Times are tough, there’s no denying that; it’s all over the news and people are moaning about it at the bus stop- it may even have overtaken the weather as the most popular talking point. No one’s got much money anymore, that’s what we’re hearing. Fuel prices have gone through the roof and broken off some tiles on the way, the price of living is steadily rising, and long gone are the days when you could take the kids to a theme park on a whim. As a nation, we’ve always had a reputation of pushing through the hard times with smiles on our faces and that’s exactly what we’ll do this time. In the meantime, here are some tips on saving money this summer:
Plan your meals
On our weekly shopping trips, a lot of us tend to wander up and down the aisles, picking up whatever we fancy and putting it into the trolley. Unfortunately, that means that more often than not we don’t have the right food to make a week’s worth of meals, and what we do have often doesn’t get used and is put in the bin. The best way to spend less at the supermarket and reduce the food that you’re throwing away is by planning your meals. Planning your meals before you go to the shops means you can write a list of what you need for the week. You won’t buy anything you don’t need and you won’t have to make emergency trips to the corner shop because you’ve forgotten something important. Preparation is the key to saving money.
Save electricity
This is something that has been said for a while, but it’s worth saying again. Saving electricity not only saves you money on your electric bills, but it also saves the environment. Energy prices are going up and they have been for a while so doing little things like turning lights off when you leave the room and getting cozy in a blanket instead of putting the heating on can make a real difference to your household bills. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?
Free fun days
Every year we simultaneously look forward to and dread the summer holidays. It’s great to have the kids around but it’s absolutely impossible to keep them entertained. Lots of us resort to taking them to the cinema or even bowling but, once again, it’s getting too expensive. So this summer, it’s time for free family fun days which sounds incredibly cheesy but the important thing is they’re free and fun. There are lots of things to do in your own home that are completely free. Why not try having a three-day garden (or house if it’s raining) Olympic Games? You can create obstacle courses and treasure hunts and give out home-made gold medals to the winners. How about a family ‘Come Dine with Me’, you might not get culinary masterpieces but it’s a fun way of making dinner and keeping the kids happy.
There are a million ways to look after your finances; you just have to be organized, prepared and you need to get creative!
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