Category: Money Saving

Getting Back On Track With Your Finances

My Thoughts On Starting To Save Again

Collaborative Post

For me, looking after my money has become increasingly important over the last few years. As I reach middle age I want to be less reliant on my full time job and stable enough to go on more holidays. My dream is to work part time and have side hustles and investments to see me through.

Lots of people have been struggling with their finances since Covid, especially as the cost of living crisis has gripped the UK and the rest of the world. So financial planning has become more of a necessity than a choice:

This blog post explores some of the considerations to make when trying to get your money in order. I am in no way an expert on this but have learned the hard way about the importance of getting my money organised.

How To Get Your Money Consolidated

I suppose one of the biggest things I have learned in the last ten years is the importance of shopping around for finance and utilities. Sometimes consolidating debts with an all encompassing loan, for example, is a sensible way of getting your debts together and moving forward positively.

When I had several credit cards, my solution ended up being getting a loan which paid them off. Just paying interest on one loan which was spread affordably over six years made more sense than three cards all with variable interest rates and purchase fees.

One thing that can help you to get an idea of what sort of loan is practical for you is using a loan calculator. Utilising this to work out how to spread payments with the least amount of interest can be beneficial.

You have to do it on your terms.

Any loan is a serious obligation but if used carefully might be a long term solution to a current quagmire of financial burdens.

From the calculator.me website

Saving For The Future

Now as well as pinching those interest charges by consolidating, it is always a good idea to find ways to save money. I have mentioned some strategies for this before in my post – Saving Money In 2023. It is something I am passionate about as it promotes independence and takes away reliance on income sources.

If you save well, then money no longer needs to be hand to mouth.

You can work out how effective small savings can be by using this Savings calculator. People often dismiss putting away a little bit of cash each week but it can be a powerful way of saving for the future.

I have taken to saving money every time I shop, using the suggestions on my banking app. If I spend £3.89 on my card, the app will suggest that I round up to the next pound and give the difference to my savings. This is a brilliant way of gathering savings, bit by bit.

In A Nutshell

Money is something that has given me a lot of stress in the past. In fact, during my twenties I was awful at managing my finances and I didn’t generate any savings. These days I am more careful with every penny and use money calculators to help me work out the best way to save and consolidate. Looking after your finances is important as it leads to stability and reduces anxiety about how the next bill will get covered.

Have you ever thought about putting your debts all into one pot?

Are you saving on a daily basis?

Thank you for taking the time to consider my money saving suggestions. Drop me a comment with your thoughts on this subject. Please also consider following my little blog for similar future content.

Saving Money – My Way

Collaborative post – All suggestions and opinions are my own.

Every penny counts (literally)

We all hear about just how much everyone seems to be struggling with money at the moment. In Britain, ‘the cost of living crisis’ dominates our news programmes and most people are looking for ways to make extra savings or earn more cash. Saving money is in most of our thoughts and we all need to share any good tips we come across.

For me, I have found that energy bills have risen massively and the cost of petrol has hit my pockets hard. As well as this, I have found the weekly shopping become more costly too. So I am definitely looking very closely at my finances and trying to make cuts wherever I can, without allowing my standard of living to slip unnecessarily.

Watching the Pennies

It is important to set yourself goals and these include when saving up for things. I always have holidays in my head, so before I begin playing around with my money, I usually work out what I will have to pay for in the next six months. I have also got possible repairs and emergency money in mind when I make long term financial decisions.

For working out how long it will take me to reach a certain amount, I now use online calculators such as SavingsCalculator.Org which allow you to work out how much you are likely to need to save per month to reach a target or how long it is likely to take to get to that figure.

A good tool for working out how to reach a savings goal.

As well as working out how much I need for future projects and holidays, I can also work out the shortfall in income or the amount of overspending I am doing. Once I have this sorted, I begin to look for ways to cut back.

Some of my favourite ways include:

– Go through my subscriptions to apps and TV packages. Which do I currently not use much or can I do without? Sometimes it can be painful but ditching a streaming platform for six months can make a real difference to my bank balance.

– Look for easy ways to increase my income, such as opportunities to sell a few bits and bobs on ebay. Again, it is not always easy to say goodbye to possessions but sometimes a good old clear-out makes you feel better as well as helping to inflate your savings a little.

– Use the round-up option on banking apps to save small amounts each time you spend. When I pay for something, the Nationwide Building Society asks me of I want to save the amount that would have rounded my spend up to the nearest pound. This then goes straight into my esavings. It is a Ninja way to save pennies without really noticing.

