15 Ways I’ve Saved Money This Year

I always have ambitious plans to add large amounts to my savings and it’s fair to say that it doesn’t often happen. But I do love saving money, and making any savings in day-to-day life, however small, always feels like a win. Here are some of the ways (15 to be exact) I succeeded in saving money this year.

Shopping:

1. I’ve been earning cashback by signing up to Top Cashback and also the cashback scheme with my bank account where cashback can be earned by spending at certain stores on my card. So far I’ve earned a total of £85 in free cash this year! The biggest payout was from a holiday booking, but I’ve also received payback on meals out, on clothes and makeup bought online (most retailers seem to be on Top Cashback) and most recently on a takeaway from Justeat.co.uk

2. I tend to spend more on outfits for special occasions than on everyday items, but then wear them much less! This makes no sense, so I’ve been trying to get more wear out of things I already own rather than buying new, including wearing an existing dress for a recent special event. That decision saved me at least £50 which I may well put towards a new winter coat – something that will get worn all season and be a much better investment!

3. I’m not a newspaper reader but a few weeks ago I bought 3 copies of The Sun because of their Morrisons voucher offer. One week they did £5 free fresh fruit and veg, and twice they have done £5 off fresh meat and fish with £10 spend (which is basically half price meat). I now keep my eye on sites http://www.hotukdeals.com/ and http://www.becleverwithyourcash.com/ for other deals like this!

4. I also benefited from the summer bonus scheme at Morrisons, where by spending £40+ on my weekly shop for four weeks (which was natural for me, I didn’t have to spend any extra) I got £15 off my shopping this week! Plus I also got a free card game out of it too!

Out and about:

5. I’ve been enjoying plenty of free days out, such as a visit to The Donkey Sanctuary in Manchester. The only money we spent was on some donkey treats to take with us, and it was an enjoyable afternoon full of donkey cuddles.

6. I’ve also been making the most of offers and vouchers so that expense doesn’t get in the way of going places. One example was a free experience day voucher that we got with a Phones 4U mobile contract. We redeemed it on a Clay Pigeon Shooting lesson for two and it turned into a nice day out in the countryside!

7. I also redeemed my Tesco clubcard points on a voucher for Bella Italia rather than using them in store. Instead of £5 off my shopping we got £20 off a meal out. It’s nice to be able enjoy a date night (which is a bit more of a luxury than the grocery shopping) without worrying about the cost.

8. Another offer I’ve made use of is signing up for the John Lewis membership card, which comes with vouchers for a free hot drink and cake in their cafe every month.

9. If I remember I always carry take a bottle of water out with me, saving me money on buying drinks when I’m out and about.

10. I always always have a plan of where I’m going to park – either for free or for the smallest cost possible.

And the rest:

11. Last week I picked heaps of (free) wild blackberries. Some went into a crumble at the time, but most of them are now in my freezer ready to be revived for bakes over the coming months.

12. I’ve mentioned this before but I’m still maintaining a Birthday card stash. It’s a fact that nice cards are not always expensive cards. But it’s also true that last-minute panic-bought cards often are!

13. My mini break cosmetic bag is full of freebie samples, which are the perfect size for a short break but didn’t cost me anything! These have come from goodie bags, stores handing them out, my dentist (toothpaste samples) and from keeping an eye on the money saving websites I mentioned earlier.

14. I’ve kept the cost of work lunches down by taking in my leftovers, homemade sandwiches, pots of granola with yoghurt and fruit and more.

15. I enjoy reading but not enough to spend a small fortune on books. So to avoid this I’ve been swapping books with friends and family, I’ve bought a few for 99p from charity shops, and most recently I’ve joined the library!

I hope you get some money-saving ideas from this post, and I’d love to hear some of yours!

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