Today, I’m sharing five things you can cut from your budget to save BIG!
1. Subscriptions
This is kind of an obvious one but if you go through your bank statement with a fine tooth comb, I bet you’ll find a subscription or two that you can cancel. Lots of us have them whether it’s Netflix, Apple Music, a gym, a magazine subscription or one of any numerous other things that you pay on a regular basis.
It’s so easy to sign up for things these days with a handy ‘pay monthly’ option that makes something so much more attractive than if you were paying it in a one-off chunk. That’s why I’m pretty sure that most people will have something that they’re paying for monthly that they don’t really need anymore.
In the last year or so, I’ve cancelled our English Heritage membership because I didn’t feel like we were getting our money’s worth any longer now that the kids are older. I’ve also cancelled Miss Frugal’s gym membership which was quite cheap as our council are quite good and subsidise kids memberships but she just wasn’t using it so even at a much-reduced price, it wasn’t worthwhile so I cancelled it.
2. Cut your shopping budget by 20%
You knew I’d have to get meal planning in here somewhere, didn’t you?
Work out what you spent on your grocery shopping last month and set yourself a target of spending 20% less next month. I guarantee it won’t be as hard as you think as you can use the store’s own brands, be clever with your meal planning and use up what you have in as much as possible. Plus if you’re motivated by targets and goals then you’ll work even harder to make sure you stay within your new reduced budget.
If you currently spend £500 a month then you’re reducing your spend down to £400 which is really do-able, I promise. A saving of £100 is a huge amount so it’s worth a good go if nothing else.
You might find it easier to track if you withdraw the cash you plan to spend on payday and keep it separate from the rest of your spends for the month.
3. Cleaning products
It seems to me that lots of people who are fans of the latest cleaning phase on social media seem to think they need different (often relatively expensive) cleaning products for just about every cleaning job in the home. Honestly, their cupboard under the sink must be about to explode with all the different products, cleaning cloths and sprays that they’ve bought to clean with.
Trust me when I tell you that you absolutely do not need to buy all these different products and you could easily make a few of your own products that will do just as good a job. All of my homemade cleaning products are cheap to make, use household ingredients and do a great job.
4. Entertainment
Do you need your cable package AND Netflix AND Apple Music AND anything else you pay for each month for entertainment purposes? Is there something you can drop?
I’m going to hold my hands up here and say that I do have all three and have no plans to cancel but I’m comfortable with that – I know that I could drop channels from my cable package with Virgin Media, I could do without Netflix if I needed to save money and the Apple Music is primarily for the kids and I won’t be paying that forever.
It’s definitely worth a look to see if you have anything that you can cancel or at least reduce to a lower tier so you pay less each month if you want to cut back and save big!
5. Treats for the kids
I feel like this is a controversial one but I wanted to highlight it anyway because keeping the kids entertained can be a costly drain on your budget.
A once a week trip to the local soft play centre might only cost £3 but when you add on the costs of the drinks you’ll probably buy for you and the kids, the snacks you might buy there it can easily work out to £40 a month. When you also factor in the fact that no parent actually enjoys a visit to the soft play it makes me wonder why I took ever mine along when they were younger as they would have enjoyed a free trip to the park just as much.
Another idea here would be to keep some of the kid’s favourite foodie treats in your bag for when you’re out and about so if they ask for a treat you can whip them out.
Basically, have a think about the things you spend money on for the kids and see if they’re necessary or if there’s an alternative. I’m not saying don’t give them treats at all, just to be more intentional about what you do give them.
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