Unless you are a millionaire, chances are you’ll always be looking for ways to save money. The more money we save, the more money we have to spend on treats such as nice meals out and vacations to glamorous locations. Saving money can improve our lives.
No matter what your family situation, your job status, your education, your homelife or where the majority of your outgoings are spent, there will be at least a couple of ways in which you can find savings – there are quite literally hundreds of ways to save money.
To get you started, we’ve put together this list of six ways to help you save money.
Create your own gifts to give away as presents
When it comes to giving out birthday and Christmas presents, creating a homemade gift has two obvious benefits over buying from a store. Firstly, it shows real thought, dedication and love has been poured in to create a unique item that will be special to the recipient. Secondly, it can save you cash compared to an expensive store-bought present. Check out these 40 DIY gift ideas for inspiration.
Live by the 30-day rule
The 30-day rule is designed to bring impulse spending under control. If you’ve ever woken up on a Saturday morning and decided, out of the blue, that you need a new television set, then this is for you. The 30-day rule involves waiting a month between deciding you need to purchase said item and doing so. If you’ve still got the urge after a month, then you probably do need that item and can go and buy it, guilt free. Chances are though that the urge will have subsided, you’ll realise you were being silly and you’ll save yourself hundreds of dollars you didn’t really need to spend.
Turn off the lights
Electricity costs money so when you leave lights on when nobody is in a room or there is enough natural daylight to get by on, you are quite literally burning money. Turn off the lights unless they are really needed and watch your energy bills fall.
Pick up free samples of health and beauty products
From shampoos to makeup, there are a wealth of companies offering free samples of their latest health and beauty products for you to try which can save you money. There are even web pages such as Scamfreesamples which will do the hard work in listing currently running sample programs for you to take advantage of.
Cancel memberships you don’t need
If you’ve still got that gym membership you bought in January and had given up using by February, then cancel it. Go through your monthly outgoings and cut payments you are making for services you simply don’t need any more.
Entertain at home
Socializing can be an expensive activity. Whether it is going out for dinner with friends, beers with the boys or cocktails with the girls, going out for an evening isn’t cheap. Taking the party to your house can save money. Invite your guests over, encourage them to bring some drinks and you’ll be amazed at how much fun a game of cards, sitting out in the backyard in the summer or a move night can be – all while saving you cash.