How to save during 2021:
Do your food shop online
With this year already starting in lockdowns, people have turned to online shopping anyway. Aside from keeping people safe, there are other benefits to shopping online – SAVING MONEY!
Doing your food shop online ensures you only actually purchase what you were going there for in the first place, if I go to a supermarket I will admit, I pick up lots of random things because I like the look of that or ‘fancy that’. Keeping it online will mean you only purchase what you need, not something that catches your eye or want.
Cook your own food, stop the takeaways!
They say on average in the UK people spend over £500 a year on takeaways! Personally, within my friendship group I would suggest its much higher than that. The average takeaway on the island would cost you around £20 at least for a proper meal, add that up once a week for a year your already at £1040!!!
So, google recipes online and start making your own food at home, you will learn lots of new skills and will probably find it fun, not to mention the amount of money you will save per week.
This also includes LUNCH! I know far too many people that spend £5 a day on lunch through their working week. Again, add this up and it equates to £1300 a year. Make your lunch at home for pennies per day.
Find discount codes first
Do not impulse buy! Do your research first…
First of all, do some comparable research before making any purchase, it isn’t hard to do these days with google.
Another little tip is to email the company direct and see if they have any discount codes running before making the purchase through them, you’d be surprised how many are running some form of discount code. Whilst they might not advertise this on their main branded site, you can find them. This has saved me over 50% off many times on purchases.
Swap expensive activities for FREE ones
With the various lockdowns over the last year this may have opened your eyes already to all the great free activities on offer. If we revert back to prior COVID, individuals would go out for a meal, go to the cinema and a night out every week to fill their weekends. However, why not fill your weekends with things such as;
- Long walks
- Cycling
- Sea/lake swimming
- Table tennis
These can all be free (you may need a bike or table tennis), it will fill your time, get you exercising, it can be great fun and most importantly doesn’t cost a penny!
Quit being materialistic
Do you really need to buy that fancy car on finance? My view on things is, if you can’t afford it don’t buy it! Simple as that. Why not get an affordable car and save that £250 a month you spend on a finance car (£3000 a year) that you don’t own?
Also, that finance amount will be taken off your affordability calculator when you want to apply for a mortgage.
Do you really need another suit/watch/dress/handbag, if you already have ample in your wardrobe, maybe re-think about the differences between wants & needs. Wants are not a necessity, if buying a house is more important than owning 5 suits, you know the answer!
As said above, I look at everything I buy as can I afford it or not. If I do not have the cash surplus to buy it, I will not buy it, if it really means a lot to me I will save up and buy it once I can afford it, not use interest free credit cards, loans etc, because guess what…that’s not your money!
This is one of the most common reasons people struggle to save, they spend money on needless things.
Work out at home
Gyms are currently shut, so a great time to invest in some home equipment and save yourself money over the long term. People pay from £20 up to £60 a month on memberships, if you spent time investing small amounts to home equipment this can save you substantial amounts over the long term. You might have to make do for a while, but once you own a home it will be worth it!
Keep track of your money
Set yourself a reminder maybe at the end of each month and review what you’ve spent your money on, how maybe you could change that the following month. It’s important to not ignore your finances, having regular checks will give you a better understanding of how to manage your money.
There are also great saving apps out there now if you prefer that option.
Switching Utility Companies
Keep an eye on the rates of your utility companies, you now have online comparable systems to ensure you are on the best rate possible. You could potentially save yourself hundreds of pounds a year.
Replace brand names with supermarkets own!
This comes back to your online shopping, do you need to buy those branded rice cakes for £2.50, or could you buy the supermarket own for £1. Each penny adds up, over the course of a normal food shop you could save yourselves 10’s of pounds at a time.
Also look at things such as clothing, do you need those Armani joggers, or could you buy a decathlon set? It’s for you to decide what’s more important in life…
Summary
I promise you, if you follow these simple steps it will get you to buying your first home much sooner than you thought you could achieve it. Everyone I have helped so far come out shocked just how quickly they save their money when putting in the work to do so.
If you want any advice on buying your first home or scaling up your property portfolio feel free to contact me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 01983 521212
