I’m a money saving whizz, here’s how you can put away £1k in the new year and you’ll barely have to change a thing
WITH the cost of living becoming increasingly expensive we’re all looking for ways to save a little extra cash.
Luckily, insurance provider SO-SURE has provided six tips to help people save money next year, including avoiding the one thing that could save people more than £1,000 a year.
Be wary of discounts
Bargain hunters, be aware. How often have you walked into a supermarket and fallen for the “Buy One Get One Free” deal?
We’ve all done it, and are led to believe we’re saving money, but we are often buying things we don’t need.
Better advice for supermarket savers is to use vouchers and check the reduced section. Most supermarkets have loyalty schemes that reward you with coupons or vouchers if you’re a regular.
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They will also have reduced sections where you can make some big savings on products near the end of their life cycle.
Switch off standby
Households could save £147 a year just by switching their electronic devices off by the mains, instead of leaving them on standby when not in use.
Turning off vampire devices (devices that drain energy even when not switched on) like satellite boxes, games consoles and coffee machines could make some very useful savings year on year.
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Devices like laptops, broadband routers and TVs all use energy in this way. Don’t worry, almost all electrical devices can be turned off at the mains without affecting their programming but check beforehand if you’re concerned.
Track your spending
The key to managing a budget is tracking what you spend and there are many ways to do this.
Many banking apps now offer instant alerts that tell you how much and where you spend your money. It’s worth turning these on to become aware of your spending.
Setting a budget and trying your best to stick to it is a great way to avoid overspending. You can also use budgeting apps like Mint, YNAB, and Goodbudget to help you on your way.
Supermarket downshifting
We all have our favourite shopping staples and swear by the taste of specifically branded teabags, cereals and sauces, but making smart food swaps can save £100s on your shopping.
You may even find that using a supermarket’s own brand tastes very similar if not the same as your favourite premium brands. It’s making these little switches (or downshifting as it’s sometimes called), that can save pennies on the small items and big pounds overall.
According to Martin Lewis, downshifting typically cuts grocery bills by 30%. Even if you only swapped half the items, that's still a 15% saving, which could be worth £100s or £1,000s.
Set up auto switching
Auto-switching is a simple way to keep costs low when managing household bills for everything from gas to insurance.
Although energy costs have reached an all-time high, using auto-switching can be a great way to find lower rates within this current climate.
With many auto-switching sites now available, all you need to do is sign-up and they do all the heavy lifting for you, switching you over to the best provider every year.
Shop online in private
Did you know that going incognito when you shop could save you money? Well. In many industries such as travel, companies will use cookie and tracking data to monitor which IP addresses are looking at which websites and how often.
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Using this information, they have been known to increase the price of things such as flights based on a user's interest.
If you shop using private browsers, you have no online history and so you look like a new website visitor each time and should see original lower prices. Keep this in mind when planning your next holiday!