12 Quick and Easy Ways to Save Money

Easy wins to save you money every month

Whether you’re in a financial squeeze, or just wanting to free up some extra cash for a special occasion like Christmas, holidays or birthdays, this blog post outlines some of my favourite quick wins for saving money and helping you reach your money goals.

After you have your budget in place and you understand where your money is coming from and going to, there are four key areas where you can make some quick easy wins:

• Housing Costs
• Food Spending
• Transportation
• Personal Bills

If you don’t already have a personal budget in place then you might like to first check out my budgeting post on the importance of a personal budget. And remember your personal budget isn’t just a one-off exercise, it’s a living breathing continuously evolving way of living that enables you to be in control of your money and your life.

Housing Costs

Gas and Electricity

Gas and Electricity suppliers are notorious for hiking up prices for existing customers, this is an area of your household bills where you can really make large savings over the year and it’s much simpler than you may think. I’ve been using uswitch for years for my energy comparisons and switching. You can sign up with them for free and they will do all the work for you, you only need to authorise them to make the switch. Find out more here uswitch-gas-electricity

Home Insurance

Are you checking you’re getting the best deal every year? It’s so easy to just let insurances renew without checking, but this is another important area where savings are nearly always made. There are lots of comparison websites to choose from, and it will only take a few minutes of your time to make sure you’re getting the best deal. When you think about it, insurance companies don’t reduce your annual premium automatically (I can’t recall mine ever even been held static), so each year you will be facing a price increase and if you can get the same thing elsewhere and pay less, then you should be doing this to save you money.

Broadband & TV

Are you paying too much for your broadband and TV? When was the last time you checked what deals are out there and available to you? There are so many different providers and options out there, it can be difficult to see through all the noise and actually find the best deals in your area. The uswitch website is again a fantastic resource for checking and comparing Broadband & TV deals in your area, you can find out more here uswitch-broadband

Food Spending

Switch Supermarket

If your supermarket of choice is a premium store or one of the big established chains then there are massive weekly savings to be had by switching to a more cost-efficient store such as Aldi or Lidl, especially if you have a large family and/or young children going through wet wipes and nappies. These stores have changed a lot over the last 10 years, they now offer a lot more variety and the brands they stock are on par if not better quality than you will find in other supermarkets. Give them a try and see how much money you can save!

Shopping Lists

Never go shopping without knowing what you will be buying. Take some time to plan out your family meals for the week ahead, check what food you already have in your cupboards and freezer and only buy what you have written on your list. We waste so much food by overbuying and not planning ahead, which ultimately means we are just throwing our money in the bin, this simple list system is guaranteed to help you save money.

Packed Lunches

If you are eating out for lunch every day, or even using a subsidised restaurant at your place of work, you will likely be spending £100-£200 a month on lunch – just for yourself! (based on £5-£10 per day spending) Switch this to a pre-packed lunch and you could be spending as little as £20-£40 a month, now that’s a huge saving that you can easily make and put towards your goal.

Transportation

Car Insurance

Just as with home insurance it’s so easy to just let your car insurance renew each year without checking if there are better deals available to you. And again, this is an important area where savings are nearly always made. There are lots of comparison websites to choose from, and it will only take a few minutes of your time to make sure you’re getting the best deal. Once again these insurance companies don’t reduce your annual premium automatically, so each year you will be facing a price increase and if you can get the same cover elsewhere and pay less, then you should be looking to switch.

Don’t Drive

If you live within a couple of miles from your place of work then try walking or cycling each day, it will save you money on car costs, help you get in your daily exercise quota, and a beautiful dose of vitamin D. If you can’t walk or cycle to work then try to ditch the car when doing other activities or visiting stores when you would normally drive.

Drive Efficiently

Did you know that having a full boot, underinflated tyres and a higher driving speed can have up to a 20% decrease in fuel efficiency? If you do have to drive a lot then you should look into driving more efficiently to reduce your costs. When in national speed limit areas try to keep under 60mph (55-56 is ideal), and undertake a monthly car check to ensure all your liquid levels are correct and your tyres are at the correct pressures, these quick checks will help to save you money running your car.

Personal Bills

Credit Card Debts

Whether you have one credit card or several with balances on them, it may be worthwhile looking to consolidate them all into one lower rate card. Zero interest rates on credit card balance transfers come up quite frequently and you should look to take advantage of these and reduce the charges you are paying on any existing debts whilst you work on paying down the outstanding balance.

Mobile Phone Costs

There’s a lot of competition in the mobile phone marketplace as providers know that customers will often stay with the same provider for many years. This means there are always deals out there for you to explore and take advantage of to reduce your monthly mobile phone costs. If you haven’t changed provider for years then now is the time to look around for a better deal and save yourself some money.

Cancel Direct Debits

As part of the personal budget setting process, you should have a full understanding of all of your outgoings. Check through these for any standing orders or direct debits which no longer serve you e.g. magazine subs, gym membership, dating sites, book clubs etc. Find them and cancel them, they are just hemorrhaging your money.

Now you know 12 quick and easy ways to save money, which ones are you going to tackle first? I’d love to hear what savings you’ve been making, why not drop me a comment below.

Rebecca xx