21 SMART Money And Energy Saving Tips
With energy bills, fuel and interest rates
soaring, there’s never been a more critical time to make savings and learn how
to manage our money to the best of our ability. I cover many more tips and
money-making ideas in my programme, Master Your Money the S.M.A.R.T Way training. Check it out
for free - https://bit.ly/3isugCr.
Please LIKE and SHARE
Here are some tips to help you save and
accumulate more money.
1 Pay yourself and save
first, spend what’s left
Pay yourself first is the golden rule
and money mindset the rich and well-off follow. Do
this and you’re on your way towards financial freedom. Try
the 50/30/20 formula and have your salary automatically paid in separate
accounts:
50% of your take home pay for your needs
(bills, food, minimum debt payments),
30% for fun, play, eating out and
entertainment
20% saved for your future, extra debt
payments, saving for emergencies and investing.
2 Avoid credit
card debt interest
Plan a
strategy to get rid of it credit card balances with
cash or by transferring the debt to a 0%
balance credit card to avoid paying interest for a fixed time (up to
30 months) COMBINED with paying off the
balance every month.
Another useful tip
set up a direct debit to avoid missing minimum payments and being stung with
high charges and bad credit report history. You can also
move to another deal if you don’t manage to clear the balance.
Pay off purchase balance every month.
3 Track your
income and expenditure
‘T’ for ‘track’ is
included in my programme, Master
Your Money the S.M.A.R.T
Way training. Check it out for free - https://bit.ly/3isugCr. Set up a tracking system and also try
challenger digital banks like Monzo, which allows you to
transfer a set amount of spending money to your card and informs you
every time it is used, ore prepaid cards – like Monese and Transferwise – where you can only
spend what you load.
You can also do
this manually and set your account up by allocating your income into different
‘jars’ for different needs.
4 Start saving
and investing
Whatever you are earning or how much you
have in the bank, you can start saving a percentage of your income. Apps such
as Moneybox
let you start with a few pennies by rounding up loose change every time you
spend.
You can legally shelter your savings from
tax by maximising your £20,000 tax free ISA allowance and using other tax
shelters. Pension schemes also enjoy a favourable tax treatment. You can either
put money into a cash or investment ISA, which carries more risk. Interest
rates have been low for a decade but are now rising, which is good news for
saver but bad for borrowers.
Check out www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts for
more information. Check for the best cash ISA rates at Moneyfacts.
Shop around and be prepared to move your money to obtain the best rates.
5 Emergency or contingency funds
Everyone needs a rainy-day fund. You should
aim to have three months’ income saved for emergencies, ideally six if you have
a mortgage.
6 Loyalty doesn’t always pay - switch
suppliers
If you check out any good comparison site,
you are sure to discover cheaper deals on your household bills, as well as
savings accounts and insurance. Ofgem calculates
that the average household can save £300 a year by switching to a better energy
and gas deal. This might not always be possible in the current climate.
Check your latest utility statements and
check out comparison sites, such as uswitch or moneysupermarket.
7 Reduce your
car insurance
Some of us are using
our cars less as a result of working from home, so
check your car insurance is still the right fit and inform your insurer. Don’t
auto renew, and check for better deals via your existing
supplier and comparison websites like CompareTheMarket and MoneySupermarket.
8 Review your mortgage
Over 100,000 people reach the end of a fixed
term fixed rate mortgage every month, according to a BBC report.
Staying with the same lender could mean paying a ‘loyalty’ penalty of higher
interest of up to £1000 a year. Consult an independent mortgage broker about
remortgaging to the best deal for you even if your current deal is expiring in
6-12 months’ time.
‘R’ for ‘review’ is
part of my programme, Master
Your Money the S.M.A.R.T
Way training. Check it out - https://bit.ly/3isugCr.
9 Check your tax code to pay less to
HMRC
Make sure you’re
not paying too much tax. You could even get a nice rebate from HMRC.
Working from home
could entitle you to tax relief and you could claim some money back for working
from home expenses in the form of tax relief paid by HMRC.
10 Look for old
bank accounts and pension policies
Billions is waiting
to be claimed in forgotten bank accounts, insurance policies
and pension schemes. Have a root through your old papers
or contact the ABI (Association of British Insurers).
You
can also query your council tax band, check for
discounts if you live alone or care for someone.
11 Check for any
entitlements to benefits.
There are numerous
benefits you can access even if you are working and earning a family income of
up to £40,000.
