Budgeting and money saving

[Bitofthebubbly]

I’ve been on a bit of a budget kick this week so I thought I’d start a thread where we can talk about the things we do to save or even make a little bit of money.

I’m fed up of struggling and with the cost of so many necessities going up I felt like I needed to take control of things either by making immediate savings or by doing things that will make a difference long term. So far this week I’ve:
- done a balance transfer on the credit card. Was sick of paying a stupid amount every month and barely making a dent on the balance. Found an offer where it was 0% interest for 29months and we should easily be able to pay it off in that time. Will save us a few Bob on interest and get the debt paid off quicker. Annoyed that I didn’t do it sooner but I just wasn’t aware it was a thing.
- Switched mine and my partners phone providers to cheaper, better value deals.
- switched internet providers at the end of my current deal. Getting double the speed for 99p less!
- Switched my current account to nationwide to get the switch bonus, as I already have a nationwide account I should get £125 instead of £100.
- plan on switching my partners bank account around a bit to make use of all the switch offers. If all goes to plan we should get around £500 out of it. Can’t turn my nose up at free money for doing basically nothing.

Feel free to share your budgeting/money saving tips and hacks. I usually steal my ideas from Martin Lewis not gonna lie With the cost of living rising so much I’m sure lots of people will be looking to make savings where they can. Comparison websites make life so much easier when it comes to finding the cheapest deals, Dunno how I’d manage without them!

 

[ChilliBean]

Love reading stuff about personal finance and have been on my own money saving journey the last few months so looking forward to this thread!

I created my own budget spreadsheet on Numbers - it took a few hours to set up but now I copy it over for each month and I can track where every pound goes!

I set very personal savings goals for specific things and have reached my goal 3 months early this month

One of my top money saving tips is if you have a NowTv subscription then go to cancel it and they’ll offer it to you half price! There doesn’t seem to be a limit to how many times you can do this either. I’ve only ever paid for nowtv full price for one (the first) month always had the rest half price!

Also always pay your pension, future you will be grateful

Edited to add- the Instagram personal finance community is a great resource too. I follow millenialsaves blog and find it so helpful! We really ought to be taught more about personal finance and budgeting in school

 

[JoeBloggs]

I second a spreadsheet. Have had one for years, I don't track my spending but do for my bills.

I budget for all big costs, Christmas, insurance etc and have them sitting in separate accounts ready to be paid out. I am very money focused and this had enabled us to save well.

Bills always get paid first, then we have £400 each to do as we please each month.

I'm a big advocate that money should be taught in school. My mum has always worked in a bank, always good with money and its been invaluable. My husband on the other hand, knows nothing and his parents are both in significant debt.

 

[katyazamo]

I've always struggled to get a handle on money but I've tried to really knuckle down and get myself sorted over the last few years. I've had a chequered work history and would really worry about putting money into savings incase I needed it, but I've got myself out of that mindset and focused on building an emergency fund in an easy access savings account.

• Get a handle on EVERYTHING that's leaving your account on a monthly basis.
  • Go through your direct debits and subscriptions with a fine tooth comb. We've probably all signed up to free trials we've forgotten to cancel, that's how these people get you!
• Use a cashback site for everything, especially things like utilities/phone contracts, the cashback amounts on those can be really decent. I switched my broadband provider in June and got £40 cashback and also cut the bill down by £5
  • On that note, always look for a better broadband deal when you come to the end of your contract, whether that's calling up and saying you're going to cancel (they usually bring your cost down) or just move to a new provider! You'll always save a few quid
• Swap to Aldi/Lidl. Doesn't need to be for every single thing, but the prices are significantly lower. Used to love going to M&S but I'd end up spending £30 on dinner for that night and a few snacks, it was wild. Part of the fun of Aldi/Lidl is finding alternatives to your usual brands!
• Get out of the habit of ordering takeaways every weekend and make them an actual treat - if you can genuinely afford it then great, but if you're spending £120 a month on takeaways and wondering where all your money is going then it's time to cut back
• Have a clear goal in mind for saving, whether that's a holiday or deposit or what have you. It's easier to save when you know what you're trying to achieve and have a fixed number in mind, instead of just throwing money into an account whenever you remember

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

I love Quidco and topcashback! I’m currently waiting for £65 to be credited to my account just for switching broadband provider and around £10 for switching phone networks. Im also due an £85 Amazon gift card from my new internet provider for joining them but this wasn’t through a cash back site. It usually takes a couple of months to clear but it’s free money for very little effort, there have been times where I’ve been short on cash but luckily I have some money in my cash back account that I forgot about. I always do a quick search on Quidco whenever I buy something. Even if it’s only a few pence I get back it all builds up over time and if you’re a new customer somewhere then they usually have better offers. Sometimes it can feel a bit pointless doing it just for a few pennies back but if you get into the habit it really does add up over time and before you know it you’ve got an extra £10 sitting there.

