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Ad affiliate throughout - Hello hello! You may remember my top house buying and money saving tips and if so, you will know that have a fair few tips when it comes to saving money. I bought my house completely by myself and I have been saving my pennies since I was 15 {I remember my ex boyfriend's Mum laughing at me for saving at such a young age but I'm so glad I did because that money allowed me to save up for my house!!} from aged 15 I worked two jobs alongside my studies and that money just added up, slowly but surely. Today I wanted to do a blog post with top money saving tips in 2022 (whilst still enjoying nice food and buying new clothes!} it's not easy when the cost of living is so high but hopefully these money saving tips will help you a little bit.
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Check in on your outgoings - Start by actually writing down all your outgoings, my boyfriend and I do this every few months. It's a great way to see where your money is actually going and see what you can tweak. I remember being shocked when my Mum got a huge list out noting where EVERY penny goes once: I learned that by the time you've paid for your a mobile phone contract, bills, council tax, actual tax, petrol, contact lenses, eye test, prescriptions etc... there's not much left, so you've got to closely look at your outgoings to see what you can change or tweak.
Since running my own home, I have honed my money saving skills so that I get the best deals where possible. Let’s face it, life can be very expensive if you let it be and buying a home seems to be an endless money pit. I am constantly finding issues which of course, cost money to fix!
Since running my own home, I have honed my money saving skills so that I get the best deals where possible. Let’s face it, life can be very expensive if you let it be and buying a home seems to be an endless money pit. I am constantly finding issues which of course, cost money to fix!
Shop around for deals - Look around for best offers and don’t auto-renew annual agreements such as house, car insurance, mobile contracts or broadband. Household outgoings are vast so if you are a home-owner or tenant take a careful look at where you can re-negotiate costs. Things like mobile phone contract re-jigging really saved me so much money!
If you stick with the same company when renewing, it is always worth calling them to ask if they can give you a better deal - it’s worked so many times for me. I also will call my broadband /TV company every year to see if they can offer me loyalty bonuses etc.
Don't forget, there will always be bonuses if you're a new customer too generally, my car insurance is a great example of this or when I got my American Express card I got loads of points for signing up.
Look at reward credit cards {always read the terms + conditions / small print: I am not a financial advisor} - I recently got an American Express card and you essentially get rewarded for spending the money you were spending anyway. I wish I got mine sooner! I will be using mine towards flight points so basically I am already well on my way to free flights. You can sign up for points via my AMEX referral link here - you get hefty free points too if you sign up via me {and I do too! - free points for us both!}
I am lucky to be back travelling and travel can cost SO much, you can also get the free Currensea card which is a free money saving travel card when you're abroad - I worked with them on an Ad recently but wanted to share here too because if you sign up and use Currensea promo code code EMS22 you get £10 automatically in your account once you spend £100 abroad! Essentially they give you the lowest overseas fees and best exchange rates, it's 85% cheaper than using your bank abroad!
You can also use things like Tax Helper, you just answer a few quick questions and they tell you there and then if you qualify - no downloads or sign ups, Tax Helper just take a percentage of the money they get you back. I saw someone get £240 back and it's done through certified accountants.
Make the most out of food - Let’s face it, food is a huge cost to all of our lives but its essential. Food prices have shot up so always look for offers. I use the top deals tab on Ocado for my shopping. As a rule, I only ever buy my favourite foods when they are on offer. Ocado is great as they always have special offers on. Look for discounts, meal deals and offers.
I never waste money on good food and whenever we have leftovers we always use them. Soup is my go-to way to ensure my food lasts longer or, just simply freezing things if I've made a little extra (if you freeze fruit it doesn't go off and holds the antioxidants longer!)
I also use an app called TooGoodToGo so I can check for food discounts in my area, it saves money and saves on food waste too. You can get some incredible food at incredible prices and either have it for dinner / breakfast or freeze it.
As well as always seeking out good offers, when I can, I stock up on things that have a long shelf life and non-perishables too.
Buy things in bulk!!! We save so much money by doing things like loo roll in bulk, I buy it here and it works out so much better!