It is important though, to do some calculations and have some potential figures in your head. Then you know what to aim for and exactly how much to reduce your outgoings by, if you are going to make it work for you.

I have written about my suggestions of how to potentially boost your income in a previous post:

How To Boost Your Income – 5 More Ideas

In A Nutshell

Even though we are going through challenging times financially, there are several ways we can change our dealing with money to make sure our savings keep growing and that we don’t drown in debt.

Using a useful website you can change parameters and make predictions about how to build your savings. At the same time you can make reasonable adjustments to your outgoings or add additional income sources to top up your bank account.

Final Thought

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my article about how I prefer to save money and shave off my spending habits. Small changes have made such an impact on my own savings and helped me to continue to afford indulgences such as my recent trip to Antwerp to see the Christmas lights. For more of my suggestions about saving money, check out my other article.

Are We A Take, Take, Take Society?

A nice picture of Amsterdam to take away the seriousness of my article.

There is a lot of News about income today. It is a very controversial topic that I have often found myself tiptoeing around. People are being bombarded with assertions about tax cuts, average earnings and shortfalls in household incomes. It is an interesting issue which can be very polarising but the basics are straight forward. The obvious question is ‘Do we take society for granted?’

This article is about challenging the popular belief that:

“Society Owes Us”

I try to be optimistic and so will aim to represent my thoughts on this in a positive way. I have read articles and heard conversations recently where people have asserted that society owes us money.

Generally when people say this, it feels as though the speakers want everything on a plate and free. I regularly hear things like:

‘Benefits should be raised.’

‘We don’t get enough financial support.’

‘We are taxed way too much.’

‘If we go to work we lose some of our benefits. Let’s stay at home.’

OK I am paraphrasing but these are the general ideas that seem to be floating around.

I spoke to some university students about how they afford their studies and they have talked about loans and funding but rarely do I hear, ‘I work a part time job.’ In fact I have outright asked why students don’t work and they say they prefer to enjoy their spare time. Fair enough. Maybe.

Perhaps society has moved away from ‘Work Hard, Reap the Rewards’ but I really liked that work ethic.

Am I right to express my concern?

Hard to tell. I like people being comfortable and living their lives to the full. I also like fairness and equality. More than anything, I believe that hard work is important and fulfilling and should be something to aspire to.

So governments can’t win. If they raise taxes they can fund the NHS, education, environmental improvements and so on. If they cut taxes, they seem to have their fingers on the pulse but end up borrowing and causing the whole country to suffer. For me a tax cut would be great! However, is it going to lead to cuts in other services? Probably. Luxembourg has higher taxes than the UK but wonderful national provision for health, business and transport (free buses and trains). Their average wages are higher too.

When I was young…

I suppose it is just my personal experience but I welcomed my mum for teaching me the value of hard work. I had a chart on the fridge and every time I did a job (wash the car, hoover the stairs etc) I got 20p. These all added up to make my pocket money.

As soon as I was 13 I got a paper round and enjoyed earning money by delivering Sunday newspapers and weekly ones later as well. At 16 I started earning by working in the supermarket on Friday evenings, Saturdays and eventually Sundays too (until then shops were not allowed to open Sundays so when the Sunday trading laws came out I soaked up the double time wage).

Throughout my A-Levels I worked extra hours in the shop as much as I could and during the holidays. At Uni this carried on and I loved knowing that I was paying my own way. Nobody helped me. Where has that drive to work and earn and give something to society gone?

I also volunteered for charity roughly ten hours a week. But I am not showing off. Many of my friends and colleagues did as well. We paid our way and never expected any freebies. Heck- we even paid tax on our hard earned wages.

So anyway…

I suppose my point is this…

Yes people have disabilities which prevent them from working and health issues that make it more difficult. They should be fully supported by the system. But let’s face it there are thousands of people who choose not to work. They decided they are better off taking money from the state. I know this is true and research suggests it is widespread.

Recent data suggests over one million job vacancies in the UK. One million! Yet there are people out there who could be making a difference by filling these positions.

Where is my positivity?

I believe if we adopt a more GIVE than TAKE attitude to society we will prosper and our country will feel better. Work promotes health, mental wellbeing, feeling needed, accomplishment, wealth, happiness and achievement.

I feel like opening the floodgates now… What do you think about the subject?