5 simple tricks everyone can do to save money

This is a guest post

We live in a world full of consumerism, and everyone always seems to be competing with one another, to one-up them on the latest gadgets and tech. But what if I told you, that in the grand scheme of things, no one really cares that you have the latest iPhone, or the newest car – all you are doing is creating a gaping hole in your wallet, and selling your time for depreciating assets. What you need is a strong portfolio of investments, and the first step in getting there is to save your money! That’s why I’m coming to you today with 5 simple tricks everyone can do to save money!

Hi, my name is Jack and I am predominantly a finance blogger, where I cover all things saving and investing – I can teach you how to save your money, and then what to do with it to make sure that you can retire from your monotonous 9-5, ten years ahead of the crowd!

If you’re looking for something a little closer to home, then make sure you check out Lauren’s post, where she helps you get one step ahead, and make sure your money is in order for the year!

Without further delay, let’s get into the 5 simple tricks everyone can do to save money!

Pay off debts

This may sound counter intuitive, and if it does, that’s exactly where the problem starts! Debts, such as the ones you can accrue on credit cards, have an outrageous interest rate on them (the average is around 18%).

If you are not familiar with the financial term compounding, then I suggest you click this link to educate yourself on the topic! Compounding, when working with you, is miraculous, it works wonders, it generates unimaginable wealth – it’s fantastic. However, when it is working against you, it is downright awful!

In a nutshell, compounding is ‘interest on interest’, but if you want to learn more, I highly suggest you click the above link to do so.

Let’s have a working example.

If you have a debt of £1,000 on a credit card, and your interest rate is 20%, and you left it unpaid, this is what would happen…

It would grow, dramatically.

It’s not linear growth either, it’s exponential. Now you can imagine when that’s working in your favour, you will generate masses of wealth, but as you can see, when it’s against you, it’s crippling!

The lesson? PAY OFF YOUR DEBTS!

Pay annually

Ever had that feeling when your car or house insurance is up for renewal? ‘Great, another bill’.

Get it paid off there and then, don’t sit on a revolving bill that comes around every month. Paying for it monthly, leads to you paying a lot more over the 12 month period, and not only this, but it’s one less bill to worry and think about every month.

Mortgage, utilities and everything else is enough. Why add another to the mix that could very easily be paid off there and then, and in doing so, save yourself a fair amount too!

Shop around

Circling back to the likes of car and house insurances, make sure that when they are up for renewal, you shop around.

Your current provider will more often than not send you an auto-renewal quote, and it’s always higher than what it was the first year you bought a premium with them. You then go through the rigmarole of calling them up, spending about 27 hours on hold and then eventually getting through to a robot, all to question why the premium has gone up.

Then miraculously out of thin air, they pull a quote out of thin air that’s masses below what the initial quote was! ‘Oh, actually sir, we can provide you with our service for this…’.

Don’t do it to yourself, disable auto-renew when you take out the insurance premium, and when it comes to the end of your 12 months, shop around.

For insurances, I always use Compare The Market, they make it easy to compare quotes from hundreds of providers, and you can pick the one that best suits you.

For utilities, I will usually use Which Best Buy, they run their magic and every year they will provide you with what is the best provider. For the last couple of years, the best provider has been Octopus Energy, and that is who I am with!

Learn basic skills

My favourite on this list of 5 simple tricks everyone can do to save money, why? Because it’s hands on. I’m a craftsman by trade, so I like getting stuck in to DIY jobs around the house.

I work in the transmission and distribution of electricity, so because of my knowledge of electricity, I find the electrical jobs round the house a doddle, but all the other stuff I do, I had to learn one way or another! When I say basic, I don’t mean learn how to tile a roof, or how to fit lintels around your window frames.

Some of the jobs, everyone should be able to do, if you want to save easy money as opposed to getting a labourer in to do it for you, include:

• Wiring a plug,
• Adding new electrical outlets,
• Fitting light fixtures,
• Plumbing radiators,
• Fixing internal leaks,
• Gardening,
• Landscaping,
• Appliance repairs,

This is just to name a few. Go down to your local DIY store and buy a 100 in 1 tool set and that will give you all of the basics, now find a YouTube tutorial and get stuck in!

Change your supermarket

It’s no secret that some supermarkets are so much more expensive than what they need to be, and, so much more expensive than others! I live, breathe and swear by Aldi!

I created a comparison for a somewhat typical weekly or fortnightly shop in Aldi, and then I built the exact same basket on Tesco, who are arguably the biggest and most well-known supermarket chain in the U.K.

Like I said, I then created the exact same basket on Tesco, and the results are mind-blowing!

The difference? £27.87!

If that’s per shop, and that shop is conducted every two weeks for a year, you would be looking at savings of £724.62! Just imagine what more you could be doing with that money…and no I don’t mean spending it, I mean investing it.

Impressed? I rest my case!

What next?

So now you’re getting your feet wet with learning how to save your money here and there, and now you are wondering what to do with all of this newly acquired money, and you want to do something with it fast before you end up spending it elsewhere.

Like I mentioned, I am a finance blogger and cover all things saving and investing, so head on over, browse around and see what you can find, that will help you to create a platform of wealth that will last for generations!

Final thoughts

These are just 5 simple tricks that everyone can do to save money, but there are so many more that you can be doing. If you start to lead and live a frugal life, then it’s only a matter of time before you realise that you no longer desire all of those materialistic items that you once wanted.

“Change what you look at, give it some time, then look at what’s changed” – Jack, just now.

You will then seek out more for what you can be doing with your money. There is nothing more powerful than using the money you have, to generate more money, by doing absolutely nothing, and that is exactly what you will get by investing!

I hope you all enjoyed what I had to say, and most importantly found it useful. If you are unsure of anything, or there is any more that I can help you with, then please feel free to get in touch and I will be happy to help!

Take care all!

-Jack