I was asked to share 12 tips on money & saving money for the Daily Express newspaper. Here they are…
1. You won’t keep more money until you learn to manage what you already have
2. Extreme emotions, good & bad, erode wealth; manage money logically not emotionally
3. Never spend more than you earn
4. Save a target % of your income & increase it over time. Start with 5%, then 10%, then target 20%
5. Set up a SANT bank account. This is for money you S.ave A.nd N.ever T.ouch
6. Prepare lunch & coffees before work. If you make your own lunch and don’t buy £4 coffees twice a day, you can save around £90 a week
7. Don’t buy clothes, gadgets or fripperies for a year.
8. Food shop one supermarket rung down If you shop at Waitrose, try Sainsbury’s. Or try Aldi. Sainsbury’s is 15% more than Aldi, and Aldi 15% more than Tesco, for groceries, according to the daily record.
9. Even on a low or average weekly food shop, that could be £15 a week or more
10. The 30 day rule on any purchases. If you want to buy anything new, give yourself a 30 day rule. Do not buy it, and take 30 days to decide if you still want it. If you don’t, great. If you do, find it cheapest on a comparison website or buy it second hand.
11. Vouchers. My wife got 2 for 1 vouchers for Alton Towers on a Coco Pops box. You can use vouchercodes.co.uk to get vouchers and discounts. If you buy as much of your non-essentials and non-perishables in sales, at discounts, and in bulk when they are in sale, you can save fair sums over the year.
12. Drink only water. If you buy only water, in bulk, and not juice or alcohol, well, many people could save a lot of money cutting out alcohol. Saving 5 alcoholic drinks a week could save up to £25 a week. I won’t even talk about smoking but you can work that out if you do.
I hope you find these useful and practical. Are there any you would add?
