EVERY year, we make it our New Years resolution to start saving more – and then an email lands in our inbox about a 50 per cent off sale and we’re sucked right back in.
Well if your savings aren’t looking as healthy as you’d hoped then money-saving expert Natalia Lachim from Voucher Codes is here to help.
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Small tweaks to save £5 a week
To ease yourself into this money-saving mentality, Natalia recommends taking a look at your lifestyle and thinking of an easy way you could save a fiver every week from now until Easter.
She said: “Your £5 can be made by skipping a coffee that you usually purchase, an order at the takeaway or walking in favour of a bus ride.”
As there are seven weeks left until Easter, this tip will save you £35 with VERY minimal effort.
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Switch off Standby
We get it – it’s a lot of effort to physically turn off your devices every time you’re done using them.
But the expert says it’s well worth getting out of the habit of just leaving them on standby.
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She added: “Just switching off your television from standby will save you £4.05 from now to Easter.”
Just imagine if we kept it up until Christmas…
Cash in
With contactless payments making everything so streamlined, we rarely carry cash these days.
But Natalia says this could be massively impacting our spending habits…. and not in a good way.
Research shows that consumers spend 83% more when using card and are more likely to take time considering a purchase when using cash.
She explained: “Physically seeing the money that you are using puts your spending into perspective.
“You are more likely to determine whether you need the contents of the purchase and therefore, reconsider.
“Using solely cash when making purchases that fall under the disposable income umbrella can save you up to £9.30 a week as you frequently reconsider whether you need the item that you’re considering.”
So if you start this now, you could save £65.10 before Easter rolls round in April.
Spend MORE on clothes
This one might sound too good to be true – but Natalia said it’s worth shopping less frequently and investing more in your clothes.
She said: “‘Every so often, the term, ‘buy cheap buy twice’, is relevant,.
“When purchasing clothing, it is wise to analyse the cost per wear. If a jumper is £60, and you estimate that you will wear it 48 times within the year, then the cost per wear is just £1.25.
“If you spend a total of £60 on 3 items that you only wear thrree times, the cost per wear is over £6.
“Not purchasing fast fashion can see you save up to £30 per month.”
We’re definitely guilty of popping into the supermarket with a general idea of what we need and then walking out with half the shop.
And according to the expert, this habit sees the average household spend £30 a week on food they don’t even eat.
She said: “‘To save money, its vital that you build a shopping list whilst at home.
“This presents the opportunity to look at the food you already have and only purchase the items that you need.
“Not diverting from the list whilst shopping will avoid food waste and ultimately, increase your saving potential.”
Switch to own Brands
The average UK food bill is £40.30 per person, per week – but Natalia says you can slash this by 25 per cent by swapping to supermarket own brands.
She said: “The impact of inflation has seen many branded products increase in price.
“‘However, many supermarkets have stated that they will freeze the prices of their own brand products, making it an easy way to save.
“Switching to own brand products is one of the easiest ways to save.”
If get into this habit now, Natalia says you save £70 by Easter. Result.
For more money-saving tips, this woman paid off £150k of debt in just two years by making just two small tweaks.
And this Mrs Hinch fan shared her miracle £1 hack for getting glass tiles shiny and smelling gorgeous.
Plus this woman totally transformed her whole kitchen thanks to one miracle £3.50 product.
