So last week I admitted that I am a terrible saver. No that isn’t quite right, now I want to save, I just do not have the spare cash. So I need to save smarter. So I have been figuring our ways to save for non-savers. In fact you would be surprised to know that in just one week I have already saved over £200. Yes £200, so read on to find our more.
How to save as a non-saver
According to the Aviva Financial Personality Tool I am a Dark Scriver and I working with them to share with you mine (and their) tips for being a #SmartSaver. I sat down and first I worked out a goal as Aviva suggest and then I figured out some ways to both save money and make some money to save!
One of the biggest obstacles I face is that our income and expenses are pretty equally balanced, especially with kids in the mix and things breaking. So I decided that I need to make more money to save money as well as tightening our belts.
8 ways for a non-saver to save
- Work out your income and expenses. Yes, it is boring, but by sitting down and going through our bank statements I ended up with a good idea of what we spend and what we spend it on.
- Save the pennies. I always tell my kids that the pennies add up and they really do, so I have started saving my change from my purse and popping it in a piggy bank.
- Set a goal. It is great to have something to strive and aim for. I love this as it really motivates me.
- Make money from your clutter – I decided to clear out things that we didn’t any longer need, specifically books and DVD’s. 2 hours on Sunday and I have boxed up 250 items ready for a courier to collect from Flubbit.com on Monday morning and my savings were £180 stronger.
- Reduce invisible spending. For me this was things like the odd magazine and the husbeast paying for lunch at work. For me, it is all about planning. I buy a certain magazine every month, so I subscribed to it, which will save me 50% over the year and when I make lunch for Mini, I have started making it for the husbeast too.
- Grow your own herbs. I love using fresh herbs and I am sometimes guilty of buying those little pots for my window sill. So this year i am going to grow my own.
- Go without a TV licence. A TV licence costs £145.50, but do you need one? If you watch catch-up TV you do not need a licence, so BBC iPlayer, Channel 4 on Demand and ITV Player are all free to use if you are watching shows that have already been broadcast. You also do not need a licence for watching DVDs and videos or to stream Netflix.
- Drink water. Tap water is free, so I am going to ensure that we drink tap water if we eat out saving money on drinks.
So this week I have already put £201.42 into a savings account. But doing this as a one-off things, isn’t going to turn me into a saver, so this year I have set myself the target of saving £200 per month.
Please share with me your tips for ways to save. I really do need your advice and encouragement as this is NOT my natural state!
Disclosure: This post is in collaboration with Aviva
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