Ways To Keep The Costs Down

Around this time of year I start thinking about cutting down on our spends in preparation for Christmas. I know it is still 6 months away but I feel once the school Summer holidays start, Christmas creeps up very fast and I like to be prepared and sure that we have enough money to enjoy Christmas. There is also a time every year when we seem to have lots of unexpected expenses that like to crop up at once. So now is the time for us to try and keep our spending to a minimum, here are some tips to keeping the costs down.

Travelling

Start off with something small, but something that will make huge changes when it comes to your bank account. If you travel by bus use a megarider ticket, you will be able to travel as much as you want and can tailor your own needs to the ticket type. Whether you’re in need of a weekly bus pass for your travels, or a monthly one — you will find yourself making a huge saving in comparison to buying a ticket every day.

If you’re a driver, did you know that the average motorist in the UK will spend an astonishing £168,880 over their lifetime? With efficiency growing in public transport, there is no reason for you not to consider making the bold move that could help you fulfil your resolution this year and save you a fortune.

When it comes to payments across the year, driving a car can cost a fortune especially if you are a two car family. When it comes to running a car you have to pay for petrol, servicing, MOTs, insurance and parking. I can see why some of our friends are now choosing to use public transport.

Lifestyle

According to research carried out by people in the UK visit coffee shops at least three times per week — although it has recently become unavoidable, as currently there are over 21,000 outlets around the country. I am lucky that I don't like coffee however John does enjoy a Costa, Starbucks or Caffe Nero a few times a week but to be fair he does usually wait till they are free on the cashback apps we use.

Branded coffee company, Douwe Egberts, has said that a 250g pack of ground coffee can make up to 30 cups. When looking to see how much a 1kg pack would cost, Amazon has priced the coffee at around £15, meaning that each cup of coffee would cost close to 13p. Try taking a flask to work and even purchasing an on-the-go coffee cup that will see you through your day.

Smoking

Luckily for us, we are non smokers but if you are a smoker then if the rise in prices for cigarettes hasn’t already put you off, knowing that you could save a whopping £3,796 (if you smoke 20 a day) could be the driving mechanism for you to quit.

An alternative that many smokers are trying to save money is vaping. 10ml bottles of liquid cost around £5 on average — saving those who turn to vaping around £1,900.

Lunch

Saving money by making a packed lunch is something we have always done here. When I used to work in town many years ago I would find it easier to just buy lunch on the way to work or pop out on my lunch breaks. Buying a meal deal every day for lunch was costing a fortune so now I take a sandwich or a tin of microwavable soup to heat up.

Search The Web

Before we buy anything online whether its a holiday or just a takeaway we search the web for discount codes from voucher sites such as dealsdaddy or dealsqueen. You will be surprised how much you can save by popping in a discount or promo code. We also like to use cashback sites which is a great way to shop as normal and save up a few £££'s to treat yourself at the end of the month.

Unexpected Expenses

Like I said earlier we’ve all been victim to an unexpected expense. I like to think that keeping the costs down on things we can control such as takeaway coffees, lunches or even parking can help towards the expenses we can't control.

Thinking smarter now will help towards Christmas or that unnecessary expense. How will you be changing your ways to save money?

Michelle

This is a collaborative post