SPRING-cleaning your finances gives your cash a chance to grow and can be a major boost if you’re feeling the pinch from the higher cost of living.
Gemma Bird, known as Money Mum on Instagram, says making small changes to your spending add up and can leave you with spare money to squirrel away.
At just 41, the mum of two is mortgage and debt-free. Gemma lives in Essex with her house husband Adam, 49, and their children Brody, 11, and Bronte, five, and shares her money saving advice online.
In her first book, Money Mum Official: Save Yourself Happy, she reveals her top money tips.
Gemma says: “I’ve always been a saver. As a little girl, I saved pennies in an empty coffee jar and loved seeing the amount increase. By the time I was 23, I had three jobs. I was really disciplined and saved up to 80 per cent of my wages each month.
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“I’ve never minded missing out on things if I cannot afford them, and would only ever do things if I had the money available.
“I’ve always been that person at the end of the night who works out the bill and only pays for what she had — sorry about that.
“Saving isn’t just about what’s coming in, it’s also about what’s going out. Once you realise this, it’s like a lightbulb coming on.
“Make that mental switch in your mind now, and you’ll start noticing how you can save money pretty much every day, and everywhere you go.”
Here, Gemma gives her top tips on how best to refresh your budget.
- Extracted from Money Mum Official – Save Yourself Happy, Your Ultimate Money Tips Guide by Gemma Bird (Hamlyn, £12.99), out now.
BE A SAVVY SHOPPER
I ALWAYS make sure I’ve got the best deal before I buy anything — I never buy on impulse.
I save searches for all my favourite brands on eBay, so I can buy pieces secondhand.
I snapped up my cherished Gucci handbag from a designer outlet shopping village for a third of the retail price.
I’m also a fan of fashion rental schemes that are available now — such as By Rotation or Hurr — and especially if there’s a wedding or a special occasion coming up.
CHECK SUBSCRIPTIONS
DO you know how many subscriptions you have going out of your account?
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Not just things like gym membership or your TV package, but all the apps you pay for monthly.
Unless the service is essential, a subscription is the definition of money for old rope.
Look at all your subs and add up how much you are spending every month on them. Now cancel some of them.
You can always sign up again if you find you miss them but I have a hunch you won’t.
HAVE A ‘MAKE MONEY’ DAY
FINDING the time and motivation to sell your unwanted items can be hard, so that’s why I invented my Make Money Day.
All you do is choose a day of the week and list five items to sell. It could be on eBay, Gumtree or Facebook – there are loads of apps now, for specific things like vintage clothes.
Start by doing it one day a month then increase it to one day a week.
THE FOOD SHOP
JUST by thinking a little bit smarter about your weekly supermarket shop, you can shave a handy sum off your outlay.
Try these simple things next time and see how much you can save . . .
Plan your meals and write a shopping list for what you need. Stick to this, and don’t buy anything that isn’t on the list.
Do remember that meat and fish are expensive nowadays, so try to plan to have some vegetarian meals as well.
Try shopping at the end of the day, when stores are marking items down.
Look at the price per 100g, not the item price, to better compare costs.
Buy your fruit and vegetables loose. Pre-packaged ones can sometimes cost you twice as much.
NO-SPEND DAYS
THIS is simple — just don’t spend any money for a day. Give yourself an easy start by doing it once a week.
If you’re hanging out with friends, go to each other’s house rather than meet in town where you’ll spend money.
If you’re doing something with the kids, it has to be free, like going to the park or doing drawing at home.
Take your own coffee instead of going to a cafe. Even food shopping is out — instead, be creative with what you already have in the cupboard.
It’s amazing to see how resourceful you can be if you need to be.
To take my No Spend Day to the next level, you can add up all the money you have saved by not spending — then put it into your savings account.
SAVE MONEY EVERY DAY
LOOK at your bank balance daily and, whatever the last bit of the figure, move it to your savings.
So if there’s £208 in your current account, transfer £8. If the next day there’s £54, move another £4.
You may save £30 or £40 a week without missing it.
There are also bank accounts and apps to automatically help you save. For example, the Plum app analyses your spending and what you can afford to put aside, before moving money to your savings every four or five days.
TRACK YOUR SPENDING
A SPENDING tracker is easy to set up and you only have to do it once. When it’s up and running, you’ll want to use it more and more.
1. Write down all your expected monthly outgoings in one column — mortgage, bills, food shop, pension, everything.
2. In another column, write down what you have got coming in that month — wages, any tax credits, refunds you might be expecting, birthday money, a bonus and so on.
3. Add up your outgoings then your income. Subtract your outgoings from your income and see what you have left.
4. This figure is what you need to keep at the front of your mind when you are about to buy yourself a new top or an overpriced hot dog at the cinema. It’s not about how much the item costs, it’s about whether or not you can afford it.
