The cost of living crisis has had a serious impact on many people’s lives, whether it’s the cost of rent, fuel, food, energy or general expenses increasing. It can be really overwhelming to know where to start, so we are here with some very achievable things you can implement into your daily routine to help you save money and take control of your finances.
The first thing that you need to do to help you navigate the cost of living crisis is to be realistic about your finances. When you ignore your financial situation, it makes things a whole lot worse. So, sit down with a notepad and look at all of your different bank accounts, what you have, and what you owe. Write down how much money you have, or how much debt you are in. From here, you can start to make sensible decisions about the next best step.
For example, if you’re in debt and know that it's unrealistic you’ll be able to pay it back, you may need to seek IVA advice to break down the cost into something more manageable. Or, you might have some spare money overall that could be used to pay off debts in another account. Once you know exactly where you are, it will make things so much easier, including our next step.
Now that you know how much money you have and what you need to work towards paying off, you can create a strict budget. Write down all of your essential expenses first, such as your rent, all of your bills, debt repayments etc (it’s important to consider debt repayments as absolutely essential, it shouldn’t be questioned). Then, write down essentials that you have control over the cost of, such as food shops, toiletries, cleaning supplies, essential clothes, etc. You can analyze each of these outcomes to see where you could save money, such as switching to own brands, for example. Once you know what you absolutely need to spend, you will be able to see what you have leftover. This can go towards savings, going out with friends, holidays, that kind of thing. It might be that you don’t have the money for those things just now, but getting out of debt and taking control will be worth the sacrifice for a few months.
A really easy thing you can do to save a significant amount of money is to avoid small food shops. When you nip to an “express” type shop after work, even if they’re connected to a larger supermarket, usually the prices are significantly increased and can be quite ridiculous! It might not seem like you’re spending that much because it's only £20 here and there, but it will add up to be so much more than if you did one big shop at a more affordable supermarket.
So, sit down on a Sunday morning and plan out what you have on that week. Then, decide what you will be having for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. Write down everything you will need, then go to the supermarket and pick up everything you need. Not only will this save you so much money, but also a lot of time and you will reduce your food waste! This will take about 30 minutes maybe, but you will more than make up for that time when you’re cutting out your trips to the shop 2-3 times a week.
Another thing you can do to save money is batch cook meals. When you’re making your meal plan above, try to incorporate a few batch cooked meals. These could be things that you throw in the slow cooker at the start of the day, or simply cook in a big batch. Things like bolognese, soups, curries, stews, chilli and ratatouille are all great meals to cook in bulk. We understand you might not want to eat the same meal for five days of the week, so all you need to do is freeze what you don’t eat into small portions, then you can start to build up stock in the freezer. You could make a big batch of chilli, then have chilli once a week for the next 5 weeks, for example.
You will save a significant amount of money, particularly on your energy bills, as rather than switching on different appliances all the time, you will only need to do it once and get 6 meals out of it. You’ll also reduce your food waste too, which is great. Start by doing this twice a week and you will see how much it saves and how much easier it makes life!
Last but not least, the cost of fuel has gone up, so it may be worth looking at different transport methods if you currently rely on your car. The cost of your car really adds up when you take into account fuel, the cost of the car itself, insurance, services etc. So, perhaps you could take public transport to work a few days a week if there are affordable options near you (the bus tends to be best, as train prices have increased a lot and are quite unreliable). Maybe someone you work with lives nearby and you could carpool. This one will be highly reliant on your job, how far you have to travel and what access you have to public transport, so we’re simply saying consider your different options and see if there’s a way you can save some money!
