Saving money can feel almost impossible sometimes, but with a bit of persistence and a committed mindset, it doesn’t take very long to see your savings account grow! No matter your reason for saving, We Buy Any House have got some top tips to help you along the way below!
- Outline your finances
You won’t start to save money efficiently until you know exactly what you’ve got coming in and going out, so to give yourself the best chance of saving properly, you need to sit down and get the calculator out. You can track your spending for a month or so, and see how much of your money is going on essentials and how much of it is deemed a disposable income.
Make yourself a clear spreadsheet that outlines your monthly income and your necessities, such as rent or mortgage, insurance, utilities, council tax, and any other payments that you have to make. These are all costs that you have to pay, but anything left after these costs is where you can look at saving money.
It can be a very harsh light, but until you know where you’re spending your money you can’t start to save it. We’re all guilty of impulse buying and spending money that we don’t need to, and once you identify where you tend to do this most you can look at how to reduce it and save that money. Whether it’s clothes or takeaways, you can always find a way to cut back and watch your savings grow.
2. Browse for those bargains
We’ve got to spend money throughout the month, that’s a given, but we can focus on ways to reduce the amount we’re spending and then put the amount that has been saved into savings. This tip is even more helpful if you’re making a big purchase, like new furniture or white goods; try to wait until a sale period to make some big savings.
Depending on your circumstances, there isn’t always time to wait until a sale like Black Friday hits, but there are still ways for you to keep those costs down. Shopping second-hand is a great way to dramatically reduce costs, and a lot of the time, second-hand items are still like new. You can also look at online offers that may not be in store, or look for discount codes online.
Using online sites like TopCashback and Quidco are also a good option – when you buy something through these pages, you’ll be able to get cash back for the purchase. It can take a few months to process, but the rewards are often up to £100, which is a great bonus for something you were already going to buy anyway.
3. Check the thermostat
If you’re prone to feeling the cold, you’ll likely have the heating on for a big portion of the year which doesn’t take long to add up. Most suppliers will charge you a similar rate throughout the year, allowing you to build credit in the summer months where you use the heating less which will then keep you afloat in the winter when it gets colder – however, if you have your heating on a lot, this monthly price will go up.
You can reduce your heating bill by –
Only use it for certain times of the day:
Putting your heating on for an hour or two in the morning and the same again in the evening is a good option to hold the heat in without having it on all day and pushing your bill up
Layer up:
We’ve all heard it before – if you’re cold, go and put a jumper on! But it’s a very good point, and one that we often dismiss when we’re the one in charge of the heating. Obviously, you don’t want to avoid using the heating all year, but putting a jumper on instead of the heating can save you a lot of money
Also make sure to look around and see what other offers suppliers have on – some will have free credit available to new customers, and depending on your contract with your supplier, it’s free to switch as you choose so you can make the most of this too.
4. The envelope method
This has become an incredibly popular trend online, and is a great way to save up, especially if you’re looking to buy a house and want to save up a big chunk for your deposit.
You can choose a number that you’re looking to save, for example, £5000, and write on 100 envelopes numbers 1-100. Each week, pick an envelope at random and put that amount in savings – for example, if you pick the envelope 15, you put £15 into your savings account.
This can be a difficult method as you won’t know which number you’re going to pick, and hitting a higher number at the end of the month can make the best of us a bit nervous, but it’s a very successful way to get your savings growing and is a favoured choice for higher amounts!
Whether you’re looking to save money to update your home or because you want to move house, these tips are a good way to get started. As long as you stay persistent, it won’t take long for you to see growth and make a dent in that goal!
