My Top Money Saving Tips

So then following on from my post, How to Buy your First Home https://www.thatpropertygirlevie.com/how-to-buy-your-first-home/ I thought I would share with my main money saving tips! 

It’s not easy, I’ll tell you that now but I can definitely say that it is worth it. By now you will know that I believe in a few simple principles when it comes to money: buy less, save more and be smart. Today I wanted to do an updated blog post about how I have been saving money. 

The main one in my opinion is:

 Checking in on your outgoings – 

Start by actually writing down all of your current outgoings, I do this regularly to make sure that I never lose track on what is being paid out each month. I remember being shocked that by the time you’ve paid for your a mobile phone contract, bills, council tax, actual tax, petrol etc… there’s not much left, so you’ve got to closely look at your outgoings to see what you can change or tweak. It’s easier to lower your outgoings than it is I to increase your income. 

Since running my own home, I have honed my money saving skills so that I get the best deals where possible. Let’s face it, life can be very expensive if you let it be! 

I even sit down with my parents and double check that they have an idea of their outgoings and help them shop around for a cheaper alternative. 

This follows on nicely to:

Shop around for deals – 

As mentioned above look around for best offers and don’t auto-renew annual agreements such as house and car insurance, you can always get a better deal by phoning a handful of companies, it is time consuming but can save you hundreds, if not thousands of pounds! Household outgoings are vast so if you are a home-owner or tenant take a careful look at where you can re-negotiate costs. 

If you stick with the same company when renewing, it is always worth calling them to ask if they can give you a better deal – it’s worked so many times for me. My car insurance is a great example of this. 

Get out of expensive contracts! – 

Yes, I don’t care how nice your car looks if you haven’t purchased your own home first it really doesn’t impress me! I know people have different preferences and therefore I wouldn’t wish to offend someone but I can’t quite understand why someone would choose to finance an expensive car rather than save for their first home or an investment. 

Always remember and don’t be fooled, if two people have £1,000 each, one invests it wisely and makes £350 and now has £1,350. The other spends £650 on a vacation and posts cool pictures, he now has £350. One guy looks like they are winning, the other is on the path to actually win. Social media is a highlight reel, in reality most people are losing. 

Make the most out of food – 

Let’s face it, food is a huge cost to all of our lives, especially when feeding a family but it’s essential. I always try to never waste money on food and whenever we have leftovers we always use them. Soup is my go-to way to ensure my food lasts longer or, just simply freezing things if I’ve made a little extra rather than throwing it away.

Also, when shopping I always seek out good offers and when I can, I stock up on things that have a long shelf life and non-perishables. 

Takeaways  – 

Now this one can be easily done, you just need a bit of willpower. Stop buying expensive take away drinks, pack a home made lunch rather than buying an easy option meal deal, going out to buy your daily coffee or tea – it costs around £8 for two, often £10-15 if we throw in some pastries or sourdough. It all adds up and is so easy to avoid.

Saving money in an expensive world isn’t easy by any means and a few £’s here and there may not seem worthwhile, but save on all the things I’ve mentioned above and those £’s will soon add up to give you additional money each month to save or to treat yourself to something else, so in my view it’s well worth the effort. 

Plus, the feeling is so uplifting!

So then what’s stopping you, go and save those pennies!

Bye for now Xx