Well, that’s it for another year. The tree is down, the turkey is finished, and all the chocolate has almost disappeared. But one thing continues to remind us about the impact of Christmas – the empty bank account.
We all know that the Christmas festivities can take a real toll on our finances, and this begins far earlier than just the month of December. It is no surprise then, that January is the so-called saddest month of the year; “the Monday of months”, as it can be so hard to pick ourselves up after the bright lights and excitement has ended.
So how can we make sure to avoid the ‘January effect’, and begin our new year in a positive, refreshing way? Keep following along and check out our tips and tricks for saving money this month.
Our top five
1. Make a budget
My first tip is probably the most common one, and that is to create a budget. It might seem like a simple solution, but I find budgets to be a really helpful way at managing money.
First, consider all your monthly bills. How much money do you have going out each month when factoring in electricity, heating, rent, food shops, TV licences, gym memberships, phone contracts, all the other outgoings that can typically be forgotten. Break it down from the bigger bills right down to the smallest expenditures. If you are aware that all these bills are expected, it allows you to set this money aside for when expenses are due.
Perhaps you could open a savings account to keep this money separate from your current account? This means that any money remaining in your current account is your ‘surplus’ and enables you to spend this in any way of your choosing, with enough money remaining to pay off all your bills!
If you’d like any further advice on budgeting, why not contact us and book an appointment on our Community Money Advice project? We would be happy to help.
2. Choose alternatives
Secondly, choose alternatives. Unfortunately, we are often swayed by the pressure of peers and the media to buy the latest model; be that a mobile phone, branded clothes, or simply even branded groceries. But whilst changing your whole lifestyle around to save money can be difficult, some lifestyle choices can be very minimal and yet make a great deal of difference.
For instance, if you need to buy some new clothes, perhaps you could consider buying second-hand. Lots of charity shops have some great pieces and online sites like ‘Depop’ or ‘Vinted’ are great for finding good quality and sometimes even branded items. Another example is when grocery shopping. Buy in bulk and try to buy some ‘own brand’ groceries in the supermarket – you may be surprised; they don’t taste much different!
These habits don’t require much deviance from your normal way of living, but such little changes over a long period can develop into lots of savings.
3. Be efficient with what you have
My third piece of advice is to be efficient with what you have. As we have discussed, the likes of electricity and heating are essential; however, the resulting heightened costs may be avoidable.
For instance, instead of turning the heating on whenever you are cold, set a timer for this to come on at the coldest temperatures of the morning and evening. This means that you can avoid leaving the heating on by accident (inevitably costing more money), and instead encourages you to wear more layers as a means of conserving resources.
This can also be applied to stockpiling or travel. Try not to ‘over-buy’ when grocery shopping and instead write a shopping list to make sure you only purchase the amount of food that you will use. Equally, be economical when using transport. Walk if you can avoid driving, make use of Translink savings cards for public transport, and fill the car up fully when you need fuel (it will last longer!)
4. Be realistic, not excessive
When saving, it can often be beneficial to have a ‘spending limit’ – a threshold for different aspects of spending that you can’t exceed. For instance, perhaps you on average, spend £70 a week on groceries. You could then make a pot in your savings to set aside this amount of money each week, preventing you from spending any more on items that aren’t needed.
While this is helpful for many, it is important that these targets are realistic. Try not to factor in ‘extras’ as this doesn’t help with your savings, but equally don’t be so strict with your spending limits that you cannot afford the essentials. Be realistic, but not excessive.
5. Don’t deny simple pleasures
Finally, don’t deny simple pleasures. This final piece of advice may seem counter-intuitive compared to the previous points, but it is so important that money-management is a help and not a hindrance.
Maybe you feel your morning coffee pick-me-up is a need rather than a want, or perhaps you know a weekend takeaway or a meal in a restaurant will be a big motivator to eat well and save well throughout the week.
Factor these things into your spending if possible! It is completely fine to treat yourself and oftentimes, just like dieting, being too regimented with budgets can mean you aren’t able to sustain these habits or even worse, you become miserable doing so. Saving money should make you feel positive and encouraged, and if you have set healthy saving targets you are more likely to maintain these practices which, over a long period of time, will result in more and more discretionary income.
I wish you all the best in your January savings, and hope this year is one characterised with the instillment of healthy and encouraging lifestyle choices.
by Rebecca Starritt, with love from the Foodbank Team
