It's not quite money saving as there's still money being spent, but a couple of years ago my immediate family agreed that we'd donate money to charity on each other's behalf instead of buying presents. I'd usually throw money into all sorts of gifts for family members but it's now a budget of £40 for my parents and £20 for my siblings and that's it. Could be an option this year especially with all the supply chain issues going on and the money is going to a good cause.
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I use money envelopes. So idea is, things like food, petrol, necessities, days out/treats all get an allocated amount that you budget and then you pop that amount in an envelope for that specific thing only. You have to be really meticulous and make sure everything is accounted for cause once the money runs out thats it as you're not supposed to take money from one envelope and put it into another. I find it really handy personally as it makes me think of what I'm buying and if I really need it, and it means that I don't go overboard on things like meals out cause I have an allocated amount (I appreciate that seems boring but I have a bad habit of ordering more food than I can eat!)
I make a list on my phone of each person and buy birthday and Christmas presents throughout the year. Usually in the sales after Christmas. I've been known to finish my Christmas shopping by August so I'm literally just waiting for November to buy the cards and that's it. I also shop around and see if I can get things for cheap on eBay etc.
I plan my meals/snacks for the week and then I only buy what I need. I usually don't need a lot cause things like spices, pasta, rice etc last more than a week so I am often under budget which I love at the end of the month looking into my envelope (see above lol) and seeing left over money. I also shop in Lidl and just go to Tesco or Asda for things you can't get in lidl. I find planning means I only have to go once a week which saves money.
I use apps/points systems which does sometimes pay off. I also take advantage of the receipts surveys so for example, if you go to subway, on the receipt there's a survey and then once you've completed it they give you a code for a free drink or cookie. I appreciate it seems like spending money to gain something but if you're going to be spending it anyway for whatever reason, you might as well take advantage of it. Once I had enough subway reward points for a free 6inch and with the app I got a free drink so my whole meal was 69p which was the cost of the cookie I chose to buy.
I make a list on my phone of each person and buy birthday and Christmas presents throughout the year. Usually in the sales after Christmas. I've been known to finish my Christmas shopping by August so I'm literally just waiting for November to buy the cards and that's it. I also shop around and see if I can get things for cheap on eBay etc.
I plan my meals/snacks for the week and then I only buy what I need. I usually don't need a lot cause things like spices, pasta, rice etc last more than a week so I am often under budget which I love at the end of the month looking into my envelope (see above lol) and seeing left over money. I also shop in Lidl and just go to Tesco or Asda for things you can't get in lidl. I find planning means I only have to go once a week which saves money.
I use apps/points systems which does sometimes pay off. I also take advantage of the receipts surveys so for example, if you go to subway, on the receipt there's a survey and then once you've completed it they give you a code for a free drink or cookie. I appreciate it seems like spending money to gain something but if you're going to be spending it anyway for whatever reason, you might as well take advantage of it. Once I had enough subway reward points for a free 6inch and with the app I got a free drink so my whole meal was 69p which was the cost of the cookie I chose to buy.
mine depends on how much work I do in a month. I work part time (2 jobs) as I'm a student so over the summer I work essentially full time hours but then during term times I drop hours which would naturally happen anyway as summer is the busiest time in my job. Hence the strict budgeting.
What I would say if you're always broke, account for every single penny. It's really easy to be like "okay I only spend this much on food and this much on bills etc." but those small £1-5.00 purchases add up and many people often don't consider them when they budget/think of what they spend. You have to be really conscious of what you spend. The worst for me is food. Sometimes I go from one job to the other or I go from uni straight to work and I have bad habit of picking food up on my way instead of making myself something. So I had to consciously think about my week, what food I needed etc. I'm by no means perfect but even tiny changes help like bringing your own sausage roll from home instead of buying it from Greggs.
Shoppix aren’t taking on new customers! A real shame as sending photos of receipts sounds like the most easy way of making a few pennies!
That’s a shame about shoppix! Sounds like easy money.