 

[justbeingnosy98]

I third the use of a spreadsheet! Makes it so much easier to see where your money is going and what you actually have available to spend. I’m not good at saving so being able to see what I could have after saving £x each month really helps!

Before I buy ANYTHING online I do a Google for discount codes

Tesco clubcard/Boots advantage cards are handy if you shop there. Even better download the app.

I don’t buy a lot of branded food/household items. Tesco’s beans are just as good as Heinz and Domestos is a rip off. I also stand in the aisles in Tesco’s for ages with my calculator out trying to find the best price and buy in bulk often to make use of deals.

Do a weekly meal plan and try not to just pop to the shops every other day.

I buy a lot of clothes from Vinted, eBay and Depop. Saves pennies and good for the planet! Loads on there still with tags on! Also FB marketplace and Gumtree for furniture etc.

 

[Onecandream]

I do zero based budgeting with cash envelopes as sinking funds. I love all things budgeting. It allows me to know exactly where every penny will go and save towards goals. I love using the free app called Fudget

 

[JoeBloggs]

When shopping, most labels with have price per unit or KG/100g. I always use this to compare prices as the big deals aren't always the best value.

I always search for a discount code or cashback. Also use the apps, Shopmium, Greenjinn & checkoursmrt. These were a lot better pre pandemic but they pick up before Christmas.

I also buy presents throughout the year when I see things and they are on offer and keep them, spreads the costs and makes the most of discounts.

 

[WilmaHun]

Another vote for using a spreadsheet! It's so helpful for me. I have debts/bills listed on one side, income on the other and it calculates to show me what I have left. I find it much easier having something visible which shows everything which needs to be paid rather than having to route through my bank for dates and amounts of direct debits etc.

Set up "save the change" on your bank, so it will automatically round up your spending and put the extra pennies into savings for you. You'd be surprised how quickly it all adds up!

Use things like Quidco if buying online - I recently got £75 cashback for taking out life insurance, a further £25 for home insurance and £25 for car insurance! Even if I'm only spending a small amount like £20 on a website I'll always do it through Quidco, even the small amounts of cashback all add up!

I also put any spare change I get into a jar which I can't get into unless I smash it. I always keep about £5 in change in my purse "just in case" but anything else goes into the jar! Around Christmas time I'll open it up and it's surprising how much your small change adds up over the year

When clearing out my wardrobe, I often find I've got numerous items of clothes with tags still on that I'd completely forgotten about. Vinted is great for getting rid of clothes you no longer want. Even with stuff I have worn, I always think "have I worn it in the last 12 months" if the answer is no, it goes straight on Vinted (providing it's still in good nick!)

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

-I always make a meal plan and we cook from scratch. We don’t buy jars or meal kits, we just have a cupboard full of spices and lots of veg. Doing a meal plan and a shopping list saves us a lot of money and we try to avoid buying any junk.

-I always put an amount of money into my savings account when I get paid and then what’s left after bills is mine to spend and anything left from that also goes into my savings.

-I have three savings accounts, one is for holidays and the other is for anything I need and the last is for the future.

-i own my phone outright with no contact and I just pay for the sim deal monthly. I try to hang on to my current phone as long as I can as I don’t really need to change it unless it becomes useless.

-we switch our providers for gas & electric when that comes up. We don’t have a tv or phone package, just internet.

 

[Satisfying Click]

I'm really glad this thread exists!

I do zero-based budgeting, if I don't give the money a place to go, it'll do it for me... I work on a ratio of 50/30/20 needs/wants/savings

Little 'weird' things that have saved me money
- Bringing my own coffee to work. I worked out that by buying my usual coffee once a day, I was putting almost £700 a year down the drain (though I didn't factor in leave etc). That's money that now goes into my LISA and other investments.
- Stopped buying books (minus birthday/Christmas gifts) - everything now from the library
- Mending clothing unless it's beyond repair
- Putting a 48 hour 'hold' on new purchases. By giving myself some time before buying, most of the time I realise I don't actually need the item. It really helped with my impulsivity
- Unfollowing all social media influencers/flashy people

 

[coconochanel]

Great thread

- I do my main shop at Aldi and buy branded bits like Ketchup from B&M.

- I also found out the time one of the big supermarkets reduces their meat so I get it, freeze it and just defrost it as I need it. that save a lot of money.

- buy books from charity shops or car boot sales.

-cut down on takeaways to maybe one a month (pay day treat)

 

[Magee]

Jumping in here!

Just bought a property. This weekend I’ll be sitting down and going through finances, setting up a DD for the mortgage need to sort all utilities and internet. I can’t believe I didn’t think of cashback! Done my life and property insurance before completion, think I got £75 Amazon voucher from it but now wondering what else I might have got! Downloading the app now.

