We all know how expensive this time of year can be. Whether you go big every Christmas or you work hard to stick to a strict budget, you are likely to be spending more money than you do on average throughout the year. It’s not just the gifts either, it is the food, the nights out, the hot chocolates with friends and making time to enjoy yourself and the fun outings for the kids. It all adds up, which is why today we wanted to share with you 4 easy ways to save money.
Regularly review your monthly outgoings
Make this the month that you sit down to review and go through all of your monthly outgoings.
This is something that many of us overlook nowadays as our statements are often online only and we do not make time to scrutinise them. Log on and take a look now and ensure that there are no payments going out that should have been cancelled. Then take a look and think about whether all of the payments are still necessary, for example, do you use that gym membership or do you read that magazine subscription?
Then take a look at your utility bills and mortgage payments and take the time to look into whether you could switch deals or providers to get a lower payment. You can usually make substantial savings doing this.
Use voucher and discount codes whenever you shop
It does not matter what it is that you are buying. You might be looking at chair mats for work, you might need a new appliance for the home or it could just be a pizza delivery, always look for a voucher code.
You might only find a voucher or discount code a handful of times when you shop this month, but it does take literally seconds to search for one and you could be saving yourself money off your shopping for absolutely nothing.
Get cashback when you shop
When you are spending, aim to also be saving. There are several cashback sites that help you to do this and all are easy to set up and start using. If you shop online regularly this is a great way to earn a little extra money back, and at this time of year you are probably spending more than you normally do.
Along with using cashback sites, you could use a cash back credit card to make all of your purchases with. This is another easy way to save when you spend, with absolutely no hassle.
Take the time to meal plan
Try to take the time to meal plan. This one only takes a little bit of extra time, and once you are used to doing it, you will find that it barely takes you minutes to do each week.
When you meal plan, you are only going to buy the food that you actually need for that week when you do your shopping, which prevents you from grabbing other foods as you look around. This in itself should bring your shopping bill down, and you should also find that there is no food wasted at the end of the week, which also saves you money.