Daily Ways to Save Money!

Posted:Abigail Andrews – Saturday, May 26th, 2007

Here follows a list of simple everyday ways you can save money. You would be surprised how much it could add up to over the term of a year. I bet everyday you find yourself thinking, "oh it's only 20p more", "never mind its only £2, I can't be bothered going back to the other shop", "that packaging looks cheap so the product must be rubbish". Stop and read this list, you may be surprised how much you could save with very little effort. Remember, a penny saved is a penny earned.

Save Money Today

Lower the Thermostat

Knocking one degree off your thermostat can cut heating bills by up to 10 per cent. That's a saving of £30 on an average annual heating bill of £300.

Haggle to Save Money

Haggle. Haggle for everything. Once you have done it a couple of times you won't look back. If the top you want is the last one left in the shop but has a small stain on it, ask for some money off. If a shop doesn't have the TV you want in stock, you could get a bargain by asking and settling for the display model. You don't get if you don't ask. So haggle and ask for discounts, what have you got to lose?

Buy in Bulk and 3 for 2!

Generally speaking the more you buy in one go the cheaper it is and the more money you save. I always buy big where I can and when I can afford to. For example, get the biggest washing powder you can, instead of buying toilet paper in rolls of 4 buy 24, and providing you have the freezer space, if lasagne is on 3 for 2 buy 6! But be warned, only buy 3 for 2 if it is an item you would ordinarily buy or else you have been successfully "marketed"!

Use low-energy light bulbs and turn off that light

They save money and are kinder to the environment. If you fit eight low-energy, 60W light bulbs, you could expect to save £140 over five years - that's £28 a year. Also, when you leave the kitchen turn off the light and turn off the landing and hallway lights unless you are using the stairs something most people forget to do.

Turn appliances off - Don't use standby

Turning appliances off rather than leaving them on standby really does save money on your electricity bills, its not a lot but it all counts. Again it's kinder for the environment too.

Ignore the Joneses to Save Money

Trying to keep up appearances is, to be blunt, quite stupid. Stop judging people by what they have as you don't know how they got it, and the chances are they're in more debt than you are, is that where you want to be? Do you really need to buy that brand new car? Does it really matter that it is a year or 2 old? Furthermore, it's tempting to buy the latest fad or technical advancement as soon as it is available, particularly if everybody else is buying it. But don't! Waiting a few months can result in much lower prices and even better deals. Furthermore, if you can get money for Christmas and buy that new printer in January, do it, as we all know prices are always inflated in December.

Buy Own Brand to Save Money

You can buy a tin of Asda own-brand baked beans or a loaf of bread for at least half the price of known brands. They usually taste pretty much the same and sometimes, surprisingly, even better! Half the time the own brand products have been made in the same factory as the branded products, just because they don't come in a "pretty" tin does not necessarily mean they are made from different ingredients. Think about it, give it a go!

Start Cooking to Save Money

Stop buying ready meals and start cooking your own with cheaper, fresher ingredients. I know ready meals are convenient, but cooking your own meals does not have to be as time consuming as you think. If you cook in bulk you can freeze some and thus have your very own home made ready meals made with better, healthier, cheaper ingredients. Furthermore, use up all them items of food in your cupboards and freezer before they go out of date and have to be thrown out, and you never know you, may be able to delay your next "big" shop by a month and again save some cash.

Avoid Designer Coffee and Sandwich Shops

We know they have nice décor and soothing music and the smell of fresh coffee is very alluring, but do you really need that expensive coffee or designer sandwich? Think about this, if your daily coffee on the way to work costs £2 and your sandwich at dinner time cost £2.50, just because it has best whole green mustard with Italian olives and "more money than sense" sauce, you can easily save £1170 a year by making your own and settling for the free coffee at work.

