This site is all about saving money and although you might be doing many of the things on this list, you probably won’t be doing all of them. So here are our top 20 money saving tips:
- Consolidate loans and/or pay off the most expensive loans first – don’t go paying off the mortgage or student loan if you have an expensive credit card debt
- If you have a mortgage consider consolidating more expensive loans into. If it is a fixed rate mortgage, look into switching lenders at the end of the fixed period
- Avoid unnecessary bank and cash machine charges by doing a little bit of advanced planing – know how much you have in the bank!
- Find a decent current account, ideally one that pays interest or offers a good overdraft deal – there are often good deals around if you are willing to move where you salary is paid.
- Don’t use a credit card with an annual fee – plenty of free ones around
- Switch off home appliances when not in use – television and lights are obvious examples
- Book holidays well in advance and if possible outside of school holiday periods
- Cook at home, but avoid too many ready meals as these will be quite expensive
- Make you own packed lunch rather than buying sandwiches or microwave meals
- Make a list before shopping and stick to it – don’t get distracted by things you don’t need as impulse buying can prove to be expensive
- Buy in bulk the things you need all the time when they are on special offer
- Buy own brand products
- Telephones – do you still need that land line?
- Don’t buy new books – in order of where to seek books, you should try… the library, charity shops and car boot sales, discount book stores, Amazon
- Price check online before you buy anything expensive – especially electrical goods
- Don’t buy bottled water – if you don’t like tap water then buy a Brita filter
- Avoid buying snacks and drinks from vending machines – if you have snack attacks at work then take in supermarket purchased items bought in bulk.
- Keep you car as long as possible but don’t skimp on regular maintenance as these can extend the life of your car.
- Consider other ways to get to work – car share or cycling for example
- Keeping up with the Jones’ – stay away from friends who throw their money around – they may well have less than you anyway as they probably lease their car and have an over-extended mortgage!
MoneyMoz Author – Richard Bloomfield
