cut down on your shopping

With another hike in energy bills here in the UK and wages for up in April. But by the time bills go up we don't have a lot to show for in wage increase.

It's not just being affected here in the UK but all around the world. So here are some tips to help you no matter where you live on how to save money.

The main thing to do is cut down on non-essential spending and save for a period of time for items you need and want. 

Example: save each month for personal items. Buy in a 3, 6, 9, 12 month period.

Clothes and accessories 

Health and beauty 

Entertainment 

Eating out 

Hobbies

End of season Sales 

This is the perfect time to have money saved for any seasonal items you want to buy.

Pay off any outstanding debt

By paying off the smallest amount first and then rolling that amount onto the next amount To pay it off quicker.

For example: you are paying £20 to the smallest bill each month. You pay it off. The next bill is £30 So now you will pay £50 to get that bill paid off. In the USA it's called the snowball effect. 

Food Shopping 

Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, don't forget to look in the reduced section. You can freeze certain things such as ready-made meals, vegetables, and fruit. Did you know you can freeze butter, milk and bread? Always good to have just in case.

Do research before shopping. Many supermarkets now are comparing prices to each other to get you to shop there.

I like online shopping because I can see the best prices across all supermarkets and discount stores. But not having a car is cheaper for me to buy with my food shopping or buy on another site due to delivery costs.

I still sometimes buy things I don't need but it’s mainly items to stock my store cupboard.

Freezer

Health & Beauty

Pantry

If you have a list and what you use on the regular with a list of favorite meals, you can make and freeze spaghetti sauce, lasagna, chinese. I buy jar curry do to life and time put it in the slow cooker and use the rice cooker. I haven't got around to making my own curry sauce which I would like to, so I can freeze portions.

Health & Beauty

Look around for deals and don't forget to check your store cards for points. 

Not everyone can shop at Costco but for my family it was cheaper to shop at supermarkets or amazon to buy in bulk. 

Supermarkets brands

I have been buying supermarket own brands for a long time. I watched a video on YouTube and found many brands make the same butter at the same location. So think before you buy. Check on the back there should be a code of the manufacturer site. 

I understand that they're certain brands we like. So save money elsewhere to buy the things you like. Mine is Dr Pepper. My eldest son's favorite brands are Heinz baked beans and Heinz ketchup.

Freezer

We like Iceland when doing bulk freezer shopping. They have good deals and brands. We don't really like a lot of ready-made meals but we like to stock up on ingredients to make quick items for meals.

The last item should be to write a shopping list and stick to a budget. If I see a product I need for myself like health and beauty and there is a deal on then I have to reduce my personal budget. Here in the UK we have 3 for 2 don't be fooled, it's 3 for a reduced price.

Happy shopping and hope these ideas will help you!

Sara