Could We Save £100 This Month?
Both Granddad Al & I are of the belief that if you can’t afford it you can’t have it. We’ve never owed anyone any money or been in debt – now I’m not bragging, it’s just a fact. We live on a tight budget, but occasionally like a treat or two. Could we save any more?
This last month we have tried to see if we could live even cheaper.
Check You Bills
We’ve already had a water meter fitted & save over £40 a month. You can read about it here & here. Seriously we are paying less than £5 a month for our water. We regularly check out if we are on the right tariff for gas & electricity, seriously you can save a fortune just by spending 5 – 10 minutes online checking. If your Sky or mobile contract is coming to an end don’t just renew, ring up & ask what deals they have for you, don’t be afraid to cancel, there will be an offer, usually.
Go Compare
Same goes with your car insurance. We did ours back in June. We was quoted almost £450 on the renewal, by going on the price comparison sites I managed to get it down to under £350. That’s fully comprehensive, (which can be cheaper than third party fire & theft), with no claims protection, windscreen cover & courtesy car. They want your business, you can always go elsewhere, play one off against another especially with your mobile & car insurance.
Do You Really Need It?
Luckily I’m not one for buying things – I’m not really a big fan of shopping at the moment, due to the steroids I’m on my size is getting bigger, so I’ve not really wanted to go out & buy anything new to wear. But I do love wool, I love crocheting, knitting & I love wool – did I mention I really love wool? I have a stash that could do with using, so this past month I haven’t bought a ball – well I did, but it was from a charity shop & I paid £1 for two brand new balls, that should have been over £10 each, so I think that was a bargain really. What’s your temptation?
Also pay in cash not on a card, cash is always harder to part with & it’s real, whereas a card you don’t see the money until the statement arrives.
Eating In
We also occasionally get a curry from the take away that is in the next village, when we are coming back from visiting Mum, but this month we was good, came home & used something from the cupboards. Read Mummy H’s Chicken Balti Curry Recipes.
But you could buy something ready made from the supermarket, instead of the take away. Both Asda & Tesco do great curry meal deals for at least two people, they sell lots of pizza options etc
Although a take away is usually cheaper than a meal out, by the time you take into consideration your drinks, desserts, coffee’s etc that you would have if you are out.
Special occasion, there is nothing stopping you setting the table & dressing up to sit down together for a meal in your own home. This is a great one for parents who do Date Nights, no extra cost for the babysitter, the taxi & you can have a drink without worrying about losing anything!
A Penny Saved
Remember the saying, if you look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves. Try saving your loose change in a bottle, jar or tub, even a piggy bank if you’ve got one. Al puts anything under 20p in an old Pringles tube we have, it soon mounts up & you can treat yourselves to something every once in a while. Save it for a day out somewhere special.
Make Plans
Are you taking a train journey soon, then buy your tickets as soon as possible as they are cheaper if you buy them in advance. Also see if it’s cheaper by buying your journey in segments. Mummy H along with Jake & Grace came to visit us recently, she saved over £40 by getting her tickets over a month before & by breaking her journey into two different ones, From Newcastle to Carlisle, then Carlisle to Wigan, with the same returning. Also if possible travel off peak.
Going to the theatre, booking a night away a day out? Always look to see if there are any offers in the local paper, Groupon or Wowcher. But watch you don’t start buying offers you don’t need – that’s not saving money.
Coffee Time
Cut down on your coffee! You can get really nice travel mugs from as little as 99p that you can make your own coffee in, no more queuing & you don’t have to say yes to that delicious cake that Costa always has near by that’s always so tempting. So you are not only saving money but also calories!
Make The A List
Make a list of all you weekly expenditures, & be honest. This can really be an eye opener as to where your money is actually going. We found out we was spending most of our money in Asda, we all know that one, I’ll just nip in to get some milk, next minute the cashier is asking for £20 -£30!
We now buy the majority of our bread, milk & basics at the local shop, very rarely do we pick something extra up & even if we do it will only be a couple of pounds. Walking there uses no fuel, don’t take a bag, because you have to think “can I carry it home”. Once you’ve miscalculated a couple of times how much something weighs & you’ve struggled to get it home, you soon get used to not picking much up.
We also spend more money in Aldi & other shops than we used to, than when we shopped at Asda, so saving more. Infact, we haven’t been to Asda at all this last month, apart from to put diesel in the car & with walking to the local shops, we didn’t need as much of that either.
Have you any money saving tips that you would like to share?
Leave your tips below.
You can also enter our giveaways, save buying yourself a treat & win it!
Nanna Jane
Some really great ideas . I am really trying to save money
I batch cook and then freeze it down – especially love it when the protein contact is reduced – seems to make it taste even better. Having a selection of meals in the freezer that I can just take out in the morning makes work so much more manageable and reduces the risk of us calling for a takeaway or buying something processed but pricey.
Great tips..thanks for sharing!
My tip is don’t buy on impulse even if it is a bargain. Just buy when you really needed. I also ditched mu sky completely and sign up to Netflix instead. A lot of kids programs for the kids there. You really don’t miss what you don’t have.
I love books and use my local library to read for free and also enter book competition on goodread and use Netgallery in exchange of a review.
For Christmas we just buy for the kids. But we do indulge on a great meal. We are not big drinker and don’t splash on alcohol for health reasons also.
My travel mug has been my best friend for a few years now. Seems little but you can save a huge amount of money. I also don’t play the lottery anymore, as much as I love to win big, this is an expensive habit.
And then the big one, we completely ditch the car. No insurance, no MOT, no tax, no repairs.
I just walk, cycle or take the bus. A couple of time a year we will rent a car. Best decision ever. At the beginning it was ever so hard but like I mentioned it before you don’t miss what you don’t have. We are £500 better off every month.
And the last advice is enter competitions. I enter them since 2011 and it completely changed our life. I won a holiday in Paris in 2012 with Eurostar, a family holiday to Tenerife all inclusive in 2017, tickets for the Sealife in London, concert in the Albert Hall. Keep entering and never give up. I also won a fridge, a dishwasher, toys…. and so many things.
Good luck on saving!
We’ll done Leila. We’ve ditched Sky now & don’t play the National lottery anymore – well we haven’t for years since they went to twice a week. I love entering giveaways to but unfortunately blogging takes up a lot of time so I don’t win any where near what I used to but well done on all you wins.
Keep up the good work. x