Tips to Make Your Monthly Financial Outlook Brighter
Do you feel like your living expenses are only getting bigger and bigger? It can feel like it is impossible to cope. Or, perhaps you are managing, but you feel like you will never have savings in the bank or be able to go on the holiday you promised your kids?
You are not alone. Many people feel that way. However, it is not all doom and gloom. It is likely that there are many savings you could be making, yet you simply do not realise it, or you have written them off because the savings are too small. Remember, everything adds up! With that in mind, read on to discover some clever ways you can save money.
Dealing With Treats
Do You Really Need That Expensive Gym Membership?
A gym subscription can be a pretty hefty financial outlay every month, especially as a lot of fitness centres require a 12-month subscription. However, you can save a considerable sum of money by switching to a more no-frills gym. There are also those that enable you to simply pay for the months you use, ensuring better value for money. Of course, you could cut your costs by investing in a good pair of running shoes or a bicycle and enjoying a different form of exercise.
Swap the Things You Have for the Things You Want
If you have your eye on something new, be it a new hutch for your rabbit or a new skateboard, don’t spend your cash on it. Instead, use a swapping website. You will be able to swap, sell, and trade things to others. This is a great way to get rid of things you don’t want while also getting your hands on the things that you do want. You will be able to build up your savings for those unexpected moments, like boiler repair or car repairs.
Go the Library or Swap Books
You don’t need a genius to tell you that one of the best ways to read good books for free is to head to a library. However, this is not the only option you have available to you. You could also use websites for exchanging books.
Travelling More Cost Efficiently
Enjoy Holidays in the UK
One of the best ways to save money is to enjoy holidays in the UK for the next few years. This is especially beneficial at the moment considering the value of the pound has fallen. If you do want to go abroad, make sure you use websites like Cheapflights and Skyscanner to find a good deal.
Delete Your Cookies
No matter whether you are booking a holiday package or flights for a business trip, you should delete cookies from your computer beforehand. Otherwise, the website will know that you have visited it before, and often this will result in the prices being increased just before you buy.
Drive More Efficiently
Unfortunately, petrol is a huge expense for most people, yet there are savings that can be made. Of course, you can research to determine the cheapest fuel to you. Not only this, but you can drive more efficiently, meaning you will use less fuel and thus reduce your expenses that way. Tips for being more efficient include removing unnecessary weight from the boot, ensuring tyre pressure is optimum, leaving for work earlier to prevent sitting in traffic, and changing gear sooner.
Car Share
Why not car share with a colleague so that you can cut the cost of your daily commute in half?
Split Ticketing
It is easy to assume that booking one ticket for your entire train journey is the most cost efficient way to go about it, but this is not always the case. Always make sure you check out whether split ticketing is cheaper. It usually is for long journeys. This simply means buying a series of tickets instead of booking the entire journey on one.