12 Reduce
your grocery bill
Buy only what you need and avoid ‘two
for one’ offers, which lead to food waste and can cost you more.
Buy own brand food
from supermarkets which have often scored higher in blind tests.
Plan
your meals for the week ahead and use discount supermarkets and pound
stores, which can be significantly cheaper that M&S, Waitrose and Tesco’s.
Explore
the ‘world food;
aisle in your supermarket which can have savings of up to 75%
on cupboard staples including rice, lentils, beans, spices and sauces.
Shop
in the late afternoons and evenings for yellow
sticker discounts.
Don’t buy plastic
bags and make your food, fruit and veg last longer.
13 Avoid wasting food
Use your common
sense and avoid throwing away food which is still safe despite passing sell by
dates.
14 Explore local
charities for help – there is an abundance of food given away by supermarkets
If you are in need,
use Foodbanks and the many other charities for help with food and other items
including energy. They help everyone from the homeless to working people who
just can’t make ends meet, and there is a lot of money and resources out there
if you search. Nobody should go hungry in the west.
15 Check your workplace or private pension
Make
sure you’re saving enough for retirement and you’re happy with how your pension
is being invested according to your individual risk profile.
Checking
whether your employer will match pound for pound any personal contributions you
make – free money.
16 Check your
state pension and NI contributions level
You have until next
April 2023 to top-up National Insurance contributions to boost your old age
state pension if you have not made sufficient contributions during your working
life due to career breaks or time spent overseas. Topping up contributions can
be a good investment. Check with a financial adviser.
Women in retirement
may have been underpaid and could be entitled to back payments.
Go to the .gov
website or Google the links.
17 Use loyalty
cards, price match and vouchers and deal
finders
Points, discounts
and free stuff all add up on loyalty cards like Tesco’s Clubcard or
Nectar.
Stores
like John Lewis and Currys offer price matching
policies, which are subject to change sot do your research
and don’t be shy to ask.
Try hacks
like VoucherCodes ‘DealFinder’ as
a plug-in on Chrome to be alerted to the best deals while buying online.
There are hundreds
of money saving apps and discount offers, such as Sweatcoin and BetterPoints, where you can get
paid to walk and exchange your steps for store discounts and
freebies.
18 Cut energy bills
Check out the Energy
Saving Trust for some great energy and money saving
hacks. For instance, charging gadgets overnight can
cost you more than charging for a few hours during the day. And not filling
your kettle up when boiling water for a cuppa and defrosting
your freezer when iced up will also cut your bills.
Going paperless and
paying by direct debit will save you money.
Insulating your
home will keep you warm in the winter and cut energy bills. Check your local
authority for tips grants on insulation and solar panels, even if you are a
tenant.
19 Sell unwanted stuff on
resale platforms
Did you know that
the average British woman accumulates an estimated £22,000 of
unworn clothes over a lifetime? You can turn unwanted clothes into cash
using resale platforms such as Depop, Vinted and eBay.
You can also save money by buying
through these sites for top-quality gifts and clothes instead of paying
for new. Some items sold on these sites are brand new unused.
You can also clear
your garage, loft and spare room of unwanted stuff by selling on sites like
Facebook Marketplace and eBay.
20 Mindset – avoid emotional spending
and blowing your salary on payday
In my programmes and YouTube
Money Tips Podcast videos I talk about money mindset. A recent survey
by Nationwide’s Payday Saveday revealed that 1 in 5 people blow over half their
spare monthly wages within 48 hours of payday! Shops, restaurants and online
stores gear up offers for payday surges in expenditure. Ask yourself if you
really need something before you buy and give yourself time to think before
parting with your cash.
21 Plan, organise and forecast
The key is in planning and organising your
expenditure, work, goals, relationships and life! As in the first tip, prioritise
essential expenditure and your savings pot, before spending. That way, you’ll
know how much disposable income you really have to last the rest of the month.
Use a spreadsheet, app or notebook to map out or forecast your finances and
expenditure just like a business does. You should know exactly how much money
you have in your account right now and how much is coming in and going out
tomorrow.
Finally, searching for the best deals,
tracking and reviewing your finances and being mindful of spending money on
things to don’t really need will not only help you get through the current
crises but help you form lifelong habits that will enable to build wealth.
For more ideas and
tips, see out my new training to help you get control of your finances in 28 days!
Click to join: https://bit.ly/3isugCr
#freetraining #savemoney #moneysavingtips #mortgage
#creditcarddebt #energybill #costofliving #goals #foodbank #getcontroloffinances
#money
