Some people are great at it and some people are terrible at it – saving money is not easy! Whether, you’re good or bad, we could all do with a little helping hand when it comes to saving as much money as possible. Refused Car Finance have put together a list of the things you could give up in 2019 to save more money and some of their best tips on small and easy ways to save that little bit extra each month.
Television
Not your actual television, no. But your television package or streaming service. Do you find yourself paying a fortune for a TV package with all channels but you don’t watch half of them? Then you can massively cut costs here. Most digital television providers allow you to pick certain packages that usually cost less! More of a Netflix or Amazon Prime lover? You could even scrap your digital package all together and use your built in Freeview channels and use a streaming provider instead. But be wary of any cancellation penalty fees if you are tied into a contract and looking to cancel your subscription. We all know that one person who pays for a Netflix and has 4 people using it to their hearts content! Why not split the cost of an account over each user? That way, it’s only a couple of pound each a month!
Morning Coffee
We all feel like we need our morning coffee and let’s face it we do! But do you really need to buy it every day? Purchasing a £2 cup of coffee every morning will set you back £10 a week, £40 a month and £480 a year! Instead, you could save money by buying one jar and making yourself a coffee at home before you leave the house! Or you could put the money you would spend on your morning coffee in a jar and watch your savings mount up!
Gym membership
Are you paying for a gym membership that you don’t use? Scrap it. Or do you use the gym and mainly use the treadmill? Scrap the membership and get walking! Not only is it free but walking is also great for your physical and mental health. If you want to keep your membership, there are also different types of memberships available at some gyms. For example, some gyms offer lower rate memberships for attending during quieter hours or some leisure centers offer memberships for all facilities or individual ones. If you only use the gym you don’t want to be paying for exercise classes and the use of a swimming pool too!
Smoking
Obviously, it was going to make the list! One of the most expensive habits and the most detrimental to your health, smoking is set to be more expensive than ever in the coming years. Recently in the news, experts have been petitioning for one pack of cigarettes to be raised to £20 in the UK by 2020 to deter people away from smoking. Even for social smokers who would buy 1 pack a week this would set you back £80 a month.
Not having a plan
This is one of the biggest things you should drop in 2019. Organization is key to saving money! Schedule some time aside to do all your food and grocery shopping and write a list of everything that you need. Try and stick to a set day to do your shopping, as you’re more likely to spend more money when you do multiple trips to the shops over the week. If you want to save even more money, why not put 10 minutes aside each week to do a food plan? Even having your evening meals prepared for the week can save you money.
Landline
The millennials among us may be thinking ‘a what?’. But nearly 46% of UK households still have a landline. If you use your mobile phone for all calls, you may be thinking about cancelling your line rental. It usually costs around £18 a month for line rental and if you don’t need it then that’s £18 you could be pocketing each month! It also reduces any unwanted cold calls on your landline too! Do your research first though as some companies require you to have a landline connection to install broadband and there may be some early cancellation charges if you are tied into a contract.
Taking advantage of household utilities
If you’re a home owner, you’ll know how expensive gas, water and electricity can be. And if you have kids, you probably understand that they tend to think it’s free and unlimited too! There are many things you can do to reduce your household bills. Even turning your thermostat down by 1° can save you up to 10% on your heating bill! Try taking shorter showers to save water, turn off the lights when you leave a room, only boil enough water in the kettle for what you need or switch to energy saving lightbulbs.
About the author: Refused Car Finance are a car finance provider based in the North East of England. Refused Car Finance specialize in bad credit car finance and aim to make car finance as accessible as possible. They provide many thought leadership pieces on all things motoring and finance related and also provide money saving tips and credit rebuilding advice.
