Lots of us pay our council tax over 10 months which means that we have a two-month break from paying every year in February and March. Today I’m going to share a few ideas on what to do with the extra money you’ll find yourself with over the next two months…
First of all, I’m going to tell you what I’m planning on spending mine on and because that’s not too money saving, I’ve asked some of the UK Money Bloggers to save the day and share their ideas which are much better than mine if you want to do something sensible with your money.
So, me first then? If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that Miss Frugal and I go somewhere on holiday together for a few days every year around April time and have done since she was about ten. The money I save on council tax over this next two months goes straight into my holiday fund to pay towards our annual trip together.
Not the most sensible use of the money but that’s how we try and pay for our trips – where we can save money in some areas we put it towards the fun stuff we like to do – like holidays!
But like I say, that’s not necessarily the best use of money and I get that you might want to do something more sensible with your extra pennies so I asked the lovely UK Money Bloggers to share some much more sensible uses for the money:
Katy from Katy Kicker
Buy a TV licence for the year. You’ll have one less direct debit then.
Top up the gas/electricity accounts after the coldest months. This could avoid your monthly direct debit increasing unexpectedly.
Buy BT line rental for a year to save money. This saves money over the year, and gets you one month’s line rental for free per 12 months.
Joseph from ThriftyChap
I always try and put one months worth away into savings or if we haven’t booked summer holiday, it goes towards that. The other month goes on car service & MOT as that’s due one of the months we don’t pay. Very glam!
Fiona from Savvy in Somerset
I think the money saved could be a great gateaway to a decent Emergency Fund. These are something people often want to have but if money is already tight they struggle to get started with. Having £300 already in there could be a great way to get going without feeling like your not getting anywhere by only saving £5 or £10 a week (which might not seem worth it) Hopefully starting with a large a large amount would spur people on to keep adding to it.
Charlotte from Charlotte Musha
I save it to put into our car fund, for things like new tyres or engine check up , the things that crop up that might not be a regular yearly thing! Or…. It is a nice chunk to be able to do a wardrobe update, replace the items that are getting overly worn like boots or jackets
Clare from My Money Cottage
Our council tax is just under £130 per month. We use February’s money for our youngest’s birthday and then any we haven’t spend plus March’s money goes in our Christmas fund.
Pete from Household Money Saving
I put mine into an account and save it for my car tax (which is due in April). If it’s not one tax, it’s another!
Emma from The Money Whisperer
A nice little top up to either your ISA or pension as a one off contribution
Charlotte from Shoestring Chic
We tend to put ours into our Christmas fund.
Faith from Much More with Less
I cut the cost of my smartphone by buying a handset, and then paying for a SIM-only deal every month. By choosing a model that is a couple of years old, this saves shedloads compared to an expensive contract for the latest all-singing, all-dancing phone. Only trouble is, you need enough money up front to afford the mobile in the first place. A month or two of Council Tax money would be more than enough to buy a handset outright, allowing you to save on your monthly mobile bills for years to come!
Kaye from Earning by the Sea
I’ve allocated this to my matched betting fund which will help me to increase my ongoing earnings.
Jen from My Mummy’s Pennies
It could be a great way of spending out to make your home work more efficiently, such as investing in a hive or similar smart energy system to save money throughout the year.
Andy from Be Clever with your Cash
If you leave it in your bank it could get eaten up by normal spending. So move it to a different account, and look for one with the best interest rates. You can get 5% at Nationwide for one year on balances up to £2,500. How you use it is up to you!
Jane from Shoestring Cottage
As we are revamping our sitting room the extra money is earmarked for that. Otherwise it would be straight in the contingency fund. I suspect for many people, living pay cheque to pay cheque, it will just be absorbed into daily living.
Lynn from Mrs Moneypenny
Our council tax is £190 per month. So we save it for our house and car insurance both due in March/April. If we pay them in one go we avoid the extra insurance tax you pay when paying monthly.
Emily from A Thrifty Fox
Ours is going towards a holiday cottage. It’s £370 across both months so will almost pay for it outright. Nectar points and other gift cards will fund the rest.
Sara from Debt Camel
If you are in a financial mess, your first thought needs to be to pay off any priority debts (rent/mortgage arrears, utility bills, parking tickets etc) or very difficult debts such as Amigo loans, logbook loans or Brighthouse. Next in priority is the very high interest debt such as catalogues or Vanquis-style bad credit cards. After that, you could just pay a chunk of a credit card or perhaps save it up as the start of an emergency fund.
Becky from Baby Budgeting
To be honest Cass the extra saving pays off what we OVER spent at Christmas so it is very hand. I’d always say to people get any debts paid off first it makes the treats so much sweeter.
Michelle from Time and Pence
We always get both of our cars serviced in February so we don’t have to find the money each year it just works out smoothly with the spare cash.
Kerry from Moneysaving Journeys
It goes into our holiday fund but to specifically be used for meals out whilst away.
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