On this exact day, 30 years ago [21st April 1983] something we now take for granted graced us with its first ever presence…the £1 coin! If I’m totally honest, I had never really thought about a world without our beloved Alan [cockney rhyming slang – Alan Wicker – Nicker!]. I suppose it is because it was ten whole years before I was born [sorry to everyone I have just made feel old!], and therefore as always been a part of my life. As a way of celebrating the 30th anniversary of the £1 coin, Money Supermarket has set a challenge to bloggers all over the UK blogosphere to come up with 30 ways to save £1[click here to find our more!]. I have always considered myself as pretty good with money, and since going to university and paying my own way, it has been even more important to manage my spending. It’s something I enjoy doing, as there is nothing more satisfying than knowing you have just got a fantastic bargain! I’ve categorised these so you can just scroll to which bit applies to you. So without further ado, here are my top 30 tips on saving those little gold [well, copper] coins:
1 ♥ Pound Land is not always your best friend. Admittedly, a lot of the time it can be the best place to buy things, however sometimes you can find things cheaper elsewhere. For example, cleaning products can often be found cheaper elsewhere. You will find out as this post goes on, that my favourite shop in the world for value is Wilkinson’s, their bleach for example is only 70ish pence! Of course, you can always go to a big supermarket and buy their basics bleach for even less! Also, I personally wouldn’t recommend buying stationary from pound land or the 99p shop as, although it may feel like you’re saving money at the time, paper often soaks up ink like crazy and a week later you’ll have to buy more to replace your sodden notepads. Invest in a notebook from somewhere like Wilkinson’s, as they seen to make some really good items!
2 ♥ Buy supermarket brands instead of well known brands. Consumer Reports even show that many of the big name brands actually make and package the supermarket foods anyway! This forum makes quite interesting reading, too.
3 ♥ Charity Shops are definitely worth a look if you’re after something ‘new’ for a night out. It is easy to be put off when you don’t find anything…trust me, I rarely find anything! Don’t be, though, as often you can find things which still have their tags on and have never been worn! If the charity shop doesn’t know what treasures they have, they will mark it up at a much lower price than it deserves, leaving you with a tidy bargain and a happy purse.
4 ♥ eBay can be your best friend if you are looking to buy something in particular. But always set yourself a budget of the maximum you are prepared to spend. Decide whether you want to include postage in your budget, as this can be a make or break when it comes to making a purchase. Also don't forget that you can sell your unwanted stuff online, too! Look for free listing days on eBay. It means that you won’t have had to have paid out if your item hasn’t sold. It does mean that when the day comes around to post the items, you’re inundated, but trust me, it’s well worth it when the money rolls in!
5 ♥ Cut down on luxuries. This is one of the hardest yet most important tips on my list. To you, triple quilted toilet roll at £6 a pop might not seem like a luxury, but trust me it is. If you buy own brand [I’m not saying you have to buy basic loo roll, although if you’re that way inclined, you’re more than welcome to!] you can save yourself a good few pound which can go towards other important things. Same goes for biscuits and cakes etc. Do you really need them? The answer is probably no, in which case just don’t buy them. It not only saves you a lot of money, but it means that when you do get them, they are more of a treat and you appreciate them more.
6 ♥ Make a shopping list and use a website like mysupermarket to decide where it would work out cheapest to do your shop this week. It can seem like a lot of effort but it will be worth it, especially if you do an online shop! Do be warned, though, that some of the products may not be in your local store if you're planning on doing your research and going into the shop later.
7 ♥ Visit the reduced section in your local supermarket. Timing is crucial on this one, but if you are really friendly to the shop assistants, quite often they will let you know when the reductions are done. My freezer back home is full to the brim of food which has been reduced, because best before dates mean very little and most things will freeze anyway!
8 ♥ ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS! This is one I can’t emphasize enough, as since working in a little supermarket myself, I have now begun to notice the little price errors a bit more. For example, this afternoon alone I bought a box of chocolates for a friends birthday which were meant to be £5, but when I checked the receipt I noticed I had been charged £6.25! That’s a quarter more than what they should have been! I went back in and got my £1.25 refund. It doesn’t sound like very much, but little amounts like that do add up considerably!
9 ♥ Plan your meals. I know this is probably one that you’ve heard a million times before, but it really does work. If you know what you’re doing [activity-wise] over the week, you can plan your meals around it. You can make extra on Monday for Wednesday, for example, and you can freeze whatever you don’t eat. It also means you can have some for lunch some days! This leads onto my next one…
10 ♥ Make your own lunches instead of buying them. A £3 meal deal may seem a good price at the time, but if you get one every day that will soon add up to £15 [example based on working 5 days a week] and before you know it, over the month you’ve spent £60+ just on lunch! I tend to roast a chicken on the Monday and then I can have it in sandwiches for lunch most of the week – last week I made a £4.50 chicken last for lunch and dinner Monday-Thursday! That’s what I call thrifty!
11 ♥ Go to the market. If you only need a few bits of fruit and veg, it is definitely worth a trip to your local market to see if they will do you some deals. If you only want one apple, for example, the likelihood is that is will be way cheaper from them than a supermarket!
12 ♥ Haggle. I must admit, I’m not the best at this. Some people go into shops and haggle to get things cheaper. My housemate once told me that her grandmother haggles in Asda and normally wins! I couldn’t do that, but on market stalls it is expected, and let’s face it the worst that can happen is they say no. You would kick yourself if you found out you could have got something cheaper than you did!
13 ♥Visit shops the day after a big seasonal event – I will never forget my dad coming home from Sainsbury’s with a big bunch of roses as all of the stems had all been reduced to 10p!
