Spring clean your domestic finances. With Spring just around the corner it may be wise to review your home outgoings to see if you are able to save a few pennies. Under the current economic climate everything is increasing in price, over a wide range of life’s necessities. In this week’s Quick Property Sale blog we dive into possible ways to, hopefully, give you some ideas on how to reduce your home expenses by Spring cleaning your domestic finances.
There are many ways to save money (far too many to note in this article), especially if you budget better, but the most efficient route to become financially healthier is to list all of your finances to scrutinise. By reviewing each expense individually, you can see whether it can be changed to a cheaper product or supplier. Even extra luxuries, for example Sky TV, could be cancelled or postponed until your expenses are more fluid. Even if you are in arrears with your household budget you can still turn this around with careful planning.
Let’s take a look at a collection of money saving tips to polish up your cash-flow:
Use price comparison websites
Shop around: Price comparison websites allow you to compare a range of financial products/offers and lets you choose the best deal for your circumstances. Whether you need broadband, home insurance or utility energy suppliers, time spent upfront pays back great dividends with possible savings.
Reduce your energy bill
Turn off any lights: Cutting down on your home energy bill takes discipline to change the family household habits. Home radiators also contribute to hefty bills, intentionally turn down the thermostat to cut your energy costs and watch your outgoings decrease. Obviously, good property insulation helps retain heat inside your home too.
New mobile phone, a new tariff?
Is your mobile a fashion accessory or a day-to-day tool? Be mindful of costs, you can keep your old phone and purchase a sim-only contract. Surprisingly they can be cheap at approximately £12 a month. If you are paying over the odds for your mobile phone contract, and want a new phone, then it is time to surf online for a more realistic deal. Try comparison websites – it’s defiantly worth a peek!
Transfer your credit card debt
Shrink your debts: if you are making large interest payments on credit cards, it might make financial sense to transfer it all onto a 0% balance credit card. These c/c deals do not usually charge any interest on transferred debts for a fixed term, although when the promotion expires the % reverts to the cards standard APR. All you need to do is diarise when this happens to move the debt to another 0% card. Alternatively, amalgamate all your finances by consolidating them into a low-cost personal loan.
Use Cash back websites
How do these cash back sites work? When you purchase something online, rather than go through a mainstream company use a cash back site that will give you % cash back for using them as an affiliate partner. There is a spectrum and variety of suppliers, so not saving money is not really an excusable excuse. The money saved from buying groceries is pennies but could be more than £100 for larger items.
You will have to sign up to the cash back website, which is normally free, although sometimes you may need to pay an annual subscription. Simply, log in and search for the online retailer you want to buy from (if it is listed), click the cash back website link to visit that company, your visit is then tracked. When you make a purchase an amount is put into your cash back site account, once the transaction is confirmed, and processed for payment you can withdraw the cash back once it arrives, however, sometimes this can take a few weeks, or even months. At the end of the day it all amounts up over a year to become, potentially, a cute bonus.
Sign up for loyalty cards
Nowadays, it’s a slightly old fashioned hook, but still a good incentive for most consumers. There are a host of supermarkets, clothing retailers and restaurants that reward customers by allowing them to build up points every time they make a purchase with them. These points can be converted into money off vouchers or discounts against future purchases.
Make money from your vacant parking spaces
There are plenty of websites that allow you to rent out your garage or empty driveway to motorists needing a place to park for ad-hoc visits, such as concerts or regular commuters. Check out one such supplier here. You usually pay a one-off registration fee to have your empty space advertised; the cost of leasing a space is down to the owner’s discretion.
Drastic measures
Although, it might be considered slightly drastic to consider downsizing your home to reduce your outgoings, it could help resolve many problems for you. Often, people think of relocating to a smaller home when they face the threat of repossession. Moving can also be a great saving strategy and free up money for investments or a better quality of life. For example, moving to a cheaper property could help you play catch-up with your pension or debt arrears. Alternatively, some people temporarily move into their parent’s house to save money and while they rent out their family home. While we are on the subject of ‘downsizing’ – if you find you cannot make a house quick sale, why not call us for a chat? Maybe we can help market your property or buy it from you. Yes, here is another plug, and we do admit to it, try property for quick sale if you need a quick sales property to sell. What a mouth full.
Remortgaging?
If your fixed term home mortgage product deal has expired you may find it will revert to a higher rate of interest, which could add up to over £1000 a year. So, contact your mortgage broker or current lender about remortgaging to get the best deal for now, which should save you money.
And for the end bit
Don’t stop your spring clean! Keeping your finances in order all year round could add up to less stress, and financial outlay, just by putting in a little effort. Learning how to get your finances under control takes time so adopt a checklist, tackle each problem one by one, and you will soon see a notable difference in your monthly spending.
We hope this blog has been of some use to you, albeit, a short varied cross section of tips. In our next blog (part 2) we will cover how to save on food and clothing purchases. See you then.