My own kind of 2 for 1 (Saving tips)

Member Name: kelly10

Product:	Saving tips
Date:	21/11/08 (277 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: I save, I treat myself and I don't miss out.

Disadvantages: None

My best money saving tip of the moment is to do with shopping. In our house you pay for your own food and if there is anything that both me and my boyfriend would eat then we split the cost 50/50.
When I realised my money needed a closer eye on it I decided to change my habits slightly. Whenever I budgeted I always decided on £100 each month for food, drink and toilletries, otherwise known as My Tesco Spends. The only problem being that I never actually counted or checked how much I did spend so I never really had a proper idea.
What I decided to do was at the first of the month take £100 out of my bank, put it in a jar and use that, and only that, when shopping. If I spent it then that was it, no more money. I would check receipts and get any money owed from my boyfriend and that would then go into the jar.
One amendment I have made is not always taking the £100 out of the bank. Instead I pay on my debit card and make a note of how much I spent in total. This total would include anything bought for my boyfriend. Any monies he owed I would then put into the jar.
So far my savings have looked like this -

*Aug £51.61 - this amount was achieved as I had saved £32 in Tesco vouchers so would not normally be this high
*Sept £44.38
*Oct £31.99

Anything that I've saved is then put into a separate jar and used for nice treats. So far I've used the money for two expensive take aways and a meal at a restarant for me and my boyfriend and I've still got money spare.
It means that I am using my shopping budget for the shopping and nice treats, rather then spending £100 on shopping and then anything between £20 and £60 on top of that.
It really is like 2 for 1.

Summary: With a tiny bit of planning, your money goes that extra mile