Eight Instantly-Implementable Ideas for Spending Less

We’re completely inundated right now, and this term has become to 2022 what ‘social distancing’ was to 2020 – a brand new, disquieting phrase that brings about ill-feeling and dread.

But despite this, we simply have to talk about it. Families are having to make some tough choices, and for many the pressure is likely to intensify as winter sets in.

Of course, some families will be OK, and the current climate may just mean fewer coffee shop visits and a reduction in your monthly takeaway budget. But for others, choice won’t come into it. The basics such as heating our homes won’t even be an option, and we will have to get creative in other areas to save money.

So here are eight cost-saving ideas – we hope you find them helpful.

1. Preserve the most commonly wasted foods

Did you know that milk, bread and potatoes are the three most-wasted foodstuffs? It’s estimated that the UK alone wastes around six million potatoes daily.¹ So make the freezer your friend. You can freeze any kind of cooked potato, from mash to roasties, and of course this applies to most other veg as well, along with most fruit. With bread, simply slice, freeze and then take what you need as and when. Milk defrosts well, so you can freeze a whole bottle, but an innovative idea you could try is freezing milk in ice-cube trays. Then, when you’re about to make a brew, get one out ready to defrost. (Though, admittedly, this wouldn’t be for everyone!)

2. Time your showers

It can be easy to shower for longer than necessary. One minute you’re thinking about the matter at hand (i.e. getting clean). Then, before you know it, it’s twenty minutes later, and the combination of hot water and sweet-smelling soap has cast your mind into some tropical oasis, void of the pressures of daily life. Why would you want to step back into the cold? Well … money, that’s why. GoCompare estimates that, with the cost per kilowatt of energy doubling this October, a twenty-minute shower could cost £1.² By timing your shower, you can avoid overspending. A four minute shower, for instance, would cost somewhere between 13p and 19p.

3. Bulk cook where possible

If you have a freezer, cooking in bulk is an easy way to save money for a number of reasons. You use more or less the same amount of energy cooking for two as you would cooking for more. If you’re making a chilli, for example, make enough for four or six and freeze the other portions. This means you waste less, and bulk buying is generally cheaper too, so rice, mince and veg work out cheaper overall. Not to mention, in those moments where you’ve had a long day and the thought of cooking seems far less appealing than ordering a greasy takeaway, you’ve got an alternative option. Finally, it’s a massive time saver!

4. Don’t default to the wash basket

As adolescents, it was all too easy for most of us to absentmindedly throw our clothes into the wash basket (or on the floor) in the knowledge that, somehow, the garments would mysteriously end up back in our wardrobes days later, cleaned and ironed. Adulthood will likely have changed that for most, as we now know that someone has to do all that. Despite this, it can still be easy to default to putting clothes straight into the wash basket, but it might be that you don’t have to. At the end of the day, actually look at and smell your clothes. You might find that they have one more wear in them, and fewer washes equals money saved.  

5. Rethink your commute

If you have a regular commute to your place of work, it might be time to reconsider how you get there. It’s old news that fuel prices have soared to breathtakingly high levels. So you could share a lift with a colleague whom you feel it would be appropriate to travel with, or see if any neighbours have a similar route to work. There are also car sharing schemes you could look into. ZipCar, Enterprise and DriveNow all provide this option and many let you pay monthly. You can also avoid premium pumps at fuel stations. Super unleaded, for example, can be 15p per litre more expensive than regular petrol. 

6. Be supermarket savvy

A lot of people already know that supermarkets are designed to make us spend more money, but it can be easy to forget how they do it. One easy rule to remember is that items in the middle shelves are typically the ones they want you to see and therefore to buy. Remember to look above or below where your eyes naturally land, and seek out off-brand products that are more cost-effective. Another great money-saver can be to ask an employee when food gets reduced. If you shop when the big reductions happen, you can save those precious pennies.

7. Actually use your loyalty points

These days most supermarkets and coffee shops have loyalty card schemes, and while it could seem that these establishments just love being generous, there is of course more to it. Customers with loyalty cards spend significantly more than those without, but many people never actually get around to using them. Pete Howroyd, founder of the loyalty app Swapi, suggests that an estimated three million people in the UK don’t use their points,³ and there are a myriad of things they can be used for. Tesco Clubcard points, for example, can be exchanged for meals out, cinema trips, and even ferry crossings.

8. Budget, budget, budget

There is a famous passage from the novel David Copperfield that says, ‘Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.’ Now, you may not have a robust understanding of Dickensian currency, but the principle is simple. Spend more than you earn, and you could be in for misery. Budgets (that you stick to) are the primary way to avoid this. Gone are the days of needing an advanced degree in Microsoft Excel as there are countless apps that make this extremely easy, such as Money Dashboard, Emma, and Plum.

If you have found good ways to save money that aren’t listed above, we would love you to head over to our socials and let us know.