Five Simple Steps to Significant Savings

We all know that we should be putting aside an amount of money
each month and saving towards our futures – right?

Well, if you’re anything like I used to be you get to the end of
the month and the cupboard – or the bank account in this case -
is bare…if you’re lucky you just have enough to meet your
monthly bills but you certainly don’t have anything left to play
with.

Well – what if I told you that there were five very simple steps
that you – yes you – could take to cut your monthly outgoings,
increase your monthly income and thus free up money and create
an amount each month that could be squirreled away for a rainy
day?

Step One – Trim Everyday Expenses

We all have a mountain of essential payments that we must make
every month; these include all our utility bills, our car,
telephone, internet and even cable TV bills.

Although we’re all aware of these amounts draining our bank
account every month, few of us give a second thought to whether
we’re paying too much when often we actually are!

So, here are just a few things you could easily do to wipe off
significant amounts from those bills – amounts which will, over
time, compound to create a nice tidy little sum thank you!

Oh, and if you think about every bill you have I’m sure you’ll
come up with many creative ways to reduce all of them.

Your Utility bills – have you considered switching your
suppliers? Some suppliers in your area will be cheaper than
others and all should give you a free quotation of how much you
could be saving based on your previous month’s usage. You may
get a further discount if you pay each month by direct debit.

Be aware of the amount of energy you use – switch to energy
saver light bulbs, don’t put half a load of washing in the
machine, wash-up small amounts instead of using your dishwasher
every time and slowly but surely you’ll notice a significant
reduction in your overall bills.

Your Car – shop around for cheaper car insurance, combine chores
into one journey so that you drop the kids off on your way to
work and do your shopping on the way home. The more ‘extra’
journeys you can cut back on the lower your fuel bill, the less
often you’ll have to have your car serviced and the lower the
mileage on the car when you come to sell it.

Step Two – Cut Interest Payments

According to industry statistics, the average home owner in the
UK could reduce their annual mortgage payments by up to £1,600
by just re-mortgaging to a better deal. You need to examine the
options available to you!

Next look at your credit cards, store cards, loans and
overdrafts and check out the rates of interest you’re paying -
obviously the sooner you can pay off all debt and stop accruing
new debt the better, but in the meantime you should consider
switching to credit cards offering 0% on balance transfers,
consider switching to lenders offering lower interest rates on
loans and consider switching to a bank with lower account
charges for things like your overdraft.

Cut your interest payments right down and free up more cash!

Step Three – Rein in Extravagance

Trust me, I know that this is the least popular of all the steps
- but, do you really need that daily cappuccino from Starbucks,
could you live without that health club membership that you
hardly ever use, what about stopping smoking, cutting back on
alcohol consumption and spending a few more quiet nights in than
party nights out? If you can’t get rid of your satellite or
cable TV could you reduce the packages you subscribe to? If you
like to eat out could you reduce the number of times you do it
per week?

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that you should give up living
your life the way you like it, I’m just suggesting that you
could maybe trim a little off the load and live life today
whilst at the same time saving for your life tomorrow.

Step Four – Stop Making Bad Investments

There are so many poor performing, rubbish returning, invisible
interest paying savings policies out there that banks and
financial advisers push upon us that it’s just not funny!

Yet at the same time there are some fantastic inflation proofing
safer alternatives that could just net you a nice rate of
interest too. You need to look around a little, use the internet
as a good starting point and find out what the banks and
financial institutions are offering. And if you’re saving money
make sure you’re saving tax too – ISA and pension payments can
be made tax free!

Oh, and when it comes to insurances – from car, health, home
contents and even life insurance – shop around, shop around,
shop around! Big name brokers often cost far more and if you buy
your home contents and life insurance all in when you get your
mortgage be prepared to pay way over the odds!

Step Five – Add Income Strings to Your Bow

Are you entitled to any tax credits, child payments or other
benefits? If you’re entitled you should be claiming what’s
rightfully yours! Could you, your partner or your teenage
children be contributing a little more to the monthly pot by
taking on a part time job, doing extra shifts or working the odd
weekend?

Think as creatively as possible and make good use of any extra
time and energy you have to boost your family’s income…you might
even be able to earn extra income from doing the things you love
- maybe you could teach an evening class in something you
specialize in, maybe you could sell arts and crafts you make as
a hobby or perhaps you could just baby-sit your friends
children?

Just remember that there are many options available to you and
that every single step you take towards reducing your outgoings
or maximizing your income will be a step towards a more secure
financial future for you and your family.

Good luck!