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Ultimate Money Saving Ideas

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Money Saving PigI’ve come across tons of great money saving ideas and tips for increasing wealth around the internet, in books and in the media.  In fact, far too many to implement in one go, so I decided to create the Ultimate Money Saving Ideas Page as a place to log the best ideas for people to refer back to every time they need fresh money saving inspiration.

So, here are the ideas so far……

Borrowing Money

The average debt per household in the UK is now £15,661 (source: national debt charity Credit Action).  This figure covers both secured and unsecured borrowings, but excludes mortgages.

If the overall interest rate on this amount of debt was just 10%, it would equal annual interest repayments of £1,566, alongside the loan repayments. But 10% is a generous figure and most store cards and credit cards will charge 20% interest or more.

So setting yourself financial goals to clear your debts will:

  • Give you more money to save for a rainy day and build your wealth
  • Make you less financially vulnerable in the face of rising redundancies and unemployment
  • Give you the smug satisfaction of not having to waste your hard-earned money on unnecessary interest repayments ;)

Tools And Resources For Reducing Borrowing And Clearing Debt

Comparison Sites

Comparison websites form a key part of any diligent money saver’s arsenal.  Whether you are looking for insurance deals, cheap travel or to sell your mobile phone, the steps involved in getting the best deal are simple:

  • Click onto the comparison site
  • Enter your details
  • Retrieve the best quote

As none of the comparison sites provide full market coverage, it is a good idea to repeat these steps using a couple of different sites.

There are also providers that do not advertise on comparison websites and once you have got your best comparison site quote, it is worth going direct to the other providers to compare against them (especially as you will cut out the commission charge that the comparison site receives).

You can read more about comparison websites in this Which? Price Comparison Website Guide.

Here is a list of popular UK comparison websites:

Energy & Utilities

Gas, electricity, water & telephone bills – boring, boring, boring!  But if we must spend money on these essentials, we may as well try and keep the bills to a minimum.  Here are some tips for reducing the cost of your energy and utility bills.

Energy & Utility Cost Saving Tip #1 – Use Less!

Everyone knows that leaving the television on standby or forgetting to turn off the lights is both bad for the environment and a waste of money, so here are ten easy-to-implement actions to begin reducing energy use in your home.

Larger, longer-term energy savings can be achieved with various home improvements, such as loft and wall cavity insulation, double glazing and solar-powered water heating.  View this guide for more information and a list of Energy Saving Trust recommended products.

Energy & Utility Cost Saving Tip #2 – Switch To A Cheaper Supplier

Rising commodity prices are constantly pushing up energy and utility costs for consumers, but there is room for competition amongst UK suppliers and switching supplier is easier than people think.

Here is a list of energy and utility comparison websites to help you find a better deal:

Energy & Utility Cost Saving Tip #3 – Create The Ultimate Energy Self-Sufficient Home

Fans of Grand Designs on Channel 4 will doubtlessly have seen numerous examples of home renovations and new-build developments harnessing the latest eco-friendly building designs, techniques and technology; not only reducing energy consumption, but can also producing their own energy too.

With traditionally built homes now costing a small fortune to run each year, there is is much more incentive for people to invest in energy efficient and generative technology.

How To Be ‘The Millionaire Next Door’

Want to know a secret about becoming rich?  Well, most actual millionaires don’t drive fancy cars, nor do they wear expensive watches or buy costly status symbols.

The guy you see pulling out of the gated development, in the large Mercedes, wearing an expensive suit, is most likely to be weighed down with huge debts and probably has very few actual assets to his name.

On the other hand, the man living a little bit further down the road in the smaller house, who drives an old Volvo estate and wears his suit of the rack, could very well be a financially-secure millionaire – Perception plays a great deal in our lives!Millionaire Next Door

Living well below their means, avoiding competition with the Jones’ next door and working really hard to boost income, is what creates real millionaires.

That’s the premise of the ‘The Millionaire Next Door’, the book that was published in 2006 and was a result of years of interviews and research of ‘real-life’ millionaires by two marketing professors William Danko and Thomas Stanley.

The book is well worth reading (click on this link to buy The Millionaire Next Door), but in the meantime the following links will give you a good insight:

Insurance

It feels like we end up paying insurance on nearly everything we do or own and insurance payments make up a large proportion of monthly spend.  Here are all the tips and links you need to help decide whether you actually need a policy in the first place and how to reduce the overall cost of your existing policies.

Insurance Saving Tip #1 – Don’t Automatically Renew Your Insurance

If your insurance policy is due for renewal, don’t automatically renew it, as loyalty does not pay.  Insurance companies use incentives and deals to attract new customers, but do very little to reward existing customers.

