5 Simple Ways to Save Money

USE YOUR PIGGY BANK
I pop all my small change into my cute little piggy. He then looks after it for me until he's so heavy I can hardly lift him. My bank has a paying in machine which accepts coins, so I use this. I like that this is free and the money goes straight into my account. There are similar machines in most supermarkets however these charge a small percentage for using them.

CASHBACK SITES
After hearing about how much a friend had saved in a year using TopCashback, I was signing up straight away. By following the links via the site and shopping online as normal you can collect cashback from most well-known retailers such as ASOS, Next and Space NK. It's completely free to join and I see it as earning money for something you already do.

LOYALTY CARDS
My purse is overwhelmed with loyalty cards. The high street ones I use the most are for Boots, The Works and Holland and Barrett. I also use my Tesco Clubcard and Nectar card a lot. I tend to save my reward vouchers and points for Christmas shopping. I also save up my Costa reward points for this time of year when hot chocolate breaks are a must! It's nice to essentially have free cash to spend during the festive period and my bank account likes it too!

DECLUTTER
Clear out your make-up stash and your wardrobe and sell the items you no longer get any use from to a new home. Car boots are a fantastic way to sell your unwanted clutter although they do take a lot of effort. Not everyone is a fan of a 5am alarm! If car boots aren't your thing then head online. Clothes and makeup sell well on Ebay and Depop. I've had success selling furniture on Gumtree and local Facebook selling sites.

MEAL PLANNING
By being sensible with my food shop I find that I can save quite a bit. I like to write down the meals that I'll be cooking over the next few days and make a shopping list of the ingredients. I find that with a list in my hand I'm a lot more focused in the supermarket and less prone to picking up a bag of cookies or two. I definitely see an improvement in how much food is wasted when I plan my meals and I've been using the freezer a lot more too. From par-boiling broccoli that won't get used in time before freezing or slicing up brown skinned bananas for delicious milkshakes, I'm more conscious of what gets thrown away.