MONEY SAVING |TIPS AND TRICKS

If you read my 2019 | BLOGGING AND PERSONAL GOALS post then you’ll know one of my goals is to have enough money by the end of the year to put a deposit down on a house.  Saving money is difficult – there is no doubt about it but there are some easy and small steps you can take to save money without even realising it.

My first tip is to make yourself a spreadsheet. It doesn’t have to be super complicated or contain formulas, just something that you can track your money going in and out of your account.

This is an example of what I use every month. I input my start balance and a clear goal of what I can achieve that month – taking into account any birthdays or special events that are happening that month. This is a great way to track exactly where you are spending your money and you are then able to pin point areas you can or need to cut back on.

Tip two is to set up some sort of savings account. There is obviously a lot of personal preference when it comes to this however I recently discovered Chip which is a savings app. You link it with your bank account and it calculates how much you can afford to put away, and puts it away for you automatically. You can also put in manual savings of up to £100 per week.

 

Chip securely connects with Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide, RBS, TSB, Halifax, First Direct, Co-operative Bank and Metro Bank accounts. I’ve been using this app since September and already have over £1000 saved through it without even noticing. [not sponsored, just did my research. Money is precious – don’t trust an app until you know that it is safe!]

Tip three is to meal prep. This sounds really boring and time consuming but it actually saves time and money! Recently I have been meal prepping on a Sunday so that I have all my lunches, dinners and snacks ready for my week at work. I generally don’t include the weekends though. I spend around £6 per week on ingredients and a little more on one off costs every now and again for things like pasta and rice.

By doing this it stops you from buying unnecessary food through-out the day like crisps and doughnuts because it is already there in front of you. You’re also less tempted to buy something because you don’t want to waste the food you have already made. On top of that it is a great way to stay healthy or lose weight! Let me know if you’d be interested in a post on meal prepping!

 

Tip four is to look at your phone bill. Do you really need to spend £50 a month or could you do without some of that data you don’t use anyway? A year and a half ago I was paying £56 per month on my iPhone which is a lot of money! I decided to start shopping around for some cheaper alternatives and every arrow pointed to Samsung. I opted for the Samsung Galaxy S8+ which not only saving me £8 a month (baby steps) but I also feel like I get a better quality phone. At the end of this contract I am looking to switch to Huawei, this is purely based on the high quality of its camera which means I can get great pictures on the go for days where I feel my DSLR is just a little too much. It would also mean chopping my bill from £48 to £36 which is saving another £12 a month.

My final tip is to stay in more. Eating and drinking out really does add up. When you go out for dinner for two you can easily spend £30-40 on 2 courses and drinks even more when you start to add alcohol! Going to Asda and picking up a a pizza and a couple ciders will only set you back about £8 and it will taste just as good. If you are lucky enough to have your own flat or house why not invite people round for some drinks and entertainment rather than a full on night out? Again you can save so much money and I am 99% sure that you will have a much better night too!

Saving money = a happy Holly indeed!

I know this post was a little different from me but what d’ya think – was it alright? Did you find any of these ideas helpful? or if you have any other tips to share, leave them in the comments ❤

Have a fab weekend!

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