Christmas and summer holiday spending takes a heavy toll on the bank balance, but there are many ways you can get back on track for a fresh financial start to 2018.
Here are 10 tips to save swiftly:
- Subscribe to a market research company and get paid to fill out questionnaires or attend focus groups. Some of them offer up to $200 if you travel to one of their panels.
- Shop around for a new savings/deposit account. You may discover that some banks are willing to entice you with a bonus interest rate. Canstar’s comparisons will help reveal all.
- Put those coupons to good use. Don’t throw away shop dockets until you have scoured the flipside for handy discount offers.
- Don’t wait any longer. Energy companies are clambering to offer cheaper electricity prices to win you over. Check them out.
- If you forgot to spring clean, now is the time to declutter cupboards and drawers and begin listing them on eBay or Gumtree. One person’s trash is another’s treasure.
- Try to put off upgrading an appliance until you spot a good deal. By following your favourite retailers on Twitter and Facebook, you will be the first to know of new deals.
- Do you need to refresh your summer wardrobe? Take a day trip to an upmarket seaside suburb and scour the op-shops. Many people on vacation at their holiday homes periodically donate last year’s fashions to charity retailers.
- When you discover that one of your non-perishable staples is on special at the supermarket, buy as much of it as you can and stockpile it for savings into the future.
- An upscale version of a coin jar, the $5 wallet will have you saving up from your change in no time. Each time you get your hands on a $5 note, set it aside in a wallet you no longer use and watch it fatten over time.
- Another easy way to see the cash pile up is to establish a second savings account at your bank and organise a regular direct deposit from your transaction account, say for $25 a week. After 12 months, you will have saved $1300.
What are your favourite tips for saving money? Do you set yourself a savings target at the start of the year? Have you ever surprised yourself by how much money you can accumulate with a couple of savings tricks?
Related articles:
High-interest savings accounts
Saving up for a holiday
Budget friendly savings tips
