going on a trip to research beforehand and determine whether any discounts are available.
8. Meal plan
Meal planning can also really help to reduce the amount you spend in shops and therefore can help you to save more.
Planning your meals means that you will have a set list of items that you need to purchase from the shops in that particular week.
Having a clear plan will help you reduce the amount you spend on takeaways, and in turn allow you to save up more.
9. Budgeting
Budgeting can help you manage your finances more effectively, which subsequently may allow you to save more.
For each month, you could construct a budget which outlines how much you intend to spend on particular expenses each month and how much you want to save.
By implementing this plan, you will be more aware of your spending and more cautious about purchasing items outside of your budget.
In addition, by having a plan to put money aside each month for savings, you are more likely to stick to it.
10. Remortgaging
Another method that may help you to save a bit more money is to remortgage your property.
Remortgaging will give you the opportunity to shop around for different deals and potentially find one that has a lower interest rate and is a better deal overall.
By doing this, it will help you to reduce your monthly repayments, meaning that you can put a larger amount of money away into your savings each month.
Summary
In summary, saving money doesn’t need to all revolve entirely around cutting back on your spending habits. In fact, there are many other beneficial methods that can be implemented that may allow you to save more overall.
