Are you sick and tired of feeling like you finish the month with no cash left to spend on yourself? Even if you’re not necessarily living from one payday to the next, we all feel like we could do with a little extra money at times. And yes, I’m not talking only about personal finance; this also holds true for business finance.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways that you can start to cut down on your monthly expenses and improve your chances to save. Here, we’re going to take a look at just 9 strategies you can use for savvy spending.
1. Compare Your Loans
Sometimes we all need a little extra help making ends meet – or avoiding being in the red if you’re a business. The chances are that most people and businesses will end up taking out a loan at some point. Sometimes, that loan might be for something big like a new house or car. Or if you’re a business, it’s for securing items in bulk to save aplenty. Other times, you may simply need a small personal loan.
Whatever your situation, make sure that you get online and double-check that you’re getting the best deal on your loan’s APR before you commit to anything. This will ensure that you’re not over-paying on interest each month. Loan comparison sites such as Readies.co.uk can assist with this as they offer comparison of both business and personal loan terms.
2. Track Monthly Expenses
One of the most common reasons that people and businesses struggle with money is they have no idea where some of their cash is going. How many times do you find yourself paying a couple of pounds for something with the justification that it’s “not that expensive.” Those little costs quickly add up into a significant chunk of money that you could be saving towards something more important.
Tracking your monthly expenses will help you to see where you can afford to start saving more.
3. Pay with Cash
Another big problem for people who want to be smart with their spending habits is how easy it is to pay for things today. All you need to do is click a button online or flash a card, and you can buy almost anything in seconds.
To reduce your chances of accidentally overspending, try simply giving yourself a certain amount of cash you can afford to spend each month, and stick to that amount. Withdraw the cash from your bank, and when you’re out, commit to not spending any more.
4. Go Unbranded
The branded items in your supermarket are no better than the unbranded ones 99% of the time. The only real difference is the marketing money and extra packaging expenses involved in bringing those branded products to your shelves. Although you might only save a couple of extra pennies ongoing “unbranded” you may discover that your monthly food bill goes down a lot when you move all of those popular names form your shopping list.
5. Pack Your Lunch for Work
Preparing a lunch that you can take to work each day the night before takes a few minutes out of your rest time, but it pays for itself in the long-term. Making a sandwich at home might cost you an average of 50p a day, combined to the £3 per day you spend on buying your lunch from a local café. Obviously, spending six times less on your food means that you save a lot more in the long-term.
6. Buy Some Things Second Hand
There are some items that you won’t want to purchase second hand, like underwear, or bedding. However, there are other items, like outdoor furniture, a new kitchen table, or a bookshelf that work just as well if they’re second-hand. Think carefully about whether you can save a lot more by buying the things you need from Facebook groups and eBay instead of a local furniture store. You can always spruce old items up with a new lick of paint if you want to!
7. Sell your Unwanted Stuff
Speaking of buying things second-hand, you can also sell the things you don’t want to other people. Create an account on eBay and list all of the items in your home that are simply gathering dust. You’ll make some extra money, and you’ll open up some extra space in your house or business premise too!
8. Cancel Your Gym Membership
There’s really no need to pay for an expensive gym membership when you can get fit and healthy just as easily at home. Simply get on your bike once in a while, go for a hike in your local area, or lift weights at home if you can find someone to lend you a couple of dumbbells.
9. Stop Overspending on Energy
Finally, make sure you’re not spending more than you need to on energy by turning lights and other appliances off when you’re not using them. You can also consider installing a programmable thermostat to ensure that you’re not wasting cash on heating when no-one’s home.
Now over to you…
Do you have any additional cost cutting tips? If so, please share those with us!
