10 WAYS TO SAVE MONEY

Going on maternity leave & having to live off one wage is TERRIFYING! Evie was unexpected. We hadn't saved for a baby. My partner was doing backbreaking hours to try & boost our funds. I made it my mission to cut back on our expenditure & we ended up saving £1000's a year. 

SAVINGS: £80 A MONTH
This was the BEST way to save money on grocery shopping. It saves a lot of stress on deciding what to eat each night. We've saved over £20 a week by meal planning. This might not seem like a lot but £80 a month & £1000 a year makes that number sound a lot nicer.

Plan what you'd like for lunch & dinner for the week & write a shopping list that includes just those ingredients you need to meet your meal plan. Even better, shop online! This will stop you from picking up those snacky goods that cost more than you think. It's a good idea to make sure you do include a couple of snacks or else you'll end up going to the shop in the week & splurging.

  

I made this print out for my family. We laminated it & wipe it off & reuse it every week. It's a great way to stop me adding too much to the trolley & ending up with a big bill & food waste at the end of the week.

2. MEATLESS MONDAYS
SAVINGS: £40 A MONTH
Meat & fish are so expensive! If you haven't heard of 'Meatless Mondays' before, you need to try it. My family loves meat & it took us a couple of weeks to adjust to having just one meal without meat, but now we love the challenge of discovering & making new dishes. You could even make it into a fun date night challenge! This small change has saved us such a big amount on our food shop bill. Join in on twitter or pinterest with #meatlessmondays to share your meal ideas & to find more in return. 

SAVINGS: £80 A MONTH
I spend no more than £30 a week on food for two adults & a toddler. There have been times (when I haven't needed to stock up on the staple ingredients) where this has been £20. Before I made meal plans this would be £50 or above.

We made the switch from Tesco to Lidl (although Aldi is great too). You'd be AMAZED at how much better value for money the food is & yet it still has amazing quality. Especially the fruit, vegetables & meat. Set yourself a limit each week & challenge yourself to make it. You'll find yourself cutting back on those things you really don't need.

SAVINGS: £100 A MONTH
We put in petrol once a week & make it a mission to last us the week. It really has affected how efficiently we both drive. We're more mindful of the journey's we take & don't use the car for journey's we could easily walk. Jamie has even started car pooling to work when he can.

SAVINGS: £500+ A YEAR
Don't let companies GUESSTIMATE! We saved the £100's, by changing from quarterly bills to monthly direct debits. Monthly payments work out much cheaper & submitting monthly meter readings means NO SURPRISE BILLS! Sounds like hassle? There are apps that make it as quick & easy as sending a text. Go paperless. It'll save you a few £'s a month.

I made my family a quick look page (I've included an example below) so that we know how much we're paying for each bill. We set up online accounts for everything so we can easily access it & manage it if we need to & can contact them without searching through paperwork.

SAVINGS: £40 A MONTH
Do you really need to upgrade your phone at the end of your contract? There are some great sim only deals from as little as £3.99 a month! Between my partner & I we spend £85 a month on our iPhones. My contract finishes in June & I'll save us nearly £40 a month by switching. They're usually contract free, so if you do really want that new handset, you have no ties. Look HERE for some great Sim only deals.

SAVINGS: £AS MUCH AS YOU CAN AFFORD A MONTH
This is the fun most rewarding way to save money! A financial advisor once said to me: 

'Do you pay yourself?'

We've all had those times when we've had a big unexpected bill come out & have nothing left for ourselves. Setting up a savings or separate account & paying yourself a bit every month guarantees that you have some funds for a rainy day, money to treat yourself with, or at least some savings behind you. It's just as important to pay yourself as it is to pay your water bill. You'll thank yourself in the long run. 

SAVINGS: WHAT YOU'D SPEND INSTEAD ON PAID DAYS
For example, you can easily turn a simple walk in the woods into a fun day out. Why not write an 'I SPY' list for your little ones & get them to find all of the items as you're walking around or even a treasure hunt game where they need to find & collect certain coloured leaves or stones. 

Geocaching is a great free thing to do with older kids, your friends or your other half. If you haven't heard of it, you'd be surprised how many hidden treasures are all around you. Google is your best friend for finding free things to do in your area. Click HERE to find out more about it.

SAVINGS: £50 A MONTH
There are some great deals on boxes & multi-packs of items you regularly use. from nappies & wipes, to washing powder. It is so much cheaper than buying small packs weekly. If storage is an issue, then turn to pinterest of ikea for some amazing creative storage solutions. We've saved nearly £50 a month on baby essentials by bulk buying.

SAVINGS: £1500 A YEAR+
I've saved over £1500 a year by changing my home providers. Comparison websites are your new best friend. You're probably paying way more than you need to for your gas/electric/internet/home insurance. It only took me a couple of hours to shop around & save this much. Click HERE to get started.

Have you got some great ways to save money for your family? 


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