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Associate Article

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Save by spending

It’s the New Year, and for those of us who have been out on a plastic Christmas shopping binge the pinch on your wallet may well be very disconcerting in 2008. Changing your mortgage, paying off debts, and simply not leaving the house are some of the most obvious and popular ways to cut back your monthly outgoings for the coming year. However, there are also plenty of other ways to save money that will mean you can continue living comfortable and not have to go to the bank every month. Check out the list on ways to save by spending in 2008:

Plan impulse buying

A lot of advice out there says to curb impulse buying altogether, but the simple fact is that it’s inevitable. If you haven’t planned to go out after work but everyone’s heading to a local pub for a few drinks, then you’re going to look like a bit of a Scrooge if you never go because you ‘don’t want to spend outside of your budget.’ Instead of never going out, set aside some cash each month so that you can get a little extra (if you can afford to of course) other than your regular savings. If you clearly map out your disposable income you will be prepared very well for impulse buying.

Buy fresh or canned

You might think that buying jars of pasta sauce and frozen ready meals is quick and easy, but it’s definitely not the cheapest option. Buying fresh and canned produced is slightly more time consuming in comparison, but you will get far more for the price you pay, and it’s nearly always better for you. Buying a jar of Dolmio pasta sauce could set you back over a pound a time, but making your own from some blended tomatoes and a few mixed herbs will cut the price in half and give you fewer additives. With more cookery programmes on TV now, it’s easier than ever to learn how to cook, and both your wallet and your health will benefit from cooking from scratch. Avoid the takeaway apart from as a special treat – it’s always more expensive than cooking from home, and often high in fat.

Make Your Own Sandwiches

This follows on from the last point about cooking from scratch. Research from Alliance and Leicester has shown that 60 per cent of people now view once considered luxuries, such as takeaway lunches or bottled water, as necessities. With so little effort you can easily save £3 a day by buying a loaf of bread and some sandwich filler and take your own bottle of water to work. With that in mind, you can make a saving of £750 per year for about five minutes of preparation a night.

Cut Back Your Monthly Payments

This is a very broad one, but so many people just let monthly payments carry on when they no longer use them. For instance: a mobile phone contract that costs a lot of money but is not completely utilised, or gym membership when you only go once a week; both of these will cost you £30+ a month. Also search the best financial deals, and create cheaper debts by consolidating them. Personal loans are usually much cheaper than credit cards, so if you have high credit card debt you can pay it off with a personal loan and reduce your minimum monthly payments.

If you’re looking for cheap credit over the next year, then take a look at some of the rates from NatWest. Their rates for loans and credit cards are amongst the lowest in the current market.

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myfinances.co.uk is not authorised to give advice under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

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