We're into day two of Frugal February, and so far so good in the office: I've not yet caved in and bought a coffee (despite a truly horrible commute this morning), and there have been no shopping bags crammed full of expensive swag in sight. Result! But let's not get ahead of ourselves...in this first week of the challenge, it's all about making sure that good behaviour becomes automatic, and now is a good time to think carefully about how you're going to get around that temptation to splurge in coming weeks.
Here are a few tips on ways you can cut costs without even having to think about it.
1. Use those vouchers!
Many of us are guilty of hoarding any vouchers or reward points we've racked up over the years, and the danger here is forgetting you've got them and allowing them to expire in our wallets, rendering them utterly worthless!
We are now using more vouchers than ever before as many of us deal-shop with sites like Groupon and Wowcher, and with internet-based voucher schemes in particular it's perilously easy to forget the virtual ticket is saved on your PC. The same goes for discount cards you might be carrying around for restaurants, such as the Tastecard, which offers up to 50% off your meal: if you do want to go out for a meal during FF, make sure to make use of these resources and pick somewhere that will let you apply a discount.
Now is the time to cash in all these goodies and points, so do a bit of a 'voucher audit' and write down what you have at your disposal: I found a £50 Debenhams voucher I'd been given as a gift at Christmas and completely forgotten about, and a spa voucher for Floatworks that I'd treated myself to on a dark day in November but had not yet redeemed. It's lucky I looked, as that treat to myself is due to expire in a couple of weeks!
Tap water is one of the healthiest things you can drink and it's completely free, yet many of us are still afraid to ask for it in restaurants, shelling out for expensive bottled stuff instead which tastes largely identical. Cutting out bottled water is one of the easiest ways to make a saving if you haven't done so already, and it's better for the environment, too.
Asking for tap water in restaurants is a bit of a no-brainer, and there should be no shame in doing so, particularly after the good work done by We Want Tap and similar campaigns, many of which have worked directly with restaurants to ensure they comply with good grace with customers' requests to the tap water they are entitled to by law. At home, you can also save money by getting into the habit of drinking tap water with your meals, mixed with a long-lasting fruit squash if it gets boring. You'll save a lot by not buying the gallons of fruit juice it's all too easy to get through in a week!
3. Chat online
With so many easy ways to communicate even across continents, it's a wonder anyone uses the old-fashioned phone any more. Skype and other services have made it quite possible to conduct a crystal clear conversation over the internet, and with video enabled you'll get more value from your call than a standard handset will give you.
If you make a lot of phone calls, why not switch to talking online instead and see how it works out for you? You could save a lot on phone bills without having to cut down the time you spend talking to friends and family, especially if they live abroad.
4. Spring clean
Having a good clearout is
actually a brilliant way to kickstart your moneysaving efforts. Not only
does it usually result in you finding things you thought you'd lost or
needed to replace, but you may actually find a lot of junk you don't
need, and can in some cases sell on.
If you've left something
gathering dust for months with no real concern for its whereabouts, the
chances are you could quite happily live without it - so identify
anything in this category that's still in decent condition and get
listing it on eBay or similar. Even if you only make £20 that's spare
cash you didn't have last month - and the chances are you'll make a lot
more.
5. Staying in is the new going out...
This one is no real hardship in February, when the weather is freezing and the days are still short. This is a great opportunity to spend more time at home, brushing up on a bit of DIY and (of course) beginning your spring clean and all the good things that come with it as detailed above. You can also make good use of all those DVDs you bought or were given over Christmas and have not got around to watching yet: plan a few film nights with friends and serve up home-cooked food: if you're lucky, they'll supply the wine...
Next: how to save loads of money with a little bit more effort and perhaps a spot of paperwork...
