What with Christmas bearing down on us and the extra strain on our finances I thought I should share some of my money saving tips. I’m a terrible tightwad so hopefully one or two of these tips should do ok for you too. After all, Christmas means everyone having to buy new party dress or at least a tie tie, Christmas presents, presents for when you go visiting, it’s almost compulsory to take a plant or flowers, wine and chocolates when you go to see people over Christmas and then pay the train fare for going to visit your mother in law, it all soon adds up. With these cash saving schemes hopefully you can have a little more cash in your pocket to blow on New Year!
A gift you could give your family is a thorough review of your finances. Look at switching websites, it transpires almost everyone who uses those is able to make a saving, it’s just a matter of how much. If you don’t drive all that regularly why not cancel the car insurance and use your bike? If you do have to drive anywhere temporary car insurance is always available. If you can’t stop it altogether shop around one day car insurance is a very competitive industry so you’re sure to find some good deals. For the short term car insurance companies offer great introductory rates. But you’re not married to them, once the honeymoon is over, get on to one that’s more attractive.
If you have lovely flowing locks and you want to be properly coiffed then if you have a beauty and hairdressing college nearby then book in for a treatment and do there. Give the kids a chance to get some practice (don’t worry they’re professionally supervised at all times) while you get a make-over for a few pounds that would cost a fortune at a qualified therapists. And you still look just as lovely!
If you can stop getting your coffee from the cafe at the train station or on the street where you work and take a flask for the commute instead you can save a couple of pounds a day. If you read on the way to work like I do, start visiting your library, they’re often under threat so they could use your business and they have, or can get, any title you can think of. Not buying new books can save you the cover price, between £7 and £10 every month
I don’t buy a paper any longer except for the occasional weekend when there’s a supplement I’m keen to have a hard copy of. Depending on which paper you read now and the one you choose on line you could be saving trees and anything up to a tenner a week. If you have a particular talent, use that to inform your gifts, if you can paint, paint pictures and make your own cards. If you play a musical instrument burn CDs of yourself, you can do it all on your computer and it’s not nearly as hard as you think.
