A few changes I have made, almost at my first billion already! (Saving tips)

Member Name: lou_lou1

Product:	Saving tips
Date:	29/04/09 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Having a something to fall back on and treat yourself.

Disadvantages: none, what could be bad about saving money.

Unless you have been living on a different planet since the end of last year you no doubt have thought about how to save money and make your money go a bit further for you! I obviously don't have any kind of miracle that will save you thousands otherwise I would be sunning myself on a beach right now.

I would imagine that most of you will either already be doing these or that they are things you have heard before but small changes do make a difference and these are just a few simple things that I have changed myself. Im obviously not about to give you lots of personal info about myself like where I work but lets just say that my workplace revolves a lot around money and changes I have made to my lifestyle are generally from mistakes I have seen other people making.

Bringing my lunch to work with me is saving me a lot of money each week. For a few pounds you will have enough to make a nice healthy lunch and this has also encouraged me to bring fruit with me and bottled water instead of buying something like crisps or cans of juice.

Having a breakfast is something I have never done even when I was at school (im not a morning person and and an extra five minutes in bed always seems worth it). So I found myself falling into the habit of grabbing something in the cafe near my work after the traumatic bus journey to work. I didn't realise how much this was costing me but a roll and cup of tea (how they have the cheek to call it that but I guess this isn't a review of the cafe so save that for another time.) at around £2 seems reasonable but when you think of it as around forty a month its quite different. Now im making a real effort to have something before I leave the flat.

Food is one thing that I never really had a set budget for and just basically went and bought what I thought I needed. I make a list now before I go shopping so I have a clear idea of what I need to get and don't buy something thinking I might use it. Although sometimes I will change a little depending on offers I see instore. I try to take advantage of buy one get one free offers etc but only if it is something I think I will really use. If it's something that I use already then I stock up. Especially with things that will last for a long time like canned food as it will always come in handy in the days before pay day!

I have got myself a bus pass which overall is obviously cheaper as it works out at about a pound a day for four weeks instead of over £2. This itself has saved me money but the thing I have noticed is that I no longer find myself buying something I don't need to get change for the bus. It is amazing how much change I was carrying around and then just 'getting rid of it' as I didn't want loads of coin weighing me down. Now im putting it in a jar (I know I know isn't everyone now!) and I think I will need another jar soon.

One thing I will say is that I don't see the point in going out and buying yourself a nice little piggy bank, how much has that cost you that could have went in the jar.

Having just got married I've been on a bit of a mission to save money for the last year and the more committed you are the more you will get back. My dad has always told me that I should save what I have when I get paid and then spend what is left not the other way around, and as you can imagine when I was living at home that went well and truly out of the window! Shoes or going on a night out always seemed a bit more important when someone else is paying the bills. But I honestly do think that you can't deprive yourself and be way too strict otherwise it will get too much for you. That is the mistake I made when I started saving up for the wedding but it was such a great feeling to know on the day that everything was paid for and I wasn't going to be paying for one day for the next few years!

Summary: Not exactly going to save you thousands but still a great feeling.