When you embark on a money saving journey you have to re-evaluate every part of your life to see where you are overspending. Below is a list of 10 things you could be wasting money on each month. My family have made these changes in our life to save money and invest in our future and the future of our children. I would rather live a modest lifestyle now in order to pay our mortgage off quicker and have a happier retirement, along with knowing that our future children's future will be more secure.
1. Fast food and takeaways
Before we got a bit more savvy with our money we used to have 2 takeaways per week. Monday night was chippy night where we would spend £10 between both of us, and Friday night was pizza/indian/chinese night where we spent £20 between us. That's £30 per week! My food budget for the whole week is now only £40. Stop being lazy and cook a meal from scratch, it is much cheaper and healthier.
2. Gym membership.
Do you really need to go to a gym to get fit? Go for a run or a bike ride. Fill old bottles up with water or sand and use them as weights. If you're stuck inside you can run up and down the stairs or dance to burn calories.
3. Sky membership.
There are plenty of free ways to watch TV shows and films. Netflix and Love Film offer a months free subscription. If there are 2 people in your household you can get 4 months of free subscriptions by each signing up to these.
4. Cars
If you are a multicar household, do you need 2 cars? Public transport can be a lot cheaper than the running costs of a car once you have paid out for tax, insurance, maintenance, MOT, servicing and the original cost of buying one. Why don't you get up a little earlier and walk to work instead if you live close enough?
5. New clothes.
Try and make do with the clothes that you have. It has been YEARS since I bought something new for myself. I have stayed pretty much the same size since I was 18 years old so haven't NEEDED anything new for 7 years. If things get worn out then I ask for clothes as a Christmas or Birthday gift. During my pregnancy I wore stretchy tank tops and loose fitting jogging pants. If I needed to wear posh trousers I would stretch a hairband around the button and loop it through the button hole to keep them up.
6. Days out.
These should be an occasional treat and not a weekly occurrence. There are plenty of free places to go on a family trip out instead of spending £100 on a trip to the zoo. Visit the national trust website and you will find places to visit in your local area. In the summer go to your local park and take a picnic with you. Play catch or a just run around and burn energy off. My daughters favourite place to go is Pets at Home where she can look at the animals that are for sale and this is absolutely free.
7. Home phone.
Nearly everyone has a mobile phone nowadays. If you are tied in to a contract you probably have free minutes each month and therefore no need to ring people off the house phone as well. I pay £10 per month for my mobile phone on a rolling contract and get unlimited free texts and 500 free minutes.
8. Holidays.
I never went abroad when I was younger. If we had a lucky year I would get to go to Scarborough for a weekend in the summer holidays. Why is it now that children expect to go to Spain or Tenerife for 2 weeks in the sun? It is ridiculous how expensive holidays are especially if you can only travel in summer holidays. (I just had a look on a travel website and 2 weeks in Spain during August is £3000+ for a family of 4)
9. Haircuts.
You don't need to go to a fancy salon every 6 weeks to get your hair trimmed. I go twice a year and it costs me £16 per time. I trim my own fringe to keep it looking fresh in the mean time. If you are a man, buy a trimmer and DIY, or get your partner to do it for you.
10. Cleaning products.
There are so many on the market to buy. I don't buy any of them except for bleach, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, along with washing up liquid. Every thing in my house gets cleaned with one of these. (Post coming up soon about this)
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