Ten Tips for Making the Most of Your Money
1 – Get Free Stuff
You would be surprised what you can get for free. Just do a bit of research on the Internet. With a little effort you can get free food, free entertainment, free holidays and even free cash if you try hard enough.
2 – Think Hard Before you Purchase
When you are stood there about to buy that new pair of jeans or whatever it is have a good ten second think to yourself. Do you really need them? What would you have to sacrifice to make up for the money you are about to spend. Is it worth it? If the answer is no to either of these questions then put them back on the shelf and walk away.
3 – Always Negotiate
This is especially significant on big-ticket items. If you are spending a lot of cash on something then don’t be afraid to ask for a discount or even a freebie. For example, if you are buying a new washing machine ask for some free washing powder and free delivery. If the person selling it to you is on commission you might be surprised what they will agree to in order to get the sale.
4 – Go for Value not Cheapness
This means doing a little research into what you are getting for your money. This is especially true for intangible products such as car insurance. If you pay a little more, do you get better benefits that you are likely to use? Of course the opposite is true too so you do need to be careful. Don’t end up paying for benefits that you will never use.
5 – Prioritise the Things you Love
I’m not talking about friends and family here, I’m talking about things you eat and drink etc. For example if you really love a particular brand of ketchup then always buy that brand. It may be more expensive but you will feel happier saving on the things you don’t care about rather than the things you do which means you will be much more likely to stick to a plan of spending less on the shopping.
6 – Go For Quality
Don’t fall into the false economy trap of buying cheap things, especially things like clothing. It may mean that you spend more on better quality t-shirts for the kids but they will last longer and you will need to replace them less frequently.
7 – Clear out Your Junk
Every three months set aside some time to clear out your junk and then arrange to sell it at a car boot sale or on eBay. If you can’t sell it then give it to a charity shop. The process of clearing out stuff you don’t need or use any more makes you think much more clearly about the things you waste money on. This will help to prevent you wasting it on the same things in the future.
8 – Get Multiple Quotes
If you are having some work done around the house or on the car etc, always get at least three quotes for the work. You might be surprised at the difference in cost between suppliers. Having said that, don’t always settle on the cheapest. Ask around for opinions about their work before you decide. It may actually end up better value to pay more as better quality work will lead to less repairs in the future.
9 – Recycle
I’m not necessarily talking about environmental issues here, although they are of course important. I’m talking here about spending less money on things that you might be able to fashion out of other stuff. For example, turn clothes into other clothes by making alterations, or if they are at the end of their life turn them into rags for cleaning. Reuse envelopes and other unimportant paper things as craft material for the kids.
10 – Consider Older Models
If you are shopping for a new kitchen appliance or similar, consider last year’s models. They will be almost as good feature wise but you are much more likely to be successful when you ask the salesperson for a discount as they are likely to be simply taking up valuable space in the shop.