Saving Money Tips

This is from my friend over at Kim's Shopping Blog! Soo sooo true - thanks Kim!
Check out her blog, she has some great info!

We’re all guilty of spending a little bit too much every now and again…so how can we lower our expenditure and stay out of debt?

1. Coupons

Coupons and coupon codes are all over the internet. They often offer up to (and sometimes more than) 50% off at your favorite high street retailers.

You may find that some retailers actually offer you coupons after you have purchased something. If this is the case, and you don’t need to buy anything else, then let one of your friends have the coupon – help them save money, and they may return the favour!

2. Don’t be tempted to buy things you don’t need

If you find that your expenditure is too high each month, then it may be because you are buying things you don’t need.

We all get tempted to buy things, but before you get your money out, have a think about whether you really need the thing you are buying. In most cases, you won’t! The only reason you want it is because it looks good – remember, the shop will want to sell you items, so they will strategically place things around the store to influence you to impulse buy.

3. Stick to a strict budget

Create a strict budget, and stick to it! If you don’t stick to a budget, how are you going to lower your expenditure? Write down everything you spend each month and take a look at where you are spending too much. If you can, make cut backs – it should lower your expenditure considerably.

4. Try shopping online

If you haven’t already tried it, then why not give online shopping a go? Most supermarkets have their own ‘online shop’ where you can do your weekly grocery shopping – and what’s more, you will get it delivered to your door!

Online Shopping should help you lower your expenditure quite a lot – this is because you can’t be tempted to pick things up, as you won’t actually be in the store. In addition, you won’t be walking down every aisle to get what you need – you will be able to find it by entering it into the search box.

5. Cancel any subscriptions you don’t need

Do you really need that magazine subscription? Or how about that satellite TV subscription? Think about how much you could lower your expenditure by if you simply cancelled these. If you really can’t do without them, then at least try and cut back…for example, instead of having two magazine subscriptions, just have one!

John Brisbane is a personal finance writer with 15 years experience writing in the personal finance industry.