14 ♥ Mobile phone contracts. Check that you are taking advantage of the correct deals available for you. My dad barely uses his phone so we found a sim-only contract for which he pays less than £10 a month [I think!] and gets inclusive minutes and unlimited texts!
15 ♥ Enjoy a film at home rather than going to the cinema. I'm not saying that you should never go to the cinema again, but limit the number of times you go. For example if you're the kind of person who goes to the movies every week, then limit yourself. Get a DVD from a charity shop for a couple of pound and kick your feet back on your own comfortable sofa, knowing that you have just saved yourself a good tenner!
16 ♥ Put on a jumper rather than the heating. Come on, you bought that lovely cashmere jumper at a bargain price from your local charity shop, don’t let it feel neglected! [Will save you a bomb when it comes to your bills, too!]
17 ♥ Walk to work/university/school instead of using public transport or driving. Use public transport if it’s cheaper than driving and too far to walk!
18 ♥ Use Wallpaper to line drawers. This might seem odd if you don’t already line your clothes drawers, but I do it to keep clothes fresher and stop them from catching on any nicks in the woodwork [also very good in student accommodation when you don’t know who has had the room before you! Use old wallpaper to line drawers, but if you don’t have any lying around then pop to your local DIY shop and get a few cheeky ‘samples’ [they don’t need to know that you’re not really re-decorating your ‘brother’s, girlfriends, pet cat’s bedroom’!]
19 ♥ Use price comparison websites when you’re applying for a mobile phone contract/insurance of any type. Money Supermarket is really good for things like that, and more!
20 ♥ SECRET SANTA! Got a big group of friends and don’t want to end up slashing out on everyone at the time of year renowned for breaking the bank? No worries, Secret Santa is here to save the day. I imagine you all know what it is, but for those who don’t you put everyone’s name in a hat and then you all have to pull a name out. You then end up only having to buy the one present. Genius, eh? It saves A LOT of money, I can guarantee you!
21 ♥ Buy joint birthday presents. This isn’t always a popular one, but it is definitely worth doing. I have a friend whose housemates and her all pitch in £10 and they will buy one decent gift between four of them rather than four different sets of moisturiser/jewellery/[insert unwanted present here]. Not only does this mean that the receiver will *hopefully* like their gift, but it also means that there is a high chance everyone pitching in has saved a few pounds, too!
22 ♥ Save money while you have it. This one is especially important for those of you who have a job! Put a little aside each month, be it a quarter of your wages or even if it’s odd change you have left after a day out. It might not seem like much at the time, but it will soon add up. Get money for your birthday? Put some of it in savings. I live on quite a tight budget whilst I am at uni, but because I have previously saved money, it means that if I do go over the amount I’ve allocated, it isn’t too much of a problem. Seriously though, guys, you never know what life is going to throw at you, and it is really good to know you will have some back up money if things don’t work out as planned.
23 ♥ Railcard. If you are entitled to a railcard, see here to find out what is available, I would definitely advise getting one while you can. Over Easter alone, I must have made back the amount I initially paid for the railcard. It is definitely worth investing in, especially if you are a student and do a fair bit of travelling.
24 ♥ If you work for the NHS, police or military you are often entitled to discounts. I know lots of places will not advertise this but do ALWAYS ASK. It may be embarrassing, but once you’ve asked in several places the embarrassment will wear off – even more so when you find yourself in pocket at the end of your shopping trip!
25 ♥ Student discount is your best friend. Unfortunately this one only works for students, but if you are prepared to look, there are plenty of websites out there which will help you save! NUS cards are very handy indeed when it comes to being a student, but you must remember to use them. Some companies don’t advertise that they accept them, so do ask! The worst they can say is no, so don’t be embarrassed about asking, and remember that if you’ve asked, there will be a good 50 others who have asked before you!
26 ♥ Use deal websites like Wowcher and Groupon, but don’t get sucked in. If you have already planned to buy something, and they have a really good deal on, then of course snap it up whilst you can. However, if you just see something which looks good, do a double take and ask yourself if you genuinely need it. This works for most shopping trips, actually. Don’t buy if you don’t need!
27 ♥ Turn over ripe bananas into banana bread. I’m quite funny with my bananas, and don’t like eating bruised ones, so get more use out of this than the average person would! I never thought I would like banana bread or cupcakes but it doesn’t taste at all like you’d expect; give it a go!
28 ♥ Borrow clothes from family. If you’re going out somewhere and don’t have anything to wear, don’t be ashamed of asking a family member if you can borrow something of theirs for the night. Just treat it with respect and you can’t go wrong. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve ‘borrowed’ shoes from my mum! [Sorry mum!]
29 ♥ Reward cards! By reward cards I mean Tesco clubcard, Nectar card etc. – not store cards! [Store cards are completely different and you should never touch those]. Although it takes a long time to build up enough points to be worth something, they are definitely worth having. I got a Superdrug ‘beauty card’ when they first came out and within my first month of having it, I won £10 worth of points! I never spend the full amount, because when you’re desperate for something and can’t really afford it, it’s useful to know you have the points on hand.
30 ♥ Never pay full price for a day out at somewhere like Madame Tussauds etc. This is mainly applicable to Merlin attractions because they practically throw buy 1 get 1 free/buy 1 get 1 half price around. Sengagh and I went to Madame Tussauds with a voucher last summer and saved £30!
So there we are, 30 ways to save a £1 or more! I hope they are useful to some of you; I would love to read in the comments different ways you save money, or how you have managed to use any of my thrifty tips!
