10 Best Ways to Save Money

best ways-to-save-money.gif — **10 Best Ways to Save Money**

Ever happened to you? Going to retail therapy or perhaps buying all the Christmas presents and then be scared to even check your bank account? Well, you’re not alone in that one. But if you feel like you’ve spent more than you should, it means it’s time to start saving some money.

Having some money on the side for emergencies or unexpected bills is crucial to avoid stress and getting into more debts. And although for many people saving money sounds like a hard task to accomplish and you need a lot of money, it’s not entirely true. There are small adjustments you can do on your daily basis that will definitely make a difference in your saving account. Here’s a list of easy ways in which you can save a lot of money.

1) Best Ways to Save Money = Power up your budget

Use a budgeting app or personal finance software to help you analyse your spending habits and find savings for you. Personal finance software is designed to help you manage your bank accounts, credit cards, investments, income, and expenditure, all in one single place! But if it looks complicated for you, try using a budget app. The newest budging apps use Open Banking, a way of securely sharing your bank account transaction information to help you get a better handle of your finances.

2) Best Ways to Save Money = Save your change, automatically

One of the easiest ways to have some extra money in your saving is by automatically save the change every time you make a purchase, both online and/ or in person. Many banks, such as Monzo, Revolut and Starling, have this option. These banks will allow to round-up the costs and automatically save the change into a separate pot. Tandem Bank goes beyond this and saves your change into a saving account that pays interest.

3) Best Ways to Save Money = Having a second credit card

If you’re in debt, move it to an interest-free balance transfer credit card. It means you’re not going to pay expensive interest fees and allows you to concentrate on paying back the money you own. But due to its high-interest fees, you have to be careful and if you borrow, you need to pay off your balance in full every month.

4) Best Ways to Save Money = Rewards and Cashback

Many banks, including Natwets. Lloyds and Revolut, give you rewards and cashback when using your debit card to pay for what you’re purchasing. This cashback can include from 5% to even 20% in restaurants, stores, online subscription for newspapers and much more. Aside from cashback, sometimes the banks give you a discount instead. Also, Quidco, TopCashback and newcomer My Money Pocket all offer the chance to get a percentage back on what you spend with certain retailers.

5) Best Ways to Save Money = Put your bills into a calendar

The great deals that energy, broadband and car and home insurance companies offer you won’t last forever. And when the deal is over, it’s not uncommon to see the bills increase. Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget when the contract is ending and get surprised when we pay more than we’re used to. That said, you can putt the end dates of all fixed-term deals into your calendar alongside an alert on your phone or computer, to avoid surprises and/ or switch providers or haggle with your existing provider.

6) Best Ways to Save Money = Switch your mortgage

Mortgage repayments are outgoing that can last almost a lifetime, so it’s important to know if you got the right deal for you. Just remember to factor in early repayment charges and product fees when weighing up how much you could save by switching mortgage deal. For help, it’s worth talking to a mortgage broker. A broker can provide expert advice, compare deals from all the banks and other providers, saving you hours trudging the high street. In some cases, they can access certain deals not available directly to customers.

7) Best Ways to Save Money = Save on train fares with a railcard

Buying a railcard can save you money, almost a third off most rail fares. However, any adult can buy the Two Together Railcard, saving you a third off most rail fares when you travel together, or a Family and Friends Railcard, where adults get a third off, and kids get 60% off most fares. For travelling in the south-east, you can also buy a Network Railcard for a similar discount. Railcards cost £30 a year, or £70 for three years in the case of ages between 16 and 25, for disabled and senior railcards.

8) Best Ways to Save Money= Unlock your phone

If your phone is on a contract, it means you can only use Sim cards from that specific network. Sometimes that specific network is way more expensive than others. A way to fix this is to end the contract with the network you have now and ask them to unlock your Sim. This step is usually free. By having an unlocked phone, you can get a contract for any network you wish. You can now find a cheaper deal and even better service. Also, you can use your Sim when travelling abroad, saving a lot of money on roaming fees. If you’re happy with the network you use, at least make sure your provider reduces your bill once your phone contract is ended.

9) Best Ways to Save Money = Switch to a family subscription

If you and others in your household have subscriptions to services such as Spotify, Amazon Prime, Netflix or Disney Plus, you might be able to save with a family package. These let you share the same benefits for a cheaper monthly fee compared with paying for multiple subscriptions. Spotify Premium for Family, for example, allows up to six people living at the same address to share a subscription for £14.99 a month. Depending on the number of people living in your home, this could save up to £539.40 over 12 months compared with taking out individual Spotify Premium subscriptions for £9.99 per month each.