You don’t have to pick up a newspaper or turn on the news to know that we are living in tough economic times right now. Everything seems to be going up in price from your heating and broadband bills to the groceries that you buy every week. Here are six, easy to implement tips for saving money during these difficult days.
1. Renegotiate. Your energy, phone and broadband bills have probably gone up in recent weeks/months. This is your cue to ring your provider and check to see what deals you could be missing out on. If you’re one of those people who pay your bills on time and rarely, if ever, talk to your providers, now is definitely the time to do so. Think about it, if you’re stuck on an old rate and are not asking for a reduction, chances are, they won’t be ringing you to give you one. Ask them when your contract is up and then ask for a reduction in your rate. If they don’t give you one, then shop around and find someone else that will. If you don’t ask, you won’t receive!
2. Cancel those subscriptions. Check and see what money is going out of your account every month and decide if you really need all those subscriptions. During the covid lockdowns it’s fair to say we were all subscribing to the various TV services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus, but how often do you use them and can you really afford to be paying out that money every month?
3. Leave the car at home. There’s never been a better or more appropriate time to start thinking about alternatives to driving. Did you know that in Germany, more people use public transport than cars? And in Paris France, they have banned cars from the city centre. If you live within a reasonable walking distance (3-5km) from your work or the shops, you should definitely consider walking/cycling or taking the bus/train. Bus costs have been reduced in recent months so it’s now a much better option than driving. You will immediately save on petrol and parking costs.
4. Shop around. When you ask yourself “how can I save money on shopping”, the answer is more obvious than you think. Supermarkets have to increase their prices now, that’s just an unfortunate fact, but they’re not all reducing the same things at the same times. They know that they need to attract customers in somehow so pay attention to special deals and offers and shop around. Sadly, the days of doing your shopping in the same supermarket are now over.
5. Coupons. We should be learning from the Americans here. They are always couponing and saving hundreds each year. Be honest with yourself, do you look at all the shopping apps and pay attention to the deals they offer? You probably don’t but definitely should. As well as getting money-off vouchers, there are always weekly savings to be had on individual items. It just makes sense!
6. Only pay for what you use. Pay as you go services are still the best ways to save money and encourage frugality. The BIGbin is a pay as you go waste service so if you find that you’re not generating enough waste each week to justify the expense of a weekly bin collection, think about disposing of your rubbish, only when you need to. Dumping two black sacks of rubbish costs just €8 in a BIGbin (and €5 for recycling), and that could save you a heap of money in the long run. Find your nearest BIGbin here:https://bigbin.ie/locations/