I am massively worried about gas prices. We have been quoted £250-£300 A MONTH for gas and electric!!! It’s a 3 bed house, we have moved from a new 1 bed flat with electric that was £90 a month so this is obviously eye watering. Barely any energy deals because of the gas crisis, Uswitch only shows 3 deals. I’m lucky I have no children, I worry for families about to go through winter, mum and dad working, paying for childcare and trying to keep them warm and fed.

We are also saving up for renovations. Anyone done this and got any tips?

 

[WilmaHun]

Jumping in here!

Just bought a property. This weekend I’ll be sitting down and going through finances, setting up a DD for the mortgage need to sort all utilities and internet. I can’t believe I didn’t think of cashback! Done my life and property insurance before completion, think I got £75 Amazon voucher from it but now wondering what else I might have got! Downloading the app now.

I am massively worried about gas prices. We have been quoted £250-£300 A MONTH for gas and electric!!! It’s a 3 bed house, we have moved from a new 1 bed flat with electric that was £90 a month so this is obviously eye watering. Barely any energy deals because of the gas crisis, Uswitch only shows 3 deals. I’m lucky I have no children, I worry for families about to go through winter, mum and dad working, paying for childcare and trying to keep them warm and fed.

We are also saving up for renovations. Anyone done this and got any tips?

I'm currently renovating a house I've just bought. For things like bathrooms, we found it's cheaper to buy the bath, sink, toilet, taps etc separately rather than in one of the big bundles! So we went round Wickes, B&Q and the like and picked out all the things we liked. Rather than buying in store, we done click and collect online through Quidco so we got the cashback! B&Q have a members club too and they're always sending vouchers through, so definitely sign up to that! They had 20% off everything for members only this weekend just gone so it's worthwhile!

If you're plastering anything - DO NOT buy good paint to go fresh on the plaster. It will suck it in for the first 2 coats and you'll wonder why you bothered. Buy a cheap paint (we got a 5l tub from B&M), water it down to a 50:50 mix and put 2 coats of that on fresh plaster before using your good paint! That way paint won't get wasted being sucked into fresh plaster.

 

[Magee]

I'm currently renovating a house I've just bought. For things like bathrooms, we found it's cheaper to buy the bath, sink, toilet, taps etc separately rather than in one of the big bundles! So we went round Wickes, B&Q and the like and picked out all the things we liked. Rather than buying in store, we done click and collect online through Quidco so we got the cashback! B&Q have a members club too and they're always sending vouchers through, so definitely sign up to that! They had 20% off everything for members only this weekend just gone so it's worthwhile!

If you're plastering anything - DO NOT buy good paint to go fresh on the plaster. It will suck it in for the first 2 coats and you'll wonder why you bothered. Buy a cheap paint (we got a 5l tub from B&M), water it down to a 50:50 mix and put 2 coats of that on fresh plaster before using your good paint! That way paint won't get wasted being sucked into fresh plaster.

Ooh these are great tips!! Thank you x

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

I am also worried about the energy crisis. Currently on a variable tariff with my supplier and really don’t know what to do. Switching suppliers just seems pointless at the moment. The quote for my suppliers fixed tariff is something silly like £3k a year which is more than double my current spend I don’t get it, is that really how expensive prices are going to be now? It really is a worry.

My partner is switching banks. Another easy £100 there. Going to do it a couple more times hopefully as long as the offers don’t finish and we should end up with £310 plus £125 from my bank switch.

 

[Elles20]

For Christmas, only buy presents for any kids in the family, and agree with others to skip presents. Most would be relieved to not have to think about buying gifts and spending loads of money!

Alternatively organise a secret santa with family or your friendship group where you spend money on one person only. Less money, less stress, and the present will most likely be better.

I also use Topcashback. I also use Monzo bank and they round up every payment to the nearest whole pound. The extras go into a savings pot. It does add up.

 

[Slothgang]

I use an app called shoppix where you upload pictures of receipts. I've only had it a month and just got my first 5er from it.

 

[Bitofthebubbly]

Im looking into opening an s&s LISA to save a little nest egg for when I’m 60. Only thing is I was just reading up and apparently you can be forced to cash in early if you go bankrupt or lose your job but have too much in savings for benefits. This stuff won’t affect me now but who knows what the future holds, I’m just wondering if they’re still a decent option for saving? Seems a little unfair to have to pay to use the money early if you fall on hard times. I guess this is where a pension beats the LISA.

I wouldn’t be against using it for a house deposit, but it seems unlikely i’d be able to save anything close to the amount id need anytime soon so I’m thinking longer term.

 

[ChilliBean]

I use an app called shoppix where you upload pictures of receipts. I've only had it a month and just got my first 5er from it.

I second this, it’s a great app that I spend less than 2 minutes on every other day and I’ve got a few fivers from it now. It all adds up!