So you’ve set up an ING savings account, started bringing your own lunch to work and curbed your impulse buys. But you still need to make a few more sacrifices to reach your saving goals. The Money Maven has 4 more ways to save money without too much stress.
In the past 12 months, I’ve suggested many ways to save money, including:
(Click on the hyperlinks to go to the full Money Maven article on this topic)
- Shop around and save
- Use group bargaining power
- Bulk buy
- Maximise your tax return with expert tips
- Become more savvy about your superannuation
- Commit to a shopping detox so you give your credit card(s) a rest
- Keep a money journal so you practise mindful spending
If you are already following all of the above rules, here are 4 extra ways to maximise your savings plan:
1. Stop buying expensive bathroom cleaning products
Instead, make your own cleaners using bicarb and vinegar. Just mix these cheap, readily available ingredients together and use some old fashioned elbow grease (i.e. scrubbing!) – and your bathroom will soon be spick and span.
2. Enter more competitions
I know that it’s rare to win anything major, but I recently won 2 movie tickets in a second chance draw. You have to be in it to win it!
I also entered a rewards program advertised on my favourite tuna can and, over a few months, collected enough points to receive a 2 for 1 cinema pass, which gives me discount HOYTS movie tickets for six months.
Rescu. always has great competitions!
3. Chill out for less
While it’s nice to splurge on a relaxation package called ‘Two Hours Of Bliss’, I found that talking to my friends on Skype for FREE using video conferencing was 100 times more relaxing than having a young, over eager masseur dig her elbows in my sore back. As I keep saying, laughter is the best medicine.
For more advice on low-cost relaxation, consult RESCU’s recent article: Find your happy place: the creators of Mind Gardener explain how to train your brain to become happier.
4. Get fitted for a new bra
Yes, it may cost more initially to buy a bra from a specialist lingerie store (instead of Kmart’s bargain bin), but if you are wearing the wrong sized bra, you could be paying a lot of money to your chiropractor or physiotherapist due to back pain. You could also be ruining your posture.
For more info on bra fittings, click here to read RESCU’s interview with She Lingerie expert Christine Ryan.
Also, another way to save money is to Floss your teeth every night – otherwise you’ll be forking out extra money at the dentist. Flossing your teeth is also supposed to make you live longer (click here to read more).
