Our finances can be a big topic of conversation. Whether it is couples looking to save for their first home or a wedding. Maybe it is a family looking to upgrade their homes or book a big holiday. There are always reasons for increasing your savings, but the hard thing is actually saving money.
Older generations found saving much easier than people do today. The cost of living has risen dramatically and as wages sometimes don’t seem to match up to this, every penny counts. So how do you save when you are watching the pennies or living paycheck to paycheck? Sometimes it is all about changing habits, making sacrifices, and also challenging yourself. I wanted to share with you some of the ways you can increase your savings.
What can you sacrifice?
One of the first things you can do to increase your savings is to look at what you can sacrifice. It isn’t always nice to go without but if you are keen to increase your savings it can be one of the simplest ways to do it. First of all, look at your bills and see what luxuries you are paying for that you might need. TV and magazine subscriptions, audible books, gym memberships, etc. There will always be things you have been used to paying out for that you no longer need. Once you cancel them, set up a monthly standing order to your savings account for that amount. You won’t be any worse off but you will naturally start to add to your savings.
Saving challenges
Another thing you can do is save challenges. These are a simple ways to get into the habit of regular saving and there are quite a few that you could try. You could round down your account each evening. For example, if your bank balance is £344.65 at the end of the day, you simply transfer £4.65 to your savings account. You could also save all of your spare change or specific coins in a jar. Finally, each week you could save money. Start with £1 and then the next week increase it to £2 and so on. It might feel like slow progress but it will start to help you increase your savings.
Reducing your food shop bill
Your food shop can be one of your biggest expenses each week, but a few small changes can make all of the difference to your savings. If you have an average of what you usually spend, make a conscious effort to spend less. You can do that by meal planning and stopping buying branded items. Then the savings you make, transfer straight to your savings account. You won’t be any worse off but you will start to grow your savings.
Switching providers for bills
We all have bills we have to pay but sometimes staying loyal to providers for insurance, energy, internet, and TV sometimes doesn’t pay. So why not switch providers? You can make some great savings by switching providers and the monthly savings could then be transferred to your savings instead. You should also make sure that you switch deals for things like mortgages and credit cards. There will always be better interest rates and you should take advantage of these when you can. Make sure you transfer those savings across as this can be an easy way to increase the savings you have without feeling any worse off monthly.
Selling unwanted things online
If you have been decluttering or feel you have things in your home you no longer want or need then why not look at selling them online? There can be a lot of money to be made on websites like eBay, Vinted, and Facebook marketplace. This can be a lovely way to add to your savings and help your home feel less cluttered. It is an obvious way to increase the savings you have, but we sometimes don’t realise how much the stuff we don’t want is actually worth.
Your habits in your home
Finally, changing your habits in your home can make a big difference to your outgoings. Things like reducing your energy usage, even by just switching to Led light, can be a great way to start to see a reduction in your bills. Things like reducing your energy usage can be a great way to start to see a reduction in your bills. Then when you see that decrease, you can pop the savings into your savings account. The more changes you make, the more you can see your current outgoings decrease in time, which ultimately frees up your disposable income.
Hopefully, these tips and suggestions will help you to increase your savings.
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