Feeling Thrifty

So times are hard, money is tight, what’s a girl to do?
 

I’d like to think I’m pretty good with money.  I’m no expert by any means but I know how to save and I know how to get the most for my pennies.  A lovely set of skills if I do say so myself.

I've wanted to do a post like this for quite a while but with Christmas fast approaching this seems like the perfect opportunity.

So with this in mind, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Feeling Thrifty Guide Post.

I know what you’re thinking, “Oh God, this is likely to bore me to death”, and yes maybe it will, but if one of you learns just something then it would be worth the effort of all the typing my little fingers have done.

Ok, so whilst training to be a maths teacher (don’t ask, it didn’t last), I tried to use my short time in school to teach kids some useful life skills, which included savings, loans etc.  You will be surprised how many people just don’t know or understand anything about these topics.  With this in mind, I’ll just run over my bit of advice for saving.

Now whether you are savings for a new pair of shoes, a holiday or a house, the principle is the same, put it away and don’t touch it until you really, really need it.  I find the best thing to do is open a savings account, preferably an ISA (this will mean you will not pay tax on it), and on every pay day set aside an amount you want to save and then put this in your savings account.  Whatever is left in your bank account is yours to spend how you wish, guilt free knowing you’ve put away that money for the month.

For me, this method works, in my little brain, once that money has gone into savings it’s no longer mine to touch.  If you find you can’t resist temptation then give it to someone else to look after.

However you do it, savings are important, in life you need to be prepared, you never know when you will need that money.  It's easy to think 'I'll do it next month', but next month you may find yourself in a position where you really need that few quid, think it through my friends, be prepared.

(p.s. choose the highest interest rate for your savings account, that way your money can actually earn you more money, I know, it’s amazing!)

Right, lecture over on that front.

Shop around.  No matter what you want to buy always have a look to see if you can get it somewhere else cheaper, even clothing, most styles tend to be the same, and what you could pay for one jumper in say TOPSHOP, you could get much cheaper in Matalan for pretty much the exact same thing.

Every now and again you should have a little look for voucher codes, especially before going shopping.  More often than not you will find a nice little code or voucher tucked away somewhere entitling you to get x percentage off your purchase.

I like to use Money Saving Expert to look for deals, there are usually good offers on restaurants and such but quite often there will be a code for a shop that I was planning on getting something in anyway.

Other voucher code websites include:

• Voucher Codes

• My Voucher Codes

• Money Supermarket

Everyone loves a bargain, but better yet, everyone loves a freebie.  There are many websites out there offering free samples, CloudFreebies is one of these websites.  I’ve been having a browse and there are quite a few good samples and freebies, and unlike other freebie websites I have visited before now, they are for stuff that I would actually want!  I know, it’s amazing! Naturally you will have to fill out a few details but if it's something you would genuinely like or want to sample then it's worth the time.

Then there’s the whole competition avenue. Now I’ve never bought into the whole competitions thing, but I work with a few people who have entered and actually won, they have been on holiday’s, won tickets, been given the wedding of their dreams etc, so as you can see, if you have the patience and time it’s well worth taking a gamble and signing up.

Additionally, sometimes it’s worth taking a chance and asking a company for a sample, I work on the basis of you never know unless you ask.

 

There have been times when I have bought something in store and gone home to find offers on that product only available online.  I am always being sent emails from stores giving details about todays special offers purely because I signed up to their newsletter.  The moral of the story is, sign up to newsletters, easy peasy.

So there you go, my little bit (?!?) of advice on being thrifty, let me know if you have any more tips or tricks.

And don't forget, every time you go to buy something, stop and think, Do I need it? Will I use it? If the answer is yes then your good to go.  

If however the answer is no, but it's an item of clothing and you have fallen in love with it, then bugger it, spend spend spend :)  Sometimes it's ok to bend the rules!

Stay Cool,