THERE has never been a better time for us all to try to save money but wouldn’t it be great if we could make savings without sacrificing the things we love and if we could tighten our belts without squeezing the fun out of life? Author TESS READ believes it is possible: ‘I’ve worked in finance and business for many years and I’ve found there are many ways of cutting costs without cutting back on enjoyment. Whatever your situation, there are ways to save.’ Here are Tess’s Top 10 Tips...
1. Money – the basics. Take control of your finances. It’s almost never worth paying a monthly fee for a current account with a bank, so if you do, stop and switch accounts now. The Nationwide’s current account has no monthly fee, has benefits such as free travel insurance and the profits don’t go to line the pockets of any bankers because it is a mutual. It’s free to switch and all your direct debits will be carried over.
2. Credit cards, the good, the bad and the ugly. The good news about credit cards is that if you can pay off the balance in full each month they are great things, especially those offering you cashback like the cards from the Halifax or Co-op. The bad news is that if you have something like the average UK credit card debt, £3,000, and you pay off only the minimum 2 per cent balance, it will take you 45 years to pay off the debt, costing £7,600 in interest!
The ugly truth is that the credit card companies often have the minimum payment ticked for you as the default option so always try to pay more than the minimum. with the £3,000 debt, if you pay off £100 per month it takes only a bit over three years to pay off the debt and costs £1,000 in interest, a saving of £6,600.
Look at the minimum repayment calculator on moneysavingexpert.com to work out how long it would take to pay off your debt on different repayment amounts. If you have a lot of credit card debt, try getting a bank loan instead.
3. Household cleaning expenses and how to cut them drastically by cleaning your home with a lemon. Yes, really. You don’t
need dedicated cleaning products for different cleaning jobs in the home, instead you can use the wonder items of bicarbonate of soda, white wine vinegar and lemons. Visit vinegartips.com for more information and some great advice.
4. Not shopping but swishing. Swishing parties are great ways of finding clothes that are new for you while you exchange old
clothes that you don’t need any more. Look at swishing.com to find swishing parties near you. often you pay a small entrance fee (about £3 and that usually goes to charity), bring along
5. Great holidays without great expense why not think about exchanging your home for someone else’s for your next holiday? The website homeexchange.com has people from all corners of the world and the UK who are looking to stay somewhere in exchange for you staying in their home. If you don’t have an available property then maybe couchsurfing is for you. Look at couchsurf.org or for cheap camping why not camp in someone’s garden?
Check out campinmygarden.com.
6. Need your house redecorated without vast expense? Maybe a television crew would do it for you for free. You can register at beonashow.com.
7. Save money on parking. Parking can often be expensive, be it on the street or in a carpark, but if you rent someone’s drive you can save pounds. Take a look at parkatmyhouse. com, yourparkingspace.co.uk or parkonmydrive. com to see what you could save.
8. Don’t let the supermarkets push your trolley around. They should not be in control of what you buy with their bright signage, eye-level marketing and clever store layouts which have milk in one corner, cereal in the opposite corner. Instead make a list of what you actually want and need and try to stick to it. Change shops when deals change: have loyalty to yourself not to a supermarket.
9. Water is money. If you have fewer people in your house than bedrooms then the rule of thumb is that you could save money with a water meter. If you live in England your water company will fit a meter for you for free. There are lots of free gadgets you can get from your water company which will mean your home uses less water without you even noticing and with a water meter this will save you money too. Check out savewatersavemoney.com to find out more.
10. Shhh – don’t tell them it’s a wedding. If you are planning the big day one tip that can save you pounds is not to tell the caterer, the entertainment and even the cake maker (if you are planning an unusual cake) that it’s a wedding. They routinely double their prices compared to any other special event, like a birthday or an anniversary. You should probably tell the photographer though!
