Daily we are bombarded by advertising of stuff companies want us to buy. In a digitally dominated world, these temptations can often be hard to miss when they’re being shoved in your face constantly. Which leads us to, even more, money problems, potential money problems even non-existent money problems that we spend hours worrying about for absolutely no reason. I’m guilty of all of the above and often find myself thinking of outrageous ways I could make a bit of extra dolla (lap dancing, writing a book and selling my eggs have all crossed my mind). Whilst I’m by no means an expert, I do have a couple of little life hacks which could gain you a few extra quid or help you save that little bit more efficiently!
Save the pennies: Honestly, they do add up. Get yourself a money box or heck, make your own money box if you so desire and pop in all that lose change and within a month you’ll find that you’ve accumulated a nice little amount.
Get online: I understand that some people may bit slightly wary about online surveys and that sort of thing but there’s 2 websites which I use which are really good (and legit won’t steal your details and send them to a Nigerian identity thief). YouGov offers you a £50 pay out when you reach a certain amount of points (5,000) which you receive from taking part in surveys. Granted it’s taken me over half a year to reach it but for the sake of a spare couple of minutes every day, it’s 50 extra quid in your pocket that you didn’t have before. Valued Opinions is another one which pays on in vouchers to a bunch of stores, including Amazon and Top Shop!
Mobile Banking: I have been so much more savvy about my money and my savings since I started mobile banking. It took me about 400 years but I got there in the end and I love having my account details handy on my phone within seconds. Easy access to your information I think can really help.
Set goals: There’s little I enjoy more than ticking things off of a to-do list. Call me boring or anal (look up the definition before you assume I’m referring to the sex act you dirty bird) but it’s true. The same goes with money. I love setting myself goals and seeing myself achieve them is a big motivation booster.
Use a scrap car value calculator: Everything can be bought by someone! So if you’re in the market for a new car for instance, you can earn a bit of extra cash by using a Scrap Car Value Calculator to value your old one!
Minimise: I’m quite lucky in that I don’t buy much. In fact, I barely buy anything. I treated myself to some new Pyjamas from Boohoo last month and that’s the first thing I’ve actually bought myself, just because I wanted to, in what could possibly be a year. Obviously, not spending much on ‘stuff’ helps and it can be hard for some but trying to live a more minimalist life can be incredibly inspiring for both your wallet and your soul/wellbeing. I hate clutter and stuff, which probably contributes to why I never buy anything because I don’t want to add to that (I might write a blog post on this in itself, let me know in the comments if that’s something you’d like to see!)
Sell things: Not a sure fire way to get yourself money but it’s always a option and one that you ‘might as well’ do being as you’re not losing any money from attempting to sell stuff. eBay is great because you can list for free. I also like depop despite others sharing their horror stories. Also in the way of books and DVD’s etc, there are plenty of sites that will buy those off you (WeBuyBooks, Music Magpie to name a few). Not for much mind but every little helps, right?
Choosing to live lean has made me far happier.
It’s allowed me to really focus on what I love, the things that mean the most to me and even helped me make healthier like choices (no alcohol/ no meat for me)..
As soon as we stop focusing on we want, we can start to learn what we need.
Eli
If you want to purchase makeup go to TK Max a lot of the makeup is 60% cheaper. Sometimes you can find Nars eyeshadows for £5 however be careful as people may have looked inside the packaging and they may not be the nicest of colours.
Secondly car boot sales are amazing I found an un-used Estee Lauder lip gloss ,Cath Kidson lip balm No.7 facial wash, Avon spot treatment, Atonement ((film)) and lush body wash which were all un-sealed and for all cost £2.
Charity shops are also amazing, I’ve picked up a Ted Baker dress for £5 also you can sell your bargins on eBay.
Loved your blog.
~SS
I used to do survey sites years ago but never got enough to cash in but I did used to love Dooyoo and Ciao – writing reviews for cash.
A tip I have is if you are trying to save for something, open a bank account from a different bank and save in there so that you don’t see it in your day-to-day mobile banking and be tempted to spend it!
This was great! I’m always looking for ways to save money – and you’re right, all of those pennies add up! We saved change for like a year and ended up with 100 bucks – woo hoo! I also set aside at least 10% of each paycheck we get, which is so gratifying moving it over into the savings account (even if I have to pull from it later).
Saving money has always been really fun for me, but SPENDING on the other hand has been an issue. I recently implemented a reward system to help moderating my spending – each day I go without buying anything, I get to fold up a little piece of paper with a one dollar mark on it. It adds up to about $30 per month (obviously) which I’m allowed to spend on anything I want. It helps make me feel awesome for not spending, guilt free for when I finally do, and makes me think twice about what I choose to spend this “precious” money on LOL.
Your post was serendipitous for me – I’ve been dying to tell someone about my new method ha ha. 🙂
That’s a fantastic method! I love that! Great advice 🙂
I love these tips! I’m always looking at ways of saving money. When my phone contract was up I kept the phone and went to sim only and saved myself a fortune.
Wow that’s a great idea! Phone contracts are so damn expensive it’s ridiculous! Great tip 🙂
This is a post I really needed to read right now!
We are currently on a spending ban due to the fact that we need to save spending money for our holiday for the end of the month – we feel we’ve got it under control but every little helps!
Thanks for sharing!
Jessica
foodandbaker.co.uk
Thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful! Good luck saving and hope you have the best holiday! You’re so right, every penny does helps – never underestimate the pennies!