Do you have trouble saving for a rainy day? Nathalia's post will definitely help you save and manage your finances better. Thank you Nathalia!
When I was just working, I could never understand why my friends were always complaining about money. Now at university, I’m always having to find inventive ways to get the most out of my budget without having to compromise on the things that I like. From petrol to milk cartons, prices have increased for everything, so here are my top 7 tips on how to make your money go further:
I'm not talking about a full on contingency plan.
Just sort of an outline of what you're getting, what's going on bills and savings and what's left for you to comfortably spend. It generally feels quite nice to go into a store like something and think yeah I want this and I can get this without worrying.
In my purse I currently hold around 15 loyalty cards. I cannot tell you how many free coffees and sandwiches I’ve had because of them. The savings may not seem like much in the beginning, but it really does add up, specially if like me you have some kind of caffeine addiction, (may it be with coffee or tea).
This is beyond money. We all lead such busy lives nowadays it’s hard to keep healthy and eat at the right times. Having prepared snacks at reach is a great way to save money and keep that healthy diet. I have the best easy to make sandwiches and pancakes recipes, which I shall write about soon, I promise. That being said, let’s not forget that a little bit of chocolate is proven to be healthy too...
Some places offer the best deals for some things but not for others. This is true for both groceries and petrol. For example, I study an hour away from my house, but petrol there is way cheaper so, that’s where I fill up once a week and it saves me about a fiver. Add that to a year and you get a massive saving of £260. YAYY!
Ask yourself before buying that gorgeous new top, do I need it, is it in budget and can I wear it more than once?
It’s easy to get a completely different style by adding different layers and accessories. This is something that actually helped me save money.
A shopping trip with the girls is great. When you’ve got the money to spend. But when your aim is to save up it’s not the best of ideas. Sometimes though these things are hard to say no to, so you’ll just have to exercise your self control, or content yourself with a really small buy, just so you’re not the only one not carrying any bags really....
Remember the 50-30-20 rule? Well, when you’re low on money it’ll probably be more of a 60 - 30 - 10 / 60% of your money goes on essentials, 30% gets saved for emergencies which leaves you 10% for little pick me ups and absolutely whatever else you may want.
Those 10% may not seem like much now, but having a guilty free amount there for whatever you want is a brilliant motivator.
So, these are my tips to make money go further, what do you do to stretch your money in these bleak times?