Here are ten simple things you can do to give yourself a money makeover. These easy to follow tips will help to save you money and improve your bank balance!

1- DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

Loyalty doesn’t always pay, especially on things like insurance, utilities and TV, broadband and phone contracts.  If you’ve been with any of your providers for a while, don’t just assume you’re getting the best price, always do price comparison AND also give your provider a call to see if there is any wiggle room on what you’re paying. Check to see if you could save by changing to a different plan or to a completely different provider altogether.

2 – CANCEL SUBSCRIPTIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

Things like Amazon Prime, monthly beauty boxes, gym memberships and magazines delivered to your door are all fab if you get value for money and make the most of them! If you’re not using them, it’s just a waste of money so get those unused subscriptions cancelled.

3 – CHECK YOUR BANK ACCOUNT REGULARLY

Have a quick scan through your bank statements at least a couple of times a week. This will keep it fresh in your mind how much money you have available and you’ll also have a clear idea of your spending. Not only that, but you might notice payment errors, fraudulent activity or even spot a monthly subscription payment that you didn’t realise you were signed up to.

4 – DOWNSHIFT

Swap to lower branded items when doing your big shop. For example, if you buy Heinz or Branston baked beans, buy the supermarket own version. If you usually buy own brand, shift down to the value brand. It’s that simple. You could start small and swap a couple of items on each shop or just go all out and downshift every item. This can be applied to toiletries and cleaning products as well as groceries.

5 – ROUND UP YOUR SPENDING

Lots of banks now offer a round up feature that you can activate on your account. It does exactly what it says on the tin and rounds up your spending to the nearest pound meaning you’re saving little and often on each transaction you make. Small savings like this can tot up nicely without you even noticing so it’s well worth a go.

6 – SAVE ON PAYDAY

Move money into your savings account, pay down your debts or pay your bills on pay day. We all have the best intentions to spend less and save more but chances are if you wait until the end of the month you’ll have spent more than you initially intended to. A huge motto of the debt free community is save before you spend, don’t spend before you save and it’s one I stick to.

7 – USE CASH

It’s so easy to be tap happy with contactless bank cards, it’s so easy that you might not even recall the amount you’ve spent. Instead of spending on cards, try spending cash. Seeing physical money leave your purse or wallet is a lot more memorable than quickly tapping a card on a machine. Using cash makes you a lot more conscious of the amount you’re spending and makes you think more about the value of the goods or services you’re paying for.

8 – DOUBLE CHECK THAT DEAL

Don’t just assume something is the best price because it’s on offer, sometimes things like ‘Value Packs’ or ‘Bundle’ promotions actually cost more than buying items separately which seems bizarre. Always check that you are still getting value for money especially in the supermarket, checking the unit price and avoiding end of aisle promotions can help with this. You can find out how to avoid other supermarket spending tricks in another post of mine called Savvy Shopping.

9 – SPENDING ISN’T SAVING

Just because something is a bargain doesn’t mean you need to buy it. A candle marked down from £10  to £5 is brilliant… if you are looking to buy a candle. If not, it’s an unnecessary spend and you’ve haven’t saved money, you’ve wasted it. Having said that, if you do see an item you regularly use for a bargain price, stock up and make savings in the long run. The way to work out what is worth spending on is to ask yourself “Will I use it? Do I need it? Is it worth it?” If the answer is no to even one of these questions, don’t buy it, if it’s yes to all three then go for it!

10 – AVOID “NIPPING TO THE SHOP”

We’ve all done it, just popped to Asda for some milk on our way home from work and ended up with a family sized ready meal, a sharing size bag of crisps, a pair of fluffy socks and who knows else what! Avoid these trips if you can, it’s much better to go to the local shop and pay a few pence more for a loaf of bread or pint of milk than it is to go into a supermarket and impulse buy on £10-£20 worth of items that you don’t need.
These are just a few things I do to help save, let me know what you do in the comments below.
Thrifty Clair x

Published by thriftyclair

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