I think it’s really nice to be able to talk about general life and offer a little bit of advice, and to just have a chat about things, really. As a 26 year old woman, I’m getting to that age (gosh that makes me sound so old!) when I just love to read about proper ‘grown up’ stuff. Articles about interior design, cooking and - god this really is embarrassing - cleaning are all of interest to me.
Okay, maybe not so much the cleaning one... but definitely the other two!
I just love reading great lifestyle pieces and all the great articles I like to read online and in magazines have inspired me to add a little more variation to my blog by following suit and talking to you lovely lot about my life & what I do. Hey, you never know, I might even be able to offer a little sound advice.
And that, funnily enough, is exactly what I’m hoping to do in this blog post.
For this post, I thought I’d share something with you all that I’m confident you’d like to know more about...
Money.
More specifically in fact - saving money.
Now that I’m a home owner and I’m in a job that I absolutely love, I’m so much more spend savvy and I’m always on the lookout for new, innovative ways to save money and build up those savings.
So, I thought I’d share a few of my top tips with you! I hope you enjoy!
1. Don’t impulse buy
I used to be so bad for this. In fact, I can’t even begin to explain how terrible my spending habits were when I had no commitments. It was before I met Marc and all I was bothered about buying was clothes. Clothes, clothes and more clothes.
I’d watch my money go into my account on payday, and straight away I’d be online typing in those 16 digits.
‘Order confirmation’
‘Order confirmation’
‘Order confirmation’
Oh yep, there were a lot of Order confirmations! But at the time, I felt I had nothing else to spend my money on.
In hindsight, I wish I’d started saving earlier than I did, but having made those mistakes, I can now hopefully offer advice to those who, like me, are a little too impulsive with their spending.
So, rather than buying the first thing you see, make a note of it and see if you still want it a week later. If the answer is ‘yes’, it may be worth the investment. If on the other hand, you aren’t too fussed, leave it. That £20 can go towards something of better use to you, or into your savings fund. Mindless spending rarely results in fruitful, worthy purchases.
2. Set an amount to save each month - and stick to it!
When Marc and I began saving for our house, we started by putting £1,000 away each month between us, and then as time went on, this continued to increase. Eventually, we were each saving £1,000 per month to go towards our house and everything we wanted for the house.
You may not want to save this much - you may want to save more. Who knows? Everyone’s situation is different and you may not even be saving for anything in particular right now. But honestly, I cannot stress enough how important it is to be wise with your money.
We live in a society where everyone rocks designer shoes and owns 5 designer handbags, but it’s important to note that the lifestyles of the people we follow on Instagram really aren’t realistic. A lot of it is for show, and you really don’t need to compete.
Save up that cash and eventually, you’ll have enough for something way more valuable than a new designer bag.
3. Make your own lunches
This one is so simple, but it’s so effective -trust me.
As I work in the centre of town, I know just how expensive nice lunches can be, which is why I always make my own.
Preparing a salad, a healthy sandwich or taking some leftovers from the night before is a really easy way to save money. Making lunches can feel time-consuming - trust me, I get it - but financially, it’s so worthwhile.
I also think preparing lunches is a much healthier way to eat, too. Pre-packed meals and fast food are full of ingredients we would never use at home, so keep it clean & do it yourself.
4. Open a savings account
As soon as I get paid, I transfer the amount I save each month into our savings account, and I never dip into it - even when I feel super tempted!
Savings account separate the money that is yours to spend, and the money that, for the time being, is ‘untouchable’ so to speak.
I try to think of my savings account as an account that’s full of cash I can’t do anything with yet. That way, I remove the temptation of transferring money over and over-spending.
Try it! You’ll be amazed by how much of a difference this makes!
5. Make a spreadsheet of your income VS your outgoings
My mum got me into this years ago, and it’s been so useful.
In fact, this is possibly the most important point to note on this entire list. Why? Because by doing this, you will be able to clearly establish exactly how much you really are over-spending.
When I first started doing this, it was a real eye opener for me. I made a list of the things I couldn’t change - so any direct debits I had and other unavoidable commitments that I had, and then at the end of the list, I made a note of anything I wanted to buy/had bought that month and how much that particular item had cost me.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll soon see where you’re going wrong and it’ll finally make sense as to exactly ‘where’ your money is going.
I really hope this blog post was useful to you, and I can’t wait to share more with you all very soon!
Lots of love,
Grace x
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