Spring Clean Your Finances.
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If January is the best time for people to pay off debts and reassess their finances, springtime is arguably the best time to put plans in place to try and start saving and making more
In this blog, we’re taking a look at some different ways people can both save and make money in order to help them improve their finances.
Saving money.
Your food shop.
With food among the largest expenditures in most households, now is the perfect time to explore how you could spend less at the supermarket.
The simplest way to do so is to start shopping at Lidl or Aldi – the two cheapest supermarkets in the UK. A basket of everyday items in Lidl costs, on average, £5.97 less than at Morrisons; if you did that same shop every week, that’s an annual saving of £310.44
It’s also worth remembering that all supermarkets reduce the prices on products that are about to reach their sell-by-dates, so try to shop after 6pm and keep your eyes out for items with yellow stickers – they may be reduced by as much as 80%. Monday and Saturday evenings are the best days to find a bargain.
Your mobile phone.
96% of the UK’s population owns a mobile phone but how many people are overpaying for theirs?
To make sure you’re not one of them – and save a significant amount every month – it’s worth exploring the possibility of switching from a contract to a SIM-only deal, which are often cheaper in the long run compared to contract agreements because you’re not paying back the cost of a new smartphone.
Buying a handset outright – or using one you already own – and opting for SIM-only allows you to choose any provider and pick the minutes, texts and data you need, making it easier to only pay for what you use and reducing your monthly outgoings. Shop the best current SIM-only deals here.
Making money.
If you’ve got some spare time on your hands, you could make more money with some of these easy tips!
Sell parking spaces.
If your driveway often has no car parked on it, why not rent it out? Websites like justpark.com allow you to do just that, making it a quick and easy way to make extra money without having to lift a finger.
Get paid to do simple tasks for people in your area.
From planting flowers to lifting furniture upstairs or cleaning kitchens, websites like airtasker and taskrabbit connect people who need simple tasks completing with people who are happy to help them, enabling you to make extra money, fast.
After registering, you simply reply to people who want tasks doing with an offer (e.g. you might offer to walk someone’s dog for £10) and if they accept your offer, the job – and money – is yours. Working as much or as little as you want, whenever you want, has never been simpler!
Have a clear out.
For a quick cash injection, it’s never been easier to sell unwanted items online through websites like eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace. Go through your house, loft, garden and garage and if you find anything you no longer want, need or use, sell it.
Leeds Credit Union – here if you need us.
If you’ve done everything you can to save and make some extra money but are still struggling to make ends meet, you could borrow as much as £25,000 with one of our affordable loans. To find out more, click here.