FIVE SIMPLE MONEY SAVING TIPS

As some of you may know, James and I are jetting off to Cyprus next year to tie the knot! That being said, weddings are not cheap, even when done abroad and you have the cost of your honeymoon and a thousand other things to consider when planning on saving for your wedding. I have found that a few simple tricks for cutting back on my spending has really started to make a difference to my wedding fund. In some places I didn’t even realise how much I was spending, as I never really stopped to look at where my money was going!

So, as I have now mastered my saving plan for the wedding, I thought that I would put together a few of my money savings tips for anyone else who is also starting a wedding fund or looking to save their pennies for any other occasion (perhaps for buying a house, going on holiday or treating yourself to  a designer bag or pair of shoes)…

(P.S If you prefer to watch than read,you can watch my money saving tips video on my YouTube channel here or embedded at the end of this post)

1. Get to Grips With Your Bank Balance

5 easy tips for saving money

Before you can set out your saving goals, you have to firstly get to grips with your monthly incomings and outgoings. You can start by making a list of all the direct debits you have per month, perhaps this is a mortgage or rent, bills, car insurance or car hire and a phone bill. Total this up and then subtract this from your monthly incomings and you can see what money you are left with. From this amount, work out how much a month you would like to put aside and how much you will keep for spending on petrol, food, socialising and shopping.

To be honest, I rarely check my bank account, as I know I have enough funds in there for my monthly expenses. But, you may be shocked to see how much you have spent in the past month on clothes, eating our or alcohol. Try to identify where most of your disposable cash goes and if there are any places where you can cut back (credit cards included!). I would also recommend looking into your credit rating whilst you are sorting your finances, especially those of you who are saving for a house, as this would be a big factor in whether or not you can be lent money for a mortgage and also how much. The easiest way to do this would be to use the official Experian website and go from there.

2. Cut Back on Coffee Trips and Takeaways

how to save money on take out coffee with a nespresso

One thing that James and I are guilty of is having a takeaway at least once a week. Whilst this is fast and easy, if we both have a lot on, it is also more expensive that buying the same food from the supermarket and cooking it (in general) and is usually more heavy on the calories too. Something else that can soon add up is buying coffee from a cafe, Starbucks, Costa or Nero etc. I would probably say on average you spend about £3+ per cup. So, if you do this every day of the working week you are spending £60 a month on coffee!

At Christmas we received our Nespresso coffee machine as a gift from my Dad and Step-Mum and not only does the coffee taste better, but it also saves us money as well! A sleeve of 10 pods (to make 10 coffees) costs on average £3.70 (so 37p per cup) plus the cost of your milk. But, as you can see, if being drank daily this saves a lot of money but you also don’t lose out on quality. You obviously have the initial spend of the machine, but after that you are set for life and you can buy them from as little as £70 (which could be what you are spending on takeaway coffee per month!)

3. Sell Your Old Clothes for Cash

How to sell your old clothes for money

Have you ever heard of Depop? I am sure you have. So have you thought about clearing your closet and selling items that you hardly or no longer wear for cash? I usually have two or three clear outs of my wardrobe per year, where I will go through my clothes and think: have I worn this in the past three to six months? If the answer is no it goes in a ‘reject’ pile or if I no longer like an item it will go there as well.

From this pile (depending on the quality and how many times a garment has been worn) I will split into a ‘charity’ and a ‘sale’ pile. All of those items going in the ‘sale’ pile get listed on my Depop – you can find me and my current listings here – and I the use any funds made for buying new season staples for my wardrobe. Therefore updating my clothing collection without breaking into my savings or existing bank balance.

4. Have Friends Over or a Girl’s Night In

How to throw a dinner party on a budget
I am not going to lie, James and I do like going out for good food and it is something that we usually do most weekends. But, as we are now saving more money we have said that we will just treat ourselves to one meal out per month / rather than four, which will definitely cut back on some spending for us. So, rather than twiddling our thumbs on a Saturday night, here are two great ways to entertain yourself and your friends on a budget.
1. Have friends over and cook for them. Whether this is family, the girls or a couples night. Get your favourite people over and make one of your best dishes or just have nibbles, wines and good conversation instead.
2. Have the girls over for a Pjyama party to watch your favourite films, eat popcorn and all that other naughty good stuff. Or even have a ‘Netflix and Chill’ with your boy (LMAO).

 

5. Do You Really Need to Buy That?

tips on saving money

And finally, the ultimate question: Do you really need to buy that?

Every time that I swoon over a new pair of white trainers on ASOS, a pretty handbag or a new nude lipstick colour, I have to stop and ask myself this question. If you already have it, then you probably don’t need another one (although you would probably like one). The same can be said for my diet really, I mean: do you need that other doughnut Charlie? I know it may be hard to resist temptation, but just stop and ask this question before any purchase (no matter how small or large) as they all add up. As girls, we can probably find a way to justify anything in our heads, as we ALWAYS need new shoes don’t we. But, if you are trying hard to save, then this may be one of the ways to put away the most of your disposable income. Or, if you have great will power then perhaps try a ‘spending ban’ for one month of the year and see how you get on.

So, those are my top five simple money saving tips, which may help you to put away some cash for that special something you are after or looking forward to. If you like, you can also watch my money saving tips video here (or below) and if you like my channel you can subscribe here so my new videos pop up in your feed – plus I would be truly grateful! Also, let me know of any easy money savings tips you use too, in the comments section below.


(This post was shot on a Olympus ELP-7 Camera)

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*Items in this post were gifted, but all opinions are my own. Read my full disclaimer here.

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7 Comments

  1. 04/09/15 / 6:41 pm

    These are great tips, coffee is such a big expense! Where in Cyprus are you getting married, at was at my friends wedding there a few years ago, was gorgeous
    Lauren
    livinginaboxx | bloglovin

  2. 05/09/15 / 9:39 am

    I really need to work on number 5! WAH!

    Tara x

  3. 08/09/15 / 2:52 pm

    Thanks Catherine. I know, we always manage to find a justification don't we 🙂 xx

  4. 08/09/15 / 2:54 pm

    Thanks Lauren 🙂 We are getting married in Paphos at the Olympic Lagoon Resort, which has just opened. They have a sister hotel in Aiya Napa though. Where was your friends? xx

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