Generally, when we read guides on how to be better with money they talk about spending less and saving a chunk of money in a bank account each month. Although this is sensible advice, it isn’t always possible. Instead, we wanted to put together a practical guide that will help – without simply telling you to save money to one side each month.
Shop Sensibly
Although it is easy to suggest that cutting back and buying less is a way to be sensible with money; but realistically we’ll always need to buy things – and often, we really enjoy it! So, rather than shopping less – shopping sensibly is a better way to approach this. So, this means things like getting started early with Christmas shopping or making sure you shop around for the best deal when buying big items. Take a shopping list with you for the weekly grocery shop & where possible shop online and use cashback websites. That way you know that even though you’re still shopping – you’re doing it in the most cost-effective way.
Create a Budget
It might seem like a boring job but creating a budget is one of the first things you should do when you’re considering how to be better with money. Having a list of your outgoings helps you realise what you’re spending and where you might be able to cut back – for example, subscription services that you simply don’t use! Putting this alongside details of your household incoming helps to bring everything together.
Save Small Amounts
Saving money where possible is always a good idea – although we know that saving large amounts isn’t always possible. However, just because you can’t save a large chunk of money doesn’t mean that you should be put off of saving money. Instead, use things like rounding-up serves with your bank where every transaction is rounded up to a whole amount and the difference is stashed away in a bank account. It is such a small amount that you’ll hardly notice but it soon adds up!
If you have any tips on how to be better with money we’d love you to share them below!