2021 has been a difficult year for many households, economically speaking. The nation is gripped by a cost-of-living crisis, as inflation rates stagnate and energy prices continue to soar. With families feeling the squeeze, many are looking to address their expenditure going into the new year. Here are some simple tips for cutting down on costs, from your weekly shop to your utility bill.
Grocery Shopping
One of the most impactful day-to-day changes you can make in saving money is with regard to your groceries. There are numerous ways in which you can shave the pounds off your weekly shop, principal of which is making the switch from branded goods to supermarket own-brand produce. In many cases, the quality difference in product is negligible, but the price difference significant.
Your attitude to shopping is also important, and key to cutting down on frivolous spending – if you are making several trips to the supermarket a week, you are opening yourself up to buying more unnecessary luxuries. By creating a comprehensive shopping list each week, you can limit your shopping to one supermarket visit, and cut down on temptation to buy extras in the process.
Addressing Household Expenses
Your next port of call should be your household overheads: namely, utilities, subscriptions, vehicles and insurance plans. Are there ways in which you can reduce their cost? Shopping around for new gas and electricity deals can often result in you finding a cheaper tariff – but with recent spikes in energy price, you might be better served speaking to your current supplier about switching to their base variable tariff, which benefits from the Ofgem price cap. Regarding subscriptions, don’t be afraid to get ruthless. Are there subscriptions you don’t make use of, or could you condense several accounts into a single family account?
Vehicles and insurance are tricky – you might be tempted to downgrade the latter, at the expense of losing crucial coverage. If your car has kept its value, you might consider selling it and purchasing a cheaper vehicle, benefitting from extended car warranty with complimentary breakdown insurance. This way you can modify your insurance plan to be cheaper, and save money overall.
Transport
Of course, transport can also represent a significant chunk of expenditure over a year; Uber trips can add up very quickly, and their convenience can ultimately cost you a fortune. The cost of running a car can also be deceptively large, with the average monthly cost of car travel and maintenance coming out at £257 per month.
Instead of private hire taxis or expensive personal vehicles, consider making an up-front purchase of a seasonal or annual bus pass; monthly bus passes frequently come in at under £70, over three times less than the average cost of driving.
Shopping Online
Online shopping is an excellent way to reduce expenditure, granting you the ability to shop around for the best deals and lowest prices. But it can also be incredibly easy to get carried away and is only encouraged by personalised advertisements. Your online purchasing data can be used by companies to push products you might be interested in on social media or website banner adverts; making purchases in your browser’s ‘incognito’ mode can protect you from tracking cookies and ensure you don’t get enticed by targeted adverts.
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