Are you trying to save money? Most people are. Here are some tips sent in from a reader.
You might already have a weekly or monthly budget in place that you stick to each week when you do the food shop and head out anywhere, but you’ve started to realise that isn’t enough. Despite having a budget in place and trying to reduce your spending where you can, your finances just aren’t stretching as far as you would like them to, and it’s proving to be a real issue.
You need to get the income that you have to spread further each week, the only issue is that you cannot seem to make it stretch. You’re in a sticky situation and you aren’t sure what to do. The important thing if you find yourself in this kind of financial situation is not to panic - the truth is that there are always ways to make your funds stretch further, it’s just a case of knowing what these steps are, that’s all.
In need of a little budget inspiration? Don’t panic, because we’ve got you covered! Believe it or not, cutting costs is far simpler and easier than you might think, it’s just a case of getting organised with your approach, that’s all. Wondering how you can do that? Below are a few tips and suggestions to help set you off on the right path - read on for everything that you should know!
Install a budgeting app
One of the best steps that you can take is to install a budgeting app, if you don’t already have one, that is. A budgeting app can help to make the process of spreading your money as far as you need it to go each month, a little easier to achieve.
There are lots of different budgeting apps available to choose from, many of which are free to download and use. Take the time to do your research into the different options available to you and look at which option would be the best fit for you and your family’s needs. Test a few out and see which app will work best for you.
Once you have a budgeting app in place, you should find that staying on top of your finances and tracking every penny you’re spending becomes far easier to manage. This is especially true if you choose a budgeting app that links directly to your bank account.
Utilise deal and discount sites
Another useful trick for cutting costs is to make sure that you are using all of the available deal and discount sites. It’s not just about having a quick look every now and then, it’s about taking the time to scan through all of the deals available and seeing which ones you’re able to utilise to help reduce your spending.
The great thing about voucher and discount sites, like Netvouchercodes.co.uk for instance, is the fact that there are vouchers and codes for everything that you could think of, from clothing stores to home stores and everything in between. This means that cutting costs across all of your monthly spending becomes far easier and more achievable when you utilise voucher codes and deal sites.
Buy reduced food and freeze
Another useful hack that you can opt to utilise is to buy reduced food and freeze it down for a later date. There’s nothing wrong with buying reduced food - it’s a fraction of the price of normal food and it can be frozen for months, which can help to make it far easier to keep your food shop more affordable.
If you are smart about it, you can work out what times of day your local supermarkets reduce food at, and if you’re able to you can head there at that time and pick up a selection of reduced food that you can then store in your freezer.
You can also opt to use reduced food to prepare batches of meals, cook them, and then portion them up and freeze as cheap and easy ready meals. Some great options for batch cooking include meals like lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, chilli con carne, cottage pie, pasta bake - and anything that’s easy to make.
Don’t be afraid to buy second hand
A lot of people don’t like to buy second-hand, but the fact is that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with buying items that are pre-loved. The truth is that when it comes to buying new items, from clothing to furniture, buying second-hand can be a great way to reduce the amount that you’re spending.
There are lots of great sites for buying items second-hand, from sites like eBay to Facebook Marketplace, where you can search for the type of item that you want. So it’s worth taking the time to search these sites whenever you’re looking for something new for you or your children to use. You can bag some fantastic bargains by choosing to shop on second hand selling sites; often you can pick up some really high quality items without breaking the bank, so it really is worth spending some time on these kinds of sites.
Don’t forget that you can also utilise second-hand selling sites to sell items that you and your family no longer want or need. Whether you have old clothes that your little ones have outgrown, toys that are no longer played with, or furniture that you don’t have room for, you can opt to sell items online to make a little extra money. You can easily make a little extra each month by choosing to sell old items on second-hand selling sites, so this is definitely something that is worth looking into when times are tough. You would be amazed at the amount of money you can make.
There you have it, a few useful tips and suggestions for the ways in which you can cut costs when money is a little tight. When it comes to saving money and cutting costs, there are lots of simple ways that you can reduce your spending, it’s just a case of being smart about the approach that you take.