Money Saving Tips!

One of my FAQ’s is ‘how did you afford that’ whenever my backpacking trips come up in conversation so I thought I’d publish some money saving hacks! Luckily saving for me comes quite naturally, I knew I wanted to travel and therefore, I knew I had to get the money together. For those of us currently finding ourselves in Covid lockdown, I would say now is the best time to save! With lack of venues open and places to go, the less you need to spend your post-bills money on!

Important note: I am very aware everyone’s financial situations are very different and a lot of the below will differ to circumstances and please note as a travel page, this is highly steered towards saving to travel but can be applied for any goal (minus point 5 – sorry).

1. Set a Goal

Having an end goal to motivate you is key. After all, why would you go out of your way not to spend money if you had no real reason to do so? As mentioned above I knew I wanted to travel as much as possible and without money behind you, this would be a whole lot harder. With many things in life, I like to have a clear ‘why’ behind most things I do.

2. Budget

This can be done in different ways. Some people do some great excel documents to really get to grips with the intake and expenditure but this isn’t for me. I see what wage comes in at the end of the month, set all bills for the 1st and try to put in to savings at least 60% of what’s left over. Come up with a personal % to put away that works for you. Just ensure you factor in core costs like food shops, fuel, the odd activity because you still have to live your life! Understanding money and instantly putting some away will eventually become habit.

While on budgeting, I think it’s important to say some of us may need to re-evaluate our spending patterns. Do you really need a coffee every day from a coffee shop? Do you need the newest trends while in lockdown? Do you need to buy that Friday night takeaway? You get the gist. Now I am in the habit of only occasionally treating myself, I can confirm it’s so much more exciting when I get something new!

3. Take advantage of point systems

Point systems and loyalty cards are great! Here are some ways to use them to your advantage:

• Tesco clubcard points – these can be built up with your weekly shop and fuel and then the points exchanged for hostels, hotels or a treat night out at £0 additional cost to you!
• Frequent flyer points – now this isn’t something I’ve done personally but if you are a frequent flyer and can get points (discount) for it – why not sign up!?
• Calling all coffee lovers!! Check out coffee shop subscriptions, Pret currently have a £20 a month with your first month free subscription for essentially unlimited coffee. You can get up to 5 coffees (or more) a day for 2 months for £20!
• Cashback apps – when you spend through their site, you can automatically get cashback!

The list isn’t limited to the above, the more you look the more you can find! Even if they’re small savings, small savings add up a lot!

4. Seek Additional Income

If you’re pushed with your salary vs. bills, have a look in to additional income streams. This can be from selling old clothes, a second job (long hours but during lockdown, why not?), creating your own business. Whatever works for you and your lifestyle. I’ve recently started investing in stocks but am no where near a point of passing on information on this.

5. And if all of the above fails…

You can always just save enough for cheap flights and look in to doing Work Away (work for free accommodation and meals), a working visa and finding a job, volunteering in hostels for free accommodation etc.

Feel free to share any of your own tips below!