I’m a budgeting guru mum – three simple steps to take in January to save £500 by Christmas
WHEN it comes to New Year many of us will start by making some resolutions, and we often promise ourselves this is the year we’ll start properly saving money.
As well as a good time to start healthy eating and getting into good habits, January is also a prime time to start thinking about getting your finances in order.
But it isn’t easy, and we can all end up slipping into old habits if we’re not careful, especially with the Boxing Day and January sales.
Additionally, with the cost of living crisis too most of us are really feeling the squeeze.
However, there are some very simple ways you can ensure you save hundreds every year, and even better – it requires little to no effort.
Here mum-of-one Francesca Henry, 33, who runs The Money Fox, shares her top three super easy ways to save money this January…
Round up your change
First things first, download a round up app.
This is the easiest way to save money, as you don’t actually have to even lift a finger!
Francesca says: “There are apps out there where you can save automatically, by rounding up your change.
“Popular apps include Moneybag and Plum.
“If you save £10 a week through roundups then you could get £500 by next Christmas.
“It’s all automatic, so you don’t need to do anything.”
Quids in with cashback
Another top tip is to use cashback sites, especially when purchasing expensive items or services.
Francesca says: “Using cashback sites is a great way of saving money, and you’re just purchasing things like you normally would!
“All that you need to do is go through a cashback site and then proceed to the retailer you were going to buy through.
“The cashback site will track your purchase and give you some money back.
“You can make hundreds a year from these, but it really does depend on what you buy.
“Top tip – go through a Cashback site for your car insurance!”
Get subscription savvy
Finally, Francesca recommends using the new year to take stock of what you’re spending, and seeing where you can make savings.
It can be very surprising – and shocking – to learn how much you spend on services you don’t even use.
Francesca adds: “Cut back on any subscriptions you have.
“You can reapply if you find you miss them, but a lot of us have subscriptions that we don’t even use.
“You can go through your internet banking to see which subscriptions you have, and cancel them from there.
“Citizen’s Advice found that people are typically paying £50 a month on unwanted subscriptions.”
Additionally, if you’re looking to supplement your income and earn some extra cash, here are 9 simple, easy side hustles & cost-cutting hacks to make extra cash in your lunch break – with little to no effort.
For example, do you have an empty parking space or driveway?
Depending on where it is, you could earn around £200 a month by letting someone else use it.
