Turn being seriously strapped into serious fun with the aid of a pocket calculator.
If the figures 0-60 represent the number of pounds a week you have to spend on everything (including food, drink, travel, newspapers and entertainment) then these money-saving tips may be for you.
I'd always thought the only people who were 'careful' with money were sad, lonely misers who preferred fiddling with calculators to actually living a life. But recently, I got into serious financial difficulty (believe me, once you can say those words you are well on the way to recovery). Suddenly I had to be extremely careful myself and this led to a major surprise. Very quickly I began relishing the challenge and its rewards.
Over the last ten years I've amassed enough material for several A-Zs of money-saving tips for the seriously strapped. To prove it, my ten personal favourites all begin with B. Now the new, disciplined me has decided to calculate just how much money I'd have saved in the last year if I'd practised just this B-B of tips consistently for all 12 months. Here goes:
1. Brand loyalty - Beat it!
For marketing professionals the phrase 'mother knows best' means the tendency we all have to stick with brands we grew to trust in childhood. Colgate, Imperial Leather and Always were my toiletry brands -- until I had to go for the cheapest items available. Thus I discovered that Tesco's own twelve good sanitary towels and true cost just 86p -- and were the best I'd ever used. I compared that with the Always I (always) bought at £1.49.
(£1.49 - 86p = 63p) x 13.03 (assuming a 28-day cycle) saves £8.21.
(To reduce further the cost of menstruation, try the Mooncup.)
Conducting field research within a half-mile radius of my home, I found an Imperial Leather 4-bar pack costing £1.48. But the cheapest soap in the area, which my brand-oriented eyes had never spotted before, was Boots essentials -- 4 bars of soap for 89p. At 4 bars a quarter, the cheaper soap over a year would save you:
(£1.48 - 89p = 59p) x 4 = £2.36 a year
The biggest surprise was toothpaste. In my local Boots my usual tube of Colgate Total costs £1.79. But the cheapest alternative was Boots Basics toothpaste at 29p! I buy a tube every two months, so:
(£1.79 - 29p = £1.50) x 6 = a saving of £9.00 a year
2. Bulk - buy in it!
Again I looked at necessities: toilet roll and water. An independent grocer thirty-minutes walk from me sells good loo rolls in packs of, count them, 36 for £3.99. But, of course, the old, careless me bought 4 rolls for £1.91 at my local convenience store. Assuming I use one roll per week, I could have saved, over twelve months:
(48p (per roll) - 11p (per cheaper roll) = 37p) x 52 = £19.24 a year
Inspired by Cliff D'Arcy's argument that bottled water is a total rip-off, I switched to filtering water a month ago. Forking out £17.60 for a six pack of Brita filters was hard until I worked out that as a single filter costs £3.99. I would save, over 12 months: £47.88 - £35.20 = £12.68 a year.
3. Balls
Clean your conscience along with your clothes by using Ecozone Eco Balls at £29.95 per pack. The balls are good for 1,000 washes, or 3p per load, according to ethicalsuperstore.com which sells them. The Eco Balls' detergent-free wash is good for the planet and compares favourably with my usual1kg of Persil non-biological powder at £2.51 for '10 standard washes' or 25p per wash.
Assuming one wash a week, I could have saved:
(25p - 3p = 22p) x 52 = £11.44 a year.
4. Bicarbonate of Soda
Using tips from Mrs Beeton may not seem like the best way to approach modern living. Economy and frugality were her watchwords, however, and many of the cleaning products she recommends are now being reconsidered by the ecologically aware.
I use Bicarbonate of Soda for surfaces, sinks, basins and floors and it's the most efficient bath scrubber I've ever known. If you have any left over, you can put it in your scones, which is good for you, your purse and the environment.
1 x pot of Bicarbonate of Soda per month = 38p against 1/2 x large bottle of Ecover Multisurface (98p) saves you 60p x 12 = £7.20 a year.
5. Bicycles
I keep boasting that the bike I bought eight years ago has saved me thousands of pounds in transport costs. But what are the actual figures? I calculate my bicycle maintenance costs £10 a month. Given this summer's tropical storms, let's assume that I cycle to work 3 times a week and to social events twice a week, saving £3 per return journey in tube fares each time.
(£3 x 5 = £15 x 52 = £780 a year) - (£120 maintenance) = a saving of £660 a year.
6. Booze
Social drinking can empty your pockets faster than anything. The good news is that most pubs will happily serve you a pint of tap or soda water (with ice and lemon) for free so you can sit, sip and socialise without feeling left out. The next cheapest drink is lime and soda at between 40p and 80p, depending on the poshness of the pub.
One pub session a week with a pint of water and a pint of lime would cost:
(52 x 0p = 0p) + (52 x 60p) = a saving of £31.20 a year
Compare this with two pints of the cheapest beer in my local for (£2.60 x 2) x 52 = £270. £270 - 31.20 = a saving of £238 year
7. Beg
If you're like me and sometimes think, 'I must have a beer tonight, darn it, even if it means a £39 overdraft charge!', then 'ask and it will be given unto you' is a maxim which could save you some cash.
Two weeks ago I asked the salesman in my local off-licence for a beer which I promised to pay for on pay day. The shop won a loyal customer and I got a much-needed beer which did not cost £40.
Actual savings in the last six months: £39 x 2 (beer) = £68. Probable savings for one year: £136
8. Borrow
Neil Faulkner, stirred my conscience when he advised readers to identify their biggest money-guzzling weaknesses by writing down everything they spend in a month. I knew already what mine was but was too chicken to quantify it.
Finally I plucked up courage, strode into my local video store and asked what I'd spent there in June. The answer left me gaping -- £208!!! Determined to improve on this in July, I saw some friends with an excellent DVD collection, borrowed 6 items and spent a mere £28 in my local store. Result! This strategy works for clothes (particularly wedding and evening), books, magazines, video games and, of course, music.
£208 - £28 = £180 x 12 = a saving £2,160.
9. Bay
You probably already know that you can lower your outgoings and increase your incomings by buying and selling things on eBay. (Hey! Cut me some slack! It almost begins with b!)
But did you also know that you can learn how to do this better by attending eBay University?
It's impossible to quantify my savings if I'd used eBay this year, so I'll assume a conservative £25 for good measure.
10. Balance vs. Bingeing
Sticking to a tight budget is very like dieting. If you're too strict with yourself, you can feel deprived, crack under the pressure and spend more than you've saved on a spree.
To avoid this in July I came up with cunning plan: I would balance discipline with seriously good treats and stay on the rails. I immediately bought the two small things I most wanted -- the BBC's Jane Eyre on DVD and a summer dress from Oasis -- then displayed them at home, leaving the plastic packaging and shop labels intact. I was only allowed to keep the treats if I made ends meet on July 31.
It worked. The treats cost me £38 but they motivated me to find savings elsewhere and not feel hard done by. As a result, I didn't end up paying a potential overdraft charge of £39. So overall I saved £1.
(2 x treats = £38) - (potential overdraft charge = £39) = a saving of £1. For the year, that's £12 (plus a well maintained credit rating).
Okay, some of these money-saving tips may be a tad eccentric but there's nothing eccentric about a total possible saving over the last year of £3,321.13.
Finally I've learned my lesson -- saving pennies can save enough pounds to make a big difference to your life. Start doing it today!
More: 10 Ways To Cut Your Food Bill | Money Talk Podcast: Getting To Grips With Your Debts
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