Cash advice

It turns out that when it comes to thrift, mother really did know best! The Financially Fabulous money team have put together five tried-and-tested, moneysaving tips that are as effective now as they were back in the day. See how much you could save…

1 COOK UP A STORM

Cooking from scratch, rather than buying ready meals or even prepared sauces, can knock pounds off your weekly shop. It needn’t be complicated and, if time is an issue, get into the habit of cooking in batches and freezing what you don’t eat. What could be better than being able to pull a homemade meal out of the freezer to reheat mid-week?

2 LEARN TO BARTER

If you need a small job doing around the house that you can’t do yourself, do you know someone who can? Think what you could offer them in return as payment – it could be a few hours of ironing or even a car wash. Haggling can also save you money. If you’re buying in bulk, ask for a discount or for the retailer to price match.

3 SELL THINGS YOU DON’T NEED

Three words: car boot sale. If your home needs a declutter, now’s the time to take stock of what you need. If you haven’t used something in two years, you probably won’t miss it. Assess the condition of anything you want to sell, and work out the minimum price you want. Then, take it to a car boot sale.

4 PUT A JUMPER ON!

Turning down your central heating by just 1°C can shave £75 off your yearly energy bill. If you’re feeling chilly, put on an extra layer and pop another blanket on the bed instead. Rather than reaching for the thermostat controls, this will help keep those heating costs down and keep you toasty!

5 GO CASH-ONLY

Before the days of contactless payments and credit cards, you had to actually part with cash when you wanted to buy something. Leave your credit card at home, and only use cash. You’re much less likely to burn through your money so quickly, as it’s hard to part with physical cash.