Not necessarily budgeting but it is money related. I’ve started the ball rolling with getting my kids junior isa’s changed junior s&s isa’s. I figured the money will likely grow more being invested rather than sitting waiting for a very small amount of interest. We can’t afford to put large amounts away for them every month so hopefully this will give them a little bit extra on top of what we put in. Ive gone with a fairly risky investment fund, but not the riskiest. I figured over the next 10+ years a loss is unlikely. But I can also change the risk level at any time. Would recommend Wealthify, it’s easy to use and they do all sorts of savings accounts and also a pension.
Love the envelope idea, but I hate having too much cash on me. I would probably end up losing an envelope at some point
Not necessarily budgeting but it is money related. I’ve started the ball rolling with getting my kids junior isa’s changed junior s&s isa’s. I figured the money will likely grow more being invested rather than sitting waiting for a very small amount of interest. We can’t afford to put large amounts away for them every month so hopefully this will give them a little bit extra on top of what we put in. Ive gone with a fairly risky investment fund, but not the riskiest. I figured over the next 10+ years a loss is unlikely. But I can also change the risk level at any time. Would recommend Wealthify, it’s easy to use and they do all sorts of savings accounts and also a pension.
Love the envelope idea, but I hate having too much cash on me. I would probably end up losing an envelope at some point
Can you do virtual envelopes? I do that - I can split the money in my current and savings accounts into different buckets, so I use those as my virtual envelopes for my disposable income and for my longer term savings. I use my credit card to pay for everything up front because I get points for using it and pay off each time I use it using my virtual envelopes.Love the envelope idea, but I hate having too much cash on me. I would probably end up losing an envelope at some point
@dancingqueen5678 have you noticed any changes with the envelope method in places which are going cashless? I really want to use the envelope method for certain things, but it's really frustrating that so many places in my area won't take cash anymore. My way around that is to take my business elsewhere, but I was wondering if it has affected your way of doing things?
I think Monzo lets you set up different pots for money so it’s like the envelope method but with no physical cash!That’s a shame about shoppix! Sounds like easy money.
Not necessarily budgeting but it is money related. I’ve started the ball rolling with getting my kids junior isa’s changed junior s&s isa’s. I figured the money will likely grow more being invested rather than sitting waiting for a very small amount of interest. We can’t afford to put large amounts away for them every month so hopefully this will give them a little bit extra on top of what we put in. Ive gone with a fairly risky investment fund, but not the riskiest. I figured over the next 10+ years a loss is unlikely. But I can also change the risk level at any time. Would recommend Wealthify, it’s easy to use and they do all sorts of savings accounts and also a pension.
Love the envelope idea, but I hate having too much cash on me. I would probably end up losing an envelope at some point
Love this thread
I put a % of my salary into savings ASAP on payday. I fee that it’s locked away and I won’t spend it
I put a % of my salary into savings ASAP on payday. I fee that it’s locked away and I won’t spend it
I have Monzo but it takes 24hrs to withdraw from the pot and sometimes you decide on things last minute so it’s a touch limiting only doing this. I don’t think I’ve ever withdrawn my wages in cash but I reckon physically seeing the money would certainly keep me accountable. All too easy to tap away here and there! X
I have a LISA too and apart from topping it up with the max amount for the first year. I now only put in £2 a week into it. I'm not really in a place to be buying my first home either. You can make a withdrawal but you lose the bonus of around 25% For benefits you're allowed up to 16k in savings, but anything over £6k is supposed to result in a reduction in the amount you get paid.
I don't like that money being locked up for that long either.
-I only became serious about saving money at the age of 26. I was stupid with money and spent a lot on presents for friends, but It coincided with a period when my depression was at it's worst and I needed that time to grow up.
-I stopped buying clothing- I haven't bought any new items of clothing for myself in one year and it was two items in the year before that. I really did have too much.
-I haven't bought myself new make up for almost three years. At one point I had 26 red lipsticks.
-I stopped buying books and only use the library now and still get through 3 books a week. (I use Manchester central library).
-I share my father's Netflix account.
-I use Topcashback if I do buy anything.
