There are, without a doubt, a ton of reasons why you should cut down on your expenditure and save money. Sometimes you might need to save money for retirement, for holidays, or for unexpected payouts. While many people have been working from home over the past year, it has created some opportunities for people to save more. In some cases, there has been no need to commute or eat out at restaurants. Instead, some people may have been using that unspent money and putting it aside in their savings.
Generally, developing a savings habit is a vital step in achieving some financial freedom. This is the kind of freedom that allows you to conveniently settle down any financial emergencies without turning to lenders or worrying about how to pay. Studies on savings habits have even shown that a significant percentage of people in the UK do not have enough funds to cover common emergencies. Additionally, statistics also show that some people do not have an active savings account.
To practically achieve some financial freedom, you need to come up with a savings plan and try to stick to it. This does not mean that you require to sabotage your lifestyle to obtain savings. On the contrary, there are a few simple ways you can adopt at home to help you save that little bit extra.
Working from home: helping commuters add to their savings
According to an article by Workplace Insight, in 2015, a report showed that the UK spends around £148b on commuting costs annually. This money that is spent on petrol, bus tickets, and expensive railcards, can be spent on other things while people are working from home. The large chunk of money that people spend on railcards, especially for London commutes, could be used to save for a holiday abroad in the future, for some home improvements, or for saving up for a home deposit.
Although many people have had to adjust to working from home over the past year, remote working has helped to lower expenses and allowed some people to put more money aside. No commuting is required to get you to the office when you work from home and neither are there any costs for coffee takeouts and lunches at the office.
Cutting down on fast-food, takeouts, and coffees to go
Eating out is one of the most convenient ways to avoid the hassle of preparing meals at home. However, it can sometimes become an expensive habit when done too frequently. Avoiding, or cutting down, on takeout food and drinks can be an effective way of cutting your overall expenditure.
£3 on a drink from your favourite coffee shop does not seem like much but what if you get one five times a week, every week, as you head out to work? This easily amounts to £15 a week and around £60 a month. Shopping smarter and also using up food that is already in your cupboards can help to curb fast-food spending.
Paying for products weekly rather than outright
Every homeowner likes to take the time to decorate their living space and make it feel like home. But often a lot of money can be spent on home decorating. While big renovations like extensions and bathroom makeovers can be very costly, so too can be the small decorating jobs when you need to buy home accessories and furniture. Some companies offer paid weekly products for your home that you can purchase comfortably without overstretching your budget.
Instead of spending all your money buying such items outright, you can save money by making weekly payments within a specified time duration. Websites like payweeklycarpets.co.uk provide flooring, blinds, and furniture for customers who want to pay for them weekly. They have no hidden charges, 0% interest, and no credit checks. Homeowners can still enjoy decorating their living space even if they are on a smaller budget.
Cutting down on household energy consumption
The household bills, such as electricity, are one of the expenses that largely depend on the homeowner’s usage. Fortunately, there are many useful tricks to allow you to save some money. The Energy Saving Trust highlights some useful tips that can help homeowners save money in their property. Simply switching off standby, doing less washes, replacing all bulbs with LED, and turning off lights when they are not in use, can help people save money on their bills.
It’s all too easy leaving televisions on standby when they’re not in use or leaving devices switched on as you are busy with something else. Getting into the habit of switching off devices when they’re not needed can start to save you a little bit of money on your bills. The savings made on your bills can then be spent on other expenses or could be added to your savings account.