Simple Ways To Save Money

There are hundreds of ways to make extra money and some of my articles tell you how to do that. However, it is even easier saving money. Every month you can leave yourself with extra cash that you were needlessly throwing away without realizing it.

Saving Money

The following is a list of some of the ways to save yourself money. These are in no particular order but all of them will save you cash. Most of these money-saving ideas can be done within a couple of hours and will benefit your finances.

Switch To 0%

One of the biggest ways to help your finances and to help with saving money is to switch your credit card debt to a 0% card. You can find lots of comparison sites online. They usually also have credit check tools that will do a soft search, which won’t harm your credit rating. Then when you have found the card your most likely to be accepted just apply and start saving.

The correct way is to go for the length of 0% that it will take you to clear that debt. Usually, after the zero rates have ended the rate increases so be aware, and if it will not be clear then be prepared to switch again.

I can’t stress enough how much you will save yourself by doing this. The best place to go is Moneysavingexpert.com

They will have 0% card comparisons on their site. These will show you the best ones to pick to optimize the amount of money you can save.

Cut Your Mobile Expenses

A mobile phone can be an expensive cost. My own deal costs me about £50 a month and although I would be lost without it, it is an expense I could do with lowering.

Check to see when your current deal runs out. If it is soon then you may be able to switch early. Please don’t worry about getting the latest flashy handsets. If you can stay one generation of the phone behind the current models then you can save a fortune.

Many phone companies will let you cancel your deal early for a small charge and then you can shop around for the best deal. Remember just because the cost appears set in stone in-store or on their website it generally isn’t and you can get it lowered. I have often got a really good deal by speaking to them on live chat and threatening to leave. Get on Live chat and haggle. This is one of the easiest things to do when it comes to saving money

Cashback Sites

I have already written an in-depth article on cashback sites and you can check it out here

I will go over it again here though, keeping it shorter of course. There are 2 great cashback sites I use called Quidco and Topcashback. You can sign up for free and every time you go to make a purchase online, check via these sites to see if the vendor is listed on there.

If the vendor is one that is with one of the cashback sites then you can earn a certain amount of cashback to your account for making a purchase. This is usually in the form of a percentage of the sale price.

Over the course of the year, this can sometimes be enough money back to pay for most of your Christmas. I have made £150 in a year before and remember its not just goods, you can earn money for switching energy suppliers or car insurance, etc. I will talk about that shortly. If you are looking to start saving money cashback sites are a great place to start.

Change Energy Suppliers

Most energy suppliers will constantly put up their prices and not entertain the idea of keeping their loyal customers on a good deal. This means that it is certainly worth checking from time to time if you’re on the best deal you can be on.

Just by shopping around you could potentially save hundreds of pounds. Not only that but doing it through a cashback site like the ones mentioned above can also get you some cash as well.

I swapped my car insurance and home insurance recently and saved money as well as making £110 cashback for the two deals.

Again a good place to check out if your getting the right deal is to go and visit Moneysavingexpert.com or a comparison website such as Gocompare

Restaurant Vouchers

Most restaurants have money off vouchers to save when your dining out. Now dining out isn’t one of the ways I recommend you save money, however, we can’t stay in and be housebound while saving money otherwise you would quickly lose interest, so the odd meal out as a reward is well worth it.

Now I usually do a search online before I go out to eat and that will determine where we go. I always check Voucher codes and Hot UK Deals.

Most of the time I can find 30% off deals for main meals or free drinks and desserts. Always worth checking before you leave.

As well as checking before you leave, a lot of the restaurant chains will have mailing lists you can sign up to and they will email you the latest deals. This is handy as saves you scrolling through them all.

Extreme Couponing

There’s grabbing the odd coupon from a magazine and then there is absolutely rinsing every coupon from every place you can get them from.

Yes, you could spend a few hours every evening scouring websites and scooping up all the available coupons, but trust me it can certainly be worth it.

If you hit every coupon that will get you goods you can use, then you can end up with £100 pounds worth of shopping for a little over a fiver. It helps if you can combine coupons, For example, you could get a discount on toilet roll and then apply a £5 off voucher on a £25 spend.

The best places to start looking for coupons are the ever-popular Moneysavingexpert.com and supersavvyme.co.uk

Try joining coupon forums and get help from people more experienced than you. They are all really friendly and will help if you get stuck or need some good advice. Have a look and see the savings that can be made.

Sell Your Clutter

Now if your anything like me you have a room whereby you hoard stuff. I don’t mean you heard it because you have an issue with hoarding. It’s more you think you will use that slow cooker one day even though it’s plainly obvious you won’t.

eBay is quite obviously the first place you think of. Of course it is a good starting point, however, I have always found eBay a little slow going when you’re trying to shift a few items. My top tip, especially for those of you in the UK, is to give Shpock. It’s a simple app and is free to join.

All you need to do is simply add a quick photo or two of what you are selling. Then add a short description and it can all be done on your phone in a minute or two.

Once that is done then just wait for people to see it and send you a bid. They can also message you live on the app which is very handy. You can either sell to someone local and they can collect. The other option is you can deliver to them. If they are further afield then simply ask for their address and send the item as you normally would via postage.

There are other apps out there like this that can help you clear out your clutter. Get up in that loft or spare bedroom and have a clear out. If you haven’t used or opened that box in over a year then sell whatever is in it.

No-Spend Weekend

It is what it says on the tin, Weekends end up being our most expensive two days of the week. If you set a goal to spend nothing it’s surprising how easy it is to think of new things to do that don’t cost any money. For a comprehensive list of exciting things to try that are spend free, Head over to my list of the 10 best things to do on a No-Spend Weekend.

Take A Day

So there are many more ideas like the ones I have listed above to help you get started saving money. They all work in various ways but the best way you can save money is to take a day to sit down with your significant other with a pen and pad and work out where you can save money.

Try the easy stuff first like cutting your sky bill and your mobile bill You will be surprised at the savings. Hopefully, some of my suggestions will help you to save and you can get through a few of them by sitting down and planning beforehand.

Good luck.