If your bills are high because of your oven, consider swapping to an Airfryer. We recently got the Ninja Airfryer and I am so excited to see my bills come down! So many people have told me that their bills are lower since using an Airfryer because apparently they are cheaper to run than an oven. I have this Airfryer it's a multi-grill and you can use it as an Airfryer but also an oven to bake things, make cookies, cakes, brownies and more. There are just so many things you can do!
Shop smart and sell your old items - I am always on it when it comes to sale and try my very best to share all the best deals with my wonderful audience. You'll always find me sharing sales because I don't think we should be paying full price for things really, when there are offers on! In today’s day and age, apart from certain designer goods that never get discounted, or iPhones for example, you should hang on until there is a sale.
Shop smart and sell your old items - I am always on it when it comes to sale and try my very best to share all the best deals with my wonderful audience. You'll always find me sharing sales because I don't think we should be paying full price for things really, when there are offers on! In today’s day and age, apart from certain designer goods that never get discounted, or iPhones for example, you should hang on until there is a sale.
Is there a coat you want or some shoes? Hang on, as you can often get at least 10% off by signing up to a newsletter or 20-50% off items if you wait until the sales. Believe me, whether it’s food, clothes or housing items I am always on the lookout for the best prices and I have saved lots of money doing this!
I always update my blog post with the BEST promo codes and discounts, so you can always save money on things you were going to buy. Bookmark this post and keep checking back, I also include personal promo codes that you can't find anywhere else too. On my Instagram there's a highlight called 'discounts' so always check there too because I am constantly looking for my own clothes to go on sale so I can help you guys save money. Something I also do is refresh my LTK account, I link all my outfits on there so I often head onto that page to see when certain items are on sale or back in stock. It means I can then share the sales with you guys and you will now get a notification when items of mine that you have favourited go on sale so it's well worth downloading the free LTK app, following me {emshelx} and favouring any items you may have your eye on.
Re-selling your items is a sure-fire way to get some more money in your bank account, you could have hundreds of pounds sat on your bedroom floordrobe! Remember this is also recycling your clothes and giving them a new least of life, your 'rubbish' is another man’s treasure and I just love that. I use Depop to sell my clothes, not only is it sustainable and a great way to make extra money too, but it's also a great way for you to find clothes you have always wanted, at a discounted cost. I also donate to charity every single month, perfect if you can find a way to balance both and do the selling and charity side of things! If you don't have anything to sell on Depop, try searching for the clothes you really want on there, you can save lots of money by shopping second hand. I'd also recommend thrift shopping, the charity stores in London are SO good - I love knowing that my own clothes are going to good causes too and people can pop in and get them at discounted prices.
Take Out Coffees - Now I need to practice what I preach here, we bought a really lovely coffee machine to stop us from going out for coffees, however, during lockdown, I really wanted to help as many local cafes as possible so we do go out and get a daily coffee, tea or matcha - it costs around £8 for two, often £10-15 if we throw in some pastries or sourdough: I am torn between loving the kick I get from helping local coffee shops and actually trying to save money. I have massively found though that doing things like walking rather than getting an Uber and pausing your morning coffee is a quick and easy way to save some £££ though! You could always get a morning coffee just on a Saturday rather than every day and save Deliveroo for weekends only! There are ways to claw back. If you must have your morning coffee at the station, find somewhere that gives you money off if you use your own cup - sustainable and money saving.
Re-selling your items is a sure-fire way to get some more money in your bank account, you could have hundreds of pounds sat on your bedroom floordrobe! Remember this is also recycling your clothes and giving them a new least of life, your 'rubbish' is another man’s treasure and I just love that. I use Depop to sell my clothes, not only is it sustainable and a great way to make extra money too, but it's also a great way for you to find clothes you have always wanted, at a discounted cost. I also donate to charity every single month, perfect if you can find a way to balance both and do the selling and charity side of things! If you don't have anything to sell on Depop, try searching for the clothes you really want on there, you can save lots of money by shopping second hand. I'd also recommend thrift shopping, the charity stores in London are SO good - I love knowing that my own clothes are going to good causes too and people can pop in and get them at discounted prices.
