5 top tips to help you save money.
Audrey Paterson
Helping you retire well by building a plan tailored to your goals—whether that’s cutting back hours, adding income streams, or retiring early. Let’s simplify retirement planning and create a future you’re excited about.
1 Save first, spend later
Pay yourself first. If you do this it’s a sure way towards financial freedom. Use the 50/30/20 flexible approach to budgeting. This means 50% of your take home pay goes on your needs (bills, food, minimum debt payments), 30% goes towards fun (eating out etc) and 20% goes to future you (debt payments above the minimum, saving for emergencies and investing). If this split doesn’t work for you when money is tight, you can adjust the ratios as you go. I coach children in primary school that the split should be 30/30/30 10 is for just doing it properly.
2 Don't pay interest on your credit card debt
If you've got card debt, put a strategy in place for getting rid of it. Don't panic if you haven't got a handy lump sum to magic away the full amount, you can achieve the same end result by transferring the debt to a 0% balance card to avoid paying interest for a fixed time (up to 30 months) and paying off a set amount every month.
Some cards come with a small balance transfer fees, so make sure you do the maths. Do set up a direct debit to avoid missing minimum payments and being stung with high charges. If you still have debt after the 0% period ends, move to another deal. Do not use this card for purchases. Find the best 0% balance transfer card using comparison site such as MoneySuperMarket.
3 Stay on track
Don’t let cash slip through your fingers. With digital bank Monzo you can transfer a set amount of spending money to your card while prepaid cards – like Monese and Transferwise – only let you spend what you load. Also take a look at Plum this can be linked to your bank and is very simple to use.
Too high tech? Set up a day to day spending account with its own card, and transfer your weekly disposable income on to it.
4 Use an incognito browser
Going incognito when you shop online can help you save money by automatically deleting your browser history when you close a tab. This means companies can’t track what you’re looking at and put prices up (yes, it happens!), so it will be especially useful for planning your next holiday.
5 Don't splurge on payday
Nationwide’s Payday Saveday survey revealed 1 in 5 people spend over half their spare monthly wages within 48 hours of getting paid! Don't let your disposable income burn a hole in your wallet, always ask yourself if you really need it.
Prioritise your most important outgoings, plus something for the savings pot, before you start spending. That way, you’ll know how much disposable income you really have to last the rest of the month.
If you are strugling please feel free to schedule a call on my calendar for 30 mins I will help you make a plan. Calendar
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