Since buying a house and living independently, I'm all for finding easy ways of saving money without having to make huge lifestyle changes. I asked you to give me your tips and recommendations for saving even just a few pounds here and there and you delivered the goods. Emma Drew is my real money saving/side hustle guru but here's a bit of money saving advice from across the UK:
1. "Shop around, use search engines online to search through
different sites [like Money Supermarket!] to compare to get the best prices." Sammie Earth.
Girl Up North Tip: Using money saving search engines also saves you the leg work of trawling through loads of different websites!
2. "Cut car costs. Always use compare sites for car insurance. My fiancés
parents paid HALF for their car insurance last year from the year before when I
helped them use a compare website. Save fuel by making sure your
tyres are always properly inflated, you’re not carrying more than you need in
your car, only using air con when you really need to, take off roof racks if
you’re not using them, drive smoothly – avoid over accelerating and breaking
when you could just take your foot off the accelerator. All of these will help save fuel." Tiffany Warner
3. "Learn to Haggle, it can be quite fun and it's always worth an ask. When we wanted a new bed we looked in a few shops and when we found the one we really wanted, we haggled the price down AND managed to get free delivery too! We saved between £100 - £200." Tiffany Warner
Girl Up North Tip: I think this is an especially good tip, in this tough economic environment stores will often knock money off if it means them securing a sale. Try this in big stores as well as independent stores, the price tag isn't necessary the actual price, it's what is known as 'an invitation to treat' (A-Level law student coming out in me there!)
4. "Instead of having to cash out to buy new clothes and makeup - do a
wardrobe swap with your friends! That way, you both save money and
don't end up splashing out on new items to wear." Hannah P
Girl Up North Tip: As well as doing swaps with your friends look out for local swap events where you can do the exact same thing but on a bigger scale!
5. "My top money saving tip is, when you are doing your weekly grocery shop, consider buying from the supermarkets' 'value' range rather than the branded alternative. Some of the cooking sauces are as cheap as 20p and a lot of them are rather tasty! I've saved such a lot on my weekly shop by doing this, and the quality is, on the whole, excllent. Give it a try and I'm sure you will find some tasty bargains!" Carly Watts
6. "Make your own beauty products such as body scrubs which can be made
using brown and white sugar, vanilla extract and oil. Face masks can be made
from avocado, yogurt, oats etc."
Girl Up North Tip: You can find loads of tutorials for things like this on beauty blogs, just Google 'home made face mask' or whatever it is you're looking to make yourself.
7. "Join up and complete surveys online. There are companies out there that pay you for surveys. It soon adds up and you can get vouchers" Kellie Hill
Girl Up North: I can vouch for this one, I have signed up to Toluna surveys and I get invited to lots of surveys, the points do mount up and I've had £60 worth of Boots vouchers... that's a lotta toiletries (or one or 2 high end lipsticks but shhh....)
8. "Lunches. So many people think nothing of spending pounds a days on lunches, snacks and drinks at work. This can add up to a crazy amount a month! I go to work to make money, not spend it, so always make sure I'm prepared for the next day. With the smallest effort, you can cook enough dinner to reserve some for lunch the next day. Failing that, just have a loaf of bread and some filling around to knock up a quick sandwich when needed. Fruit, nuts and home made cookies should be enough to keep you full and away from the vending machine. If you really need coffee, consider a thermos rather than paying the prices of expensive coffee shops." Gemma Mills
9. "Think about every single thing you buy, do you really need it? If so, can you make it yourself much cheaper? If not, can you buy it cheaper elsewhere (ebay!)? Often, second hand can be just as good and less than half price. If you really need it to be new, can you get money back via cashback websites or collect reward points such as through Tesco Clubcard and pay using a credit card for more reward points (but make sure you will pay it off in full to avoid interest!). These reward points can really add up, I am just about to get my annual breakdown cover for 'free' using my Tesco Clubcard rewards." Gemma Mills
10. "Get a prepaid card, put it in a drawer and set up a direct debit for x amount each month. This will mount up if you don't use your card and then when an unexpected bill comes in or something breaks - you can use your pre paid card rather then a credit card." Rachael
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