So, keep a note of your different insurance policies and about a month before each policy is due to expire, see if you can switch to a better deal, using comparison websites and by going direct to your insurer’s competitors.

You may not always find a better deal, but at least you can be certain that you are not paying over-the-top for your policy.

Insurance Saving Tip #2 – Ensure The Policy Suits Your Requirements

Nothing illustrates the mis-selling of insurance products better than the recent PPI (payment protection insurance) scandal, where thousands of customers were tricked into buying expensive and unnecessary insurance policies, completely unsuited to their needs.

Financial services sales staff are always under pressure to increase profits and may for example, hint to a customer that they will not be able to take out a loan without including payment protection insurance.

This puts pressure on the customer to agree to the terms of the protection plan and walk away with an insurance policy that they don’t really need.  In one forum, I’ve recently read about a credit card customer who is trying to stop the credit card company from taking payments of £60 per month for payment protection insurance!

(If you think you have been mis-sold PPI, you may be able to claim the money back – more details at: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance)

To avoid taking out unnecessary or unsuitable insurance policies, always:

  • Research the web and consult with your independent financial advisor to see if you actually need the product
  • Read through the terms of the policy to ensure it is providing the level of coverage that you need – as you could get away with a cheaper policy

Tools And Resources For Saving Money On Insurance

Car Insurance

Insurance Comparison Websites

Specialist Insurance

Lifestyle Changes

Just a few simple lifestyle changes can make a huge difference – not only to our wealth, but also to our health and well-being.

I say simple, because the changes are pretty obvious and widely known – the hard part is for people to get themselves motivated to implement them, but for those who can rustle up some get-up-and-go, there are plenty of benefits.

Lifestyle Changing Tip #1 – Making Delicious Lunches For Work

I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of the financial benefits of making your own lunch for work, but just in case you have forgotten….

￡5 spent per day on lunch, equates to ￡25 per week.  Over 48 working weeks, that in turn equates to ￡1,200 of take home salary!

However, the problem is, making sandwiches five nights a week becomes a little bit repetitive and boring, so it is easy to revert to takeaway sandwiches.  One way to spice up your sandwich life and keep yourself motivated, is to experiment in making a range of different lunches during the week, such as:

  • Monday – Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
  • Tuesday – Chicken Salad
  • Wednesday – Leftovers from last night’s pasta dish
  • Thursday – Cous Cous and Feta cheese salad
  • Friday – Sausage and mustard sandwiches (using spare sausages from last night’s dinner)

Throw in some fruit and perhaps a little Kit Kat (if you need a chocolate fix) and there you have it, a low-cost, healthy mid-day meal.

To help inspire you, here are some delicious lunchtime recipes.

Other ideas to help keep you in the habit of packing a lunch include:

  • Starting a lunch club with your colleagues to see who can make the most interesting and tasty dishes
  • Buying your ingredients and taking ten minutes away from your desk to make your lunch during your lunch break
  • Taking it in turns with your partner to produce the next day’s lunches

Lifestyle Changing Tip #2 – Stop Ordering Takeaway Food

What is it about having seriously bad-for-us junk food delivered to our front doors that is  so appealing?  Perhaps it is the taste, or the fact that you can eat in front of the telly or that we are just not in the mood to cook.

Whatever the reason, having a takeaway delivery makes for a great treat, but it should also be a rare treat.

Weekly or even daily takeaway and delivered junk food binges not only make people obese, but they also cost a bloody fortune!

For example a takeaway pizza and all the accoutrements, plus delivery, can easily cost ￡15, whereas the same food from the supermarket and cooked at home will be less than a fiver.

Cooking your own food doesn’t take long and it will be much cheaper and healthier than a takeaway.  Here are some low cost recipe links:

Lifestyle Changing Tip #3 – Less Alcohol, More Cash

My Mum always used to say that ‘I had paid for pub landlady to have a brand new fur coat each Christmas’, based on the amount of money that I spent on partying and buying drinks at the bar.

I have slowed down a lot nowadays, but going to the pub is still one of my favourite past-times and unfortunately one of the most expensive.

The title of this section says it all.  Drink less booze and you will have lots more money.  But again it can be difficult to put this into practice, especially if you have an active social and working life that regularly involves trips to the local watering hole.

One alternative is to find other social activities that don’t involve drinking, such as joining a sports club or doing some community work to help other people out.

Parties at home with your friends are another alternative and always good for a cheap night, although drinking supermarket beer at home by yourself is not advisable.  Better to save your money for the occasional visit to the pub with your mates and make it a decent night.