-Starbucks will give you a discount if you use one of their reusable cups and you can also add multiple cards to the same account and collect points together and use the gold benefits, but only do this with people you actually trust.
-I do YouGov surveys and earned my first £50 after around 8 months.
-I signed up with Scottish friendly for a 10 year saving plan when I was 18- mainly for the £40 giftcard they were giving and paid £25 into that every month. When it matured they gave me an extra £400 on top which I was happy with as I didn't even notice the money going out and know I 100% would have wasted it otherwise.
-Last year I also started investing in stocks and shares after just watching youtube videos about investing- I got around £43 in dividends. Including last month in I earned £3.06 (I love the humble penny and Nicole at the frugal cottage channel on youtube). I wish I started sooner though!
-I placed an online shop for my sister, with Iceland who offer free delivery with a £40 order in her area and they give you £1 off for every £20 you top up your bonus account card by.
-I send flowers using Bloom&wild and rarely pay full price anymore as they will always send you a 10-20% off code.
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My youngest sister was given £250 from the gov child trust scheme when she was born. My parents opened an account with Asda and literally just left it and made no further deposits. She turned 18 this year and it had grown to 3.1k by just having the profits reinvested back into it. So every little does help.That’s a shame about shoppix! Sounds like easy money.
Not necessarily budgeting but it is money related. I’ve started the ball rolling with getting my kids junior isa’s changed junior s&s isa’s. I figured the money will likely grow more being invested rather than sitting waiting for a very small amount of interest. We can’t afford to put large amounts away for them every month so hopefully this will give them a little bit extra on top of what we put in. Ive gone with a fairly risky investment fund, but not the riskiest. I figured over the next 10+ years a loss is unlikely. But I can also change the risk level at any time. Would recommend Wealthify, it’s easy to use and they do all sorts of savings accounts and also a pension.
Love the envelope idea, but I hate having too much cash on me. I would probably end up losing an envelope at some point
My other sister also had a family bond from my grandmother which she only received when she turned 21, there was also the option for 25 too.
That’s amazing! I wish I’d thought to change my kids isa’s into s&s ones sooner but they’ve still got at least 10 years before they can access them so better late than never. Hopefully they’ll have a decent chunk of cash to help them with driving lessons or uni living expenses or what ever.
Wished they’d had stuff like this when I was born, I was a 95 baby and so this wasn’t in place and my mum didn’t have the money to set up a savings account for me.
my mum was very poor and I didn’t have any help with uni, buying my first house, driving lessons, first car etc… I guess it taught me to be careful with money, but free cash would have been welcome also
1.I joined three apps today where you have to upload receipts. I read from another instragrammer that you can also upload the same one to all three and get points with each.
Shoppix
Huyu
Snapmyeats
2.I also downloaded the snapfish app for 50 free photo prints each month, but I actually prefer Freeprints who give you 45 because you don't have to adjust the crop frame for each picture.
3. I did place two separate orders with Graze for my youngest sister as you can only use one discount at a time. Without the discount codes below I think they are actually too pricey.
40% off flapjacks = with the code OATS40
25% off others if you activate your rewards.
Shoppix
Huyu
Snapmyeats
2.I also downloaded the snapfish app for 50 free photo prints each month, but I actually prefer Freeprints who give you 45 because you don't have to adjust the crop frame for each picture.
3. I did place two separate orders with Graze for my youngest sister as you can only use one discount at a time. Without the discount codes below I think they are actually too pricey.
40% off flapjacks = with the code OATS40
25% off others if you activate your rewards.
It might be worth getting in touch with Monzo as mine withdraws from pots instantly so there might be an issue their end with your account that they can fix
Got this today if anyone needs to send flowers. This code is from Bloom&Wild and you can also pick a later delivery date :
Have a few burner email addresses or use your spouse email address or work email because new shopper usually get 10-15% discount.
Hi, so I'm looking to buy a new phone and would like some advice. I probably shouldn't buy the newest model but don't want to buy something so old as to not have access to apps that everyone uses or are necessary. I'm not in the U.K, but as a general rule how do you pick out new phones?