Make a Shopping List to Save Money

When you go food shopping list what you need and stick to it. Shops spend millions studying consumer behaviour in order to identify ways of making you part with more money than you intended to on your visit. It's no coincidence that the shop you are in is playing your favourite song, and next time you are in you local supermarket take note of your actions in the bakery section…...yes, you will be overwhelmed by the smell of them freshly baking muffins and bread! Don't be duped into buying things you don't really need! Eat before you shop and you will be surprised how much less money you spend.

Say "NO" to Save Money

Relating to the last item above, shops also target children, so don't be caught out by caving in to the demands of your little ones who insist they really need and want that new 15 colour pen when they already have 2! Similarly, do you really have to go for a quick drink after work, every night, when quite often that quick drink turns into a £30 drinking session and a meal out! Say no just occasionally and you will see the difference in your bank account.

Do you REALLY need it?

While out shopping for a new pair of shoes (as you really do need some) you find yourself wandering round the kitchen section of the department store, you spot the bargain, stainless steel sauce pan set, half price! WOW, my other 15 pans are not stainless steel! STOP! Ask yourself is it something I really need? Thought not! Now go buy them shoes!

Walk or Cycle to Work

Buses and trains are packed, stuffy, germ ridden and expensive. Walking and cycling are free! If you really have to get a bus or a train, try walking to the next stop at either end of the journey, you may be surprised what difference it makes to the fare and your health too.

Arrange to Car Share

Not only is it helping the environment it will also save money. For example, think of petrol and parking costs. If you pay £5 a day for parking and petrol is costing you £3 a day. If you worked 5 days a week that would be £2080 a year out of your pocket. By car sharing you could half or even quater this cost. Ask around at work and see if anyone lives near you who takes there own car or gets the bus and arrange to car share, in the long term you could save a fortune yearly!

Useful sites:

www.carshare.com
www.liftshare.org

Don't be a Designer Sucker

I swear on my life I can rarely tell if one of my friends has a Primark outfit on, or has made a visit to Harvey Nic's. Most people who buy designer cannot actually afford it, stop trying to impress, it usually looks over done anyway! Think about this, celebrities are often GIVEN designer items to wear, so that suckers like you want to copy them and appear to be rich! SUCKER!

Visit the Market to Save Money

Cheaper overheads generally means lower prices. I once bought a bunch of fresh coriander from the market for a £1 it was about £1.69 in my local supermarket for a fifth of the amount!

Credit Cards and Cash Point Fees

Never, ever, ever, withdraw cash from your credit card. You will pay immediate interest and a fee on top! Also be wary of cash machines that charge a fee, you're throwing money down the drain if you willingly use these in 'convenience' locations. Organise yourself better and you should have no reason to use fee charging machines.

Avoid Branded Medicines

Own brand drugs are cheaper and no less effective than their branded equivalents. Of course, manufacturers often point to the fact that their brand is easier to swallow, or deliciously coated, or is a particularly fantastic shape. However, the fact remains you can save money per pack by choosing the one without the famous name. And according to the NHS, you are perfectly safe buying generic (unbranded) drugs of this sort, as they are clinically identical.

It Won't Be You!

Stop DREAMING! The odds of winning the Lotto jackpot are stacked 14m to 1 against each ticket. Buying 10 tickets rather than one raises your chances of winning so insignificantly, you may as well stick to one ticket and save the rest of the money you waste in a cash ISA. There is not harm uying 1 or 2 tickets but please, please, please dont buy 20 a week!!!! Save money!!!

Complain about Bad Service

If the service you receive or the product you buy is poor, then complain. Quite often if you complain and ask for a gesture of goodwill from a company for poor service or product, they will honour your request by offering a discount or vouchers. If they don't, don't use them again and go elsewhere.

Use Half Loads to Save Money

Do you use your half load button on your washing machine? Do you use the quick wash button? Well if not start using them, better still wait until you have a full load and set the timer to start the wash over night using cheap electricity and ready to be hung out in the morning. Furthermore, do you put your dishwasher on when its half empty? Well stop it, in both these ways not only will you save a fair bit of money over the year, your also helping the environment, something we should all be thinking about.

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