Lifestyle Changing Tip #4 – Trash The Ash

Significantly reduce the risk of serious illness and save loads of money at the same time – sounds like another no-brainer!

Quitting smoking helps with other in-direct costs too, such as lower life insurance premiums and less dry-cleaning, so why continue?

One tip for giving up the smoking habit is to change your daily routines and avoid situations where you are likely to smoke.  Effectively you are making a psychological decision to live a healthier lifestyle, so compensate your cravings with healthy choices.

Another tip is to begin collecting all the money that you would normally spend on cigarettes each day, and keeping it in a shoebox or jam-jar.  You will be amazed at how quickly the money builds up and you can use it to buy yourself something nice or even better, invest or save for the future.

More stop-smoking resources:

Lifestyle Changing Tip #5 – Start Running

I’ll admit I’m a bit biased here in that I have well and truly caught the running bug, but if you want to lose weight and improve your health, I can’t think of a more cost effective way to exercise.

A new pair of running shoes can be bought for as little as ￡30 and unless you are professional runner, they will more than adequately do the job.  The rest of your kit?

Well, all you need to do is find an old pair of shorts and t-shirt from your wardrobe and you are ready to go!

Why do people pay ￡30 upwards a month for a gym membership that they never use, when they could be outside enjoying the fresh air, relieving stress and actively getting fit?

If you do prefer gyms, try to find one of the pay-as-you-go types, so that you are not committed to an expensive long-term contract.

Here are some useful resources for getting started in running and other low-cost forms of exercise:

Low Cost Investing

Investment is one of the rules of financial freedom and a key pillar of the Wealth Creation Pyramid.

By investing your money through the stockmarket, it is possible to grow your wealth and generate a future passive income.  However you need to keep your wits about you, as there are plenty of people (from the taxman through to brokers and banks), who are eager to cash in on your investment activities for their own means.

So if you are not careful, you could find your return-on-investment being swallowed up.  Fortunately there are a number of low cost investment approaches that you can use to minimise those costs.

Low Cost Investment Tip #1 – Don’t Pay Any Tax

Normally you have to pay capital gains tax on profits or gains you make from your investments.  The tax rate starts at 18%, so for example £5,000 of taxable gains can result in a tax payment of £900.

Perhaps the easiest way to avoid or minimise tax payments is to save and invest through an ISA (Individual Savings Account).  ISAs are effectively tax-free wrappers that allow you to save and invest a specified amount of money, without having to pay tax on your profits or gains.

It is very easy to setup an ISA through your bank or building society and once set-up you can arrange for money to be automatically paid into them every month after pay-day.

This guide provides more details on ISAs.

If you are saving for your retirement, then another tax-efficient approach is to set up a pension plan, such as a Stakeholder Pension.  These provide numerous tax-breaks on the money that you save through them.  To find out more about the tax-advantages, take a look at Why I Have a Pension.

Low Cost Investment Tip #2 – Be A Value Investor

Stock market billionaire investor Warren Buffett is famous for sharing his investment advice and one of his greatest tips is to be a Value Investor.

This essentially means hunting around to find businesses whose share value is somewhat underpriced and buying up significant amounts of those shares in the belief that the value will grow in the future.

Another angle on this theme is to be a Contrarian Investor, somebody who goes against the herd and buys shares when they are cheap, then sells (or holds) them when they increase in value again.

To be a successful value investor, it is important not to just buy any old cheap share, but to find businesses that have healthy prospects for longer-term growth.  A value stock might be in an unfashionable market sector (the stockmarket being a fickle game) that everyone is ignoring, but could be a much better bet than a newly popular tech stock temporarily riding on the latest fad.

The following links provide more information on value investing:

Low Cost Investment Tip #3 – Sack The Fund Manager

Not everyone will be inclined to spend their evenings and weekends searching and analysing the stock market for value stocks, so this is where managed funds come in.

By investing your money into a fund, you are essentially joining other investors and putting your money into a large pot of cash, which will be used to buy shares in a variety of businesses that should either pay a strong dividend or have the potential for future growth.

The fund manager is responsible for investing that pot of money into businesses that will deliver the best income and growth.  Some famous fund managers, such as Anthony Bolton, have been able to deliver spectacular return-on-investment, but there is plenty of evidence to show that many others fail to even beat the market.

What’s more, every investor in that fund will need to pay the fund manager a percentage of their gains for managing the fund.  This is fine, if the fund manager is able to deliver a return-on-investment that significantly out-performs the market, but not so great if they merely return average or below-par returns.

The following links provide some more in-depth information on reducing the cost of your fund:

Mortgages

My biggest expenditure each month is my mortgage payment and like everyone else, I can’t wait for the day that the mortgage is fully paid off.  Until that time comes, the best option is to ensure I get the cheapest mortgage deal possible, that meets my circumstances.

