If you're subscribed to my YouTube channel then you may have watched my latest video with one of my favourite ladies, Tami. We filmed a Supermarket Sweep - remember that TV show where contestants ran around the shop gathering ingredients for a particular meal? Yeah that was us. It was hilarious to film - we had the best time, although it was so much harder than I anticipated! Within the video I announced we'd be hosting a cheeky giveaway - whoever guessed both mine and Tami's receipts (first and closest) would win a £200 gift voucher. My receipt came in at £6.85 and Tami's was £6.64 and so the winner is... laura5285 - Congratulations! Please get in touch with me to claim your prize.Following on from that video, I wanted to share with you guys what my top 5 tips would be for saving money in 2016. I'm a bit of a dweeb when it comes to this kind of thing, so I hope you find it useful!1. Stop Eating Out.
At the end of December, Jamie and I agreed that we wouldn't eat out for the month of January. We'd got in the habit of eating out every Wednesday evening, treating it as a date night. Now of course dates are important (and we're still doing them) but actually, you don't necessarily have to eat out to enjoy quality time together. We've decided we're going to do this every other month now and you'd be surprised at just how much we've saved because of it.
2. eBayBe savvy, get rid of things you don't use or need anymore. One of my good pals inspired me to do that this year with a simple tip: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Take it in your stride, don't make it a massive task that you can put off because it feels so monumental to sort through that huge bin liner of old clothes. Take one item of clothing a day, photograph it, put it away - you do that every day for one week and you've got yourself 7 items to pop on eBay come Sunday evening.
3. Bring House Costs Down.The one thing that scares the hell out of me is acknowledging I need to adult like an actual adult. Yes I can be savvier with my spending outside of my home, but when it comes down to running my own house I need to be smart. That's where the bright sparks at E.ON Energy come in. A new launch for them in 2016 is the E.ON Smart Pay As You Go. With a free E.ON Smart Meter you can keep track of the amount of energy you're using from within the comfort of your own home (win), you can top it up from wherever you are (win win) and you can save yourself a load of cash in the process. It puts your energy usage in your hands, which is something that's always felt quite unachievable before, with estimated costs and what not. It certainly takes the fear out of receiving an unpredictable bill every quarter and knowing that you'll be saving money too, it's a bit of a no brainer.
4. Have a Monthly Budget.
I've done this since I was 19 and it's never failed me. I give myself spending money so that I'm never living beyond my means. I know that each month I have 'x' to spend and that means I can have a certain amount of nights out with the girls, a few with the fella and maybe treat myself to something new. But not everything I earn goes on living for right now - implement this in to your life and you'll be surprised at how rewarding it feels to stick to it.
5. Say NO To Spontaneous Spending.We've all been there. Seeing that dress in your favourite shop that you just have to have, even though there's no real occasion for it. But watch what happens if you stop purchasing on impulse. If you really, really want something: wait. I've set myself a monthly rule. If I see something, be-it online or in-store and it's more expensive than I'd typically care to spend, well then I won't buy it right there and then. If in a months time I still find myself waking up in hot sweats thinking about how good it would look on me, well then I'll go back and if it's still there, I'll get it. I used to say 'what if I miss out?' Well actually, I'd much rather wait and see if I'll definitely appreciate it, and if it's gone? Well I'm only making myself money ;-) That's what I did with this beauty of a dress. I fell in love with it and saving money elsewhere meant I could afford to treat myself.Hallelujah!
Let me know what you thought of this guys and if you'd like to read similar posts like this going forward, I'd love to share them with you. If you fancy a laugh too, you can watch Tami and I make fools of ourselves here:
This post is brought to you in partnership with E.ON. See if you could save money with their gas and electricity deals today. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter
