4 Surprising Ways To Save in the New Year
Saving money is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions, but it’s also one of the most difficult. Not only is modern life expensive, it’s also filled with temptations that make it difficult to keep a tight hold on the purse strings.
But all hope is not lost –there are plenty of surprising ways to make significant savings that add up over time. These four top spend-proof tips will fit right into your routine and help you save those pennies for a sunny day
1. DIY
We all know that making things at home is a great way to cut back on costs.
And Christmas is a great opportunity to do-it-yourself! While you might argue it’s too late to start making this year’s decorations, and too early to be thinking about next year’s, bear in mind that many festive fanatics start planning sooner than the supermarkets, so it’s good to get a head start!
Making your own decorations can be done fairly easily without breaking the bank. Re-use household bits and pieces like empty jam jars (perfect for snow globes), or stockpile useful materials like old fabrics or glitter glue. And Ormiston Wire’s signature product has seen use many times in various crafts all year round – perfect for sleek minimalist festive themes.
2. Time is money!
We are all too guilty of paying through the nose for those little expenditures we might not have to if we planned ahead – buying a meal deal instead of bring your own lunch, or forking out for an Uber instead of leaving the house maybe twenty minutes earlier.
Planning ahead for these things takes up some of our time, true, but it costs handsomely in plenty of other ways. When you stop paying for convenience and spend a little extra time on the small stuff, the savings can really rack up.
3. Give something up
Often when we set ourselves the challenge of saving, we are too general in our aims, promising ourselves we’ll cut costs wherever we find them. In fact, it can be much easier to focus our saving efforts on just a few expenditures.
For instance, quitting smoking can yield huge savings, as well as health benefits. But your efforts don’t have to be that drastic. For instance, how many streaming services do you really need? How much do you pay for extra lives on Candy Crush? How much could you save by trying Dry January this year?
4. Motivate yourself
As previous mentioned, the aim of saving money often comes without any measurable goals or markers for success.
A great way to keep yourself on track and hold temptation at bay is to keep your savings in a separate account or even a jar in your home. Set yourself a figure to aim for – it could be the cost of a new outfit or gadget you want, or even just a nice number that’s relatively easy to aim for.
Follow these four tips for your thriftiest year yet, and watch the money roll in!