Mortgage Saving Tip #1 – Remortgage For A Better Deal

Fixed rate mortgages offer peace of mind and help people to plan their finances knowing that the monthly mortgage repayments will remain the same throughout the term.

The downside is that you miss out on low interest rates whilst in the fixed term or there may be another mortgage provider offering a similar fixed mortgage, but set at a lower interest rate.

Just reducing your mortgage rate by 1%, saves you a bucket of cash (1% of a £100,000 mortgage can provide savings of around £80 per month, equivalent to £960 per year)

Customers who are in an early stage of their fixed-rate mortgage deal may find they are locked-in by expensive exit charges, but these tend to reduce in the later stages of the deal.

To begin finding out how viable it is for you to remortgage to a better deal, read this guide – http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/remortgage-guide and consult with an independent financial advisor.

Mortgage Saving Tip #2 – Reduce The LTV (Loan To Value) Percentage

When I first bought my home, I only put down a 7.5% deposit, which meant I had an LTV (loan to value) of 92.5%.  As a first time buyer, this allowed me to get onto the property ladder, but since taking out my mortgage, my monthly repayments have only made a small dent in the overall amount I owe to the mortgage company.

This is because the majority of my repayments are covering the interest on the loan.  Had I been able to put down a larger deposit, the amount of interest I would have to pay would be lower, meaning I could clear the remaining amount owed on the mortgage much quicker.

At the moment, I am ‘over-paying’ on my mortgage each month to try and reduce the LTV, so that I can reduce the interest charge and pay-off the mortgage quicker – read this guide for more details on mortgage over-payments.

Another option is to consider using savings or a financial windfall to reduce your mortgage by a significant chunk, again reducing the amount of money you spend on interest payments.

Tools And Resources For Saving Money On Your Mortgage

Reducing Shopping & Grocery Bills

Supermarkets are big business and use every trick in the book to extract as much money from our pockets as possible – so it should be no surprise that a few simple money saving tactics can easily knock £10 to £20 off the weekly shopping bill.

That might not sound like a lot, but over a month it can equate to savings of £80, resulting in annual savings of £960!

Shopping & Grocery Saving Tip #1 – Plan Your Meals & Make a List

Supermarket marketing analysts spend all of their time trying to understand customer buying habits, so that they can identify the trigger buttons that encourage us to buy more than we need.

So in response, the first line of consumer defence against this psychological warfare is to plan weekly meals and make a list of all food and other domestic products that you require.  Then focus on sticking to the list to avoid impulse purchases and significantly reduce food waste.

The LoveFoodHateWaste campaign has lots of delicious recipes and tips to help you plan your meals and cut back on wasted food.

Shopping & Grocery Saving Tip #2 – Go Down The Unbranded Route

Own-brand products are generally considered inferior to their premium brand equivalents and whilst in some cases this is true, it is generally not the case.  Many own-brand products are manufactured by the premium brands on behalf of the supermarkets, the only difference being the lack of fancy packaging and expensive advertising.

Next time you go shopping, for each item on your list, only buy the own-brand equivalent (you may even want to note down the saving you made by buying the own-brand).  Then, as you use the products during the week, you can determine whether the quality matches the branded version.

Nine times out of ten, it should be just as good, but if you do find the quality is significantly poorer then switch back, as there is little point in eating poor quality food.  At least you will be certain that you are getting the best value for your shopping.

Shopping & Grocery Saving Tip #3 – Maximise Loyalty Schemes & Offers (but be aware of fools gold)

Whether it’s a Clubcard, a Nectar Card, or a Boots Advantage Card, the idea is that you are rewarded for your loyalty with money-back deals and special deals, so it makes sense to make use of them to save money.

However it is important to remember that large retailers run these schemes to help them build up customer profiles on their databases in order to push sales of under-subscribed stock, so if you take advantage of the offers, make sure you are buying the steak and not the sizzle!

The first step is to check you actually need the item on offer – is it on your shopping list?  The next step is to check the validity of the offer.  For example, how much will you really save in a 3 for 2 deal?  If the saving is marginal, do you really need to buy 3 times the amount?

This is even more pertinent if the product is a perishable good like fruit, which you may not even get around to eating.

Shopping & Grocery Saving Tip #4 – Look Out For Supermarket Alternatives

Supermarkets may make it easier to get all of your groceries and household shopping done in one place, and they may continuously boast about having the lowest prices, but there are a few other money saving alternatives.