Take Out Coffees - Now I need to practice what I preach here, we bought a really lovely coffee machine to stop us from going out for coffees, however, during lockdown, I really wanted to help as many local cafes as possible so we do go out and get a daily coffee, tea or matcha - it costs around £8 for two, often £10-15 if we throw in some pastries or sourdough: I am torn between loving the kick I get from helping local coffee shops and actually trying to save money. I have massively found though that doing things like walking rather than getting an Uber and pausing your morning coffee is a quick and easy way to save some £££ though! You could always get a morning coffee just on a Saturday rather than every day and save Deliveroo for weekends only! There are ways to claw back. If you must have your morning coffee at the station, find somewhere that gives you money off if you use your own cup - sustainable and money saving.
Look for travel trends - I have been failing massively on this recently as the prices of flights have sky rocketed but generally, if you are wanting to save money on travel, the best thing to do is to head to Google flights and just look at the best dates. You could save £200 just by flying on the Monday rather than the Saturday for example... or if you're planning a trip to New York, wait until you see how much you can save by flying in January rather than December. If you are able to be flexible, definitely look for the cheaper months as you can save so much money. Google flights are amazing too because they tell you if it's cheap or expensive during the dates you're looking at. Try and avoid: bank holidays, Summer holidays and graduations in the USA, I find these things make prices high. I understand most people need to travel during the holidays, but if you are able to plan in advance and go off season, you'll save some pennies. I am glad travel is back because the hospitality industry certainly needs us but there are ways to save too.
Make sure you're signed up to any flying clubs too so you clock any miles you are flying.
Eating out - Eating out for me is a non-negotiable, it makes me SO happy and is my favourite hobby {afterall, the hospitality industry needs us after the last few years too}. If there's a restaurant you really want to try but you can't stomach the price of the dinner menu, try their breakfast menu instead! I always find breakfast menus are way more affordable! If you must do the dinner menu, maybe hold back on the cocktails and the wine, I find we save so much money in the US when we don't order wine with dinner as it seems to be alcohol that adds up so much! If you are wanting to try lots of different restaurants, check out if they do happy hour specials {most places do!} or check for set lunch menus. In LA we got to go to two epic restaurants with probably 60% off because they had fixed price lunch menus! {Elephante and Avra} very happy purse!
Look for first time offers - A bit like with my American Express card, I got points for signing up, places will generally give you good offers if you are a new customer - even Ocado on shopping too. This isn't just credit cards and house hold bills, but things like gym classes too. There are loads of good ones in London where if you're a first time member you get a certain percentage off. You can also look at certain gyms, for example I go to David Lloyd {myself and my family have been members for YEARS - there is something for everything} and I added up the amount of classes I do per week: it would cost SO much more to do individual pay per class elsewhere, than my David Lloyd membership so actually, a gym membership at David Lloyd including gym, classes, swimming and even things like tennis, high speed wifi, office space {imagine how much you save by using the David Lloyd business area vs renting an office?! - also included in your membership} is way more sensible for me than sticking to just one class somewhere else. They also do great joining offers too! So if you want to save money on workouts, I would highly suggest going to somewhere like David Lloyd where they have clubs EVERYWHERE, sooo many classes, so many added benefits and, it even feels like a holiday over summer with their outdoor pools and tennis courts.
Sign up for cashback - I've clearly been living under a rock but did you know you can get FREE money just for shopping via cash back links? No me neither, I worked on an Ad with Quidco but have to share it here as I am a genuine convert... it was quick and easy to sign up {PLUS FREE!} - sign up here and you get cash back on the things you were already buying eg, Sky, car insurance, Moonpig cards, flowers from Bloom and Wild. I am so impressed! You may as well sign up for free and take the free money you are getting for doing the shopping anyway.
Set up a bank account folder - This is more of a mental thing but I find it works. Make a little additional folder in your bank account called 'travel' or 'dream house' or 'shopping' - whatever you fancy and decide to put money in there every month. Matt and I both put money away into a travel fund. I put money away every time I walk instead of getting an Uber! It all adds up!
Lots of love, Em x
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