Are you constantly spending more money than you should be? You’re not alone. A large number of us buy things that we don’t really need all the time while wondering why we never seem to have enough cash when disaster strikes. If you want to make sure that you can prepare your family for anything, then it’s important to consider how you can spend less and save more on a monthly basis.
Fortunately, we have a handful of great tips that can help you to do just that, without compromising on the things you really love or need in life. Let’s get started.
1. Compare Loans Carefully
Sometimes, the only way to pay for what you need – whether it’s an education, a new car, or a home, is to get a little bit of help from a bank or building society. There are dozens of lending institutions out there, but it’s not always easy to figure out which one you should go to when you need help making ends meet for your next big purchase.
Rather than just going with the bank you already save with for a personal loan, or choosing the first company you find, make sure that you take the time to compare your options and make sure that you’re getting the best deal for the lowest possible interest rate.
2. Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need
Perhaps one of the most obvious ways to save more and spend less is to stop using the money on things that you don’t really want or need. While this might seem obvious, you’d be surprised how many people are actually spending cash on things that they don’t want without realising it. Companies can make administrative errors, which means that even if you think that you cancelled your gym membership in February, you’re still paying for it today.
Go through your bank statements and look for anything in your “outgoing” column that you can’t justify paying for. This might be a bill that you thought you cancelled, or it might be something like a television package that you simply don’t use.
3. Be More Energy Efficient
When you’re young, you have no idea how much it costs to run your game consoles and computers all day. When you get a little older and move into your own house, it’s a shock to see how every lightbulb left on and running appliance adds up at the end of each month. A good way to cut back is to make sure that you’re constantly aware of how much energy you’re using.
A smart energy monitor can help here, as it makes you aware of what you’re spending on everything from your microwave, to your heating.
4. Change Suppliers and Brands
If you’re doing everything you can to cut down on your energy bills but you’re still overspending, then you should still be able to reduce your outgoing bills each month. Switching your energy supplier is just the first step you can take to cut down on your expenses, you can also switch out your broadband vendor too.
As well as changing your suppliers, think about cutting costs by changing the brands you buy when you go to the supermarket to buy food. Most of the time, the own-branded items on the shelves taste just the same – the truth is that you’re paying for branding, and a pretty package. Try challenging yourself to go down a price bracket on some of your most commonly bought items each month and you will soon see that you spend less.
5. Walk More Often
Although many people can’t live without access to a car, if you can spend less time driving and more time getting around on your own two feet, then you can save a lot of money. Not only that, but you help the environment too because you contribute fewer carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Even making sure that you walk more on a weekend and drive through the week can be enough to make a difference.
Getting more exercise will also be good for your health, as it means that you can start to burn off any excess fat that you wanted to get rid of this summer.
6. Track Every Penny
Finally, while saving every penny in a jar might seem like a waste of time, it’s the little things that add up in the long term. Bagging up your change and taking it to the bank can help you to contribute a little bit more to your savings every month, so you reach your goals a little quicker. This process also motivates you to keep pushing forward – even if you’re just taking small steps.