Fruit & Veg Markets
Go a bit bish-bash-bosh Jamie Oliver-style and start buying your fruit and veg from markets.  Not only do you support local business, but you have the chance to find some great bargains, especially at the end of the day when the stall-holders are trying to clear unsold stock.

Pound Shops & Major Discounters
Discounters like Wilkinsons are often able to sell toothpaste, cosmetics and other toiletries well below supermarket prices.  So a quick lunchtime trip to your nearest pound shop could easily reduce the weekly shopping bill.

Online Deals
Scouting around the web can also unearth some great deals.  I’ve often heard of new parents saving a fortune on nappies by bulk-buying them from Ebay.

And let’s not forget the money saving potential of voucher code websites.  Click on this link to read my guide on getting the most out of voucher code websites.

The Web’s Best Thrift

Not for the feint hearted, but anyone serious about making every penny count will enjoy this amazing selection of thrifty ideas from around the web…

Wedding Saving Tips

Creative couples from the credit crunch generation are coming up with plenty of imaginative ways to save money on their wedding celebrations.  Here is a selection of some of the best money saving ideas for weddings.

Wedding Saving Tip #1 – Create A Wedding Budget

Knowing what you can afford to spend and where you will get the money from when planning your wedding is an absolute must for you and your partner to ensure you don’t start married life with large debts.

This guide shows you how to plan, prioritise and implement your wedding budget, so that you have a great day, without breaking the bank.

Wedding Saving Tip #2 – Cap The Clothing Allowance

Research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks showed nearly 30% of brides asked, would consider buying their dress off Ebay to save money.  Many frugal brides also have no problem buying their dress off the rack from department stores like Debenhams and altering it themselves.

Bridesmaids dresses can also be sourced off the rack or internet at cheaper prices than traditional wedding shops, whilst cutting down on the number of ushers, helps to reduce the suit rental cost.

It is also worth looking at specialist wedding classified sites like Bride2Bride for a range of deals.

These few changes can make a massive difference to your wedding budget.

Wedding Saving Tip #3 – Shake Up The Reception

By taking a less traditional approach, you can seriously reduce the expense of the venue and reception – the two factors that will generally make-up the largest proportion of the cost of a wedding.

Most hotel and golf-course type venues will require you to have their food and drink as part of a package.  This tends to be excessively expensive and if you decide to provide your own wine, they will charge you a fee for corkage (opening and serving the wine) that will be just as pricey as theirs.

But by finding a more unusual or less formal venue (such as a village hall, a museum, or a garden marquee), you can provide your own catering and booze – significantly reducing costs.

If the job of finding an unusual venue and coordinating suppliers doesn’t appeal, then it is still possible reduce venue costs by booking your wedding during non-peak periods (such as weekdays or during winter months).

Wedding Saving Tip #4 – Honeymoon Wedding List

Another big chunk of change tends to be spent on the honeymoon, and why not?  This is no ordinary holiday and people want something a bit more special than two weeks on the Costa Del Sol.

So why not ask your guests to help pay for your dream honeymoon break, instead of a wedding list or Argos vouchers?

Large travel operators like Thompson are beginning to offer a honeymoon voucher service, along with a number of niche operators such as:

Alternatively you can just ask people to give you money towards your honeymoon, as your wedding gift.

Wedding Saving Tip #5 – Look Out For Savvy Budget Cheats

Whilst you can save a fortune on finding cheaper deals for big ticket items like the dress, venue and honeymoon, it is still really easy to go overboard on all of the smaller items that make up your big day.

So make sure you use your wedding budget to list out each cost and then make it your goal to reduce those costs by using your savvy shopping and negotiating skills.

Further savings can be made with a bit of DIY-creativity and calling in favours from friends and family.  Maybe you can make your own invites and table place-names, or perhaps you have a talented friend who can help with the DJ-ing or photography.

By themselves, these little budget cheats don’t seem to amount to much, but when combined together they have the potential to save you £1,000s of the total price.

Help Build The Ultimate Money Saving Ideas Page

Can you help me build the ultimate resource for money saving tips, strategies and tactics?

Suggestions could cover:

  • Renting
  • Commuting
  • Mobile Phones
  • Broadband
  • Council Tax
  • Travel
  • Diet / Healthy Living
  • Health Care
  • Weddings
  • Online Saving Tools
  • Christmas Savings
  • Investments
  • Pensions
  • New Family / Parenting / Family Benefits
  • Pets
  • Writing a Will
  • Sustainable Living

I’d prefer good solid ideas and tips (as per the examples above), rather than simple one-liners and I am happy to provide a credit back to your blog or twitter account for your idea.

Please use the contact details on this page to send me your money saving tips and ideas

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