It seems like the cost of everything is rising alarmingly at present. But are there other ways to increase the amount of your hard, earned cash that you have left over each month? Actually, there are but we do tend to put off doing things that can make a difference only to pay for it in the long run. Here’s a few practical changes you can make to leave you with more of your money.
- Keep a detailed spending budget for a month – Most people think they know what they’re spending on each month but doing an exercise like this and documenting every single cent that is spent each day, can be very eye-opening. Studies have shown, you are twice as likely to have more money each month if you do this. Each day, keep note of any spending, whether it’s 50c in a parking meter or €2 for a newspaper or €1,200 rent. Log the spending each evening strictly and after a month, you will be quite surprised! (For free budget spreadsheet, just email info@financialcompanion.ie with “Budget” in the subject line.)
- Shop clever – Make a list before you do the weekly shop. Plan what you actually need, write it down and stick to the list. Avoid the “Oh that looks nice” grabbing which often turns to “that’s gone off, throw it out” a few days later. If you’re not good at remembering prices, keep your receipt and bring it with you the following week. This way you can see if a store has sneaked up a few prices and choose accordingly. When buying more expensive items, make sure you do a bit of research. Just because something is marked as “20% off” does not mean it’s not cheaper in another local shop that has no reductions.
- Look at switching utility providers – Despite some great savings to be made, less than 20% of households switch providers of things like electricity, gas, telephone/broadband etc. Yes, it can take a bit of time but it could amount to saving the equivalent of a week’s wages by spending an hour on the phone/computer!
- Review premiums that you are paying – For the ones that come in every year, such as car or home insurance, taking the time to ring around and compare like with like can yield great savings. At the very least, ring your existing provider and ask “can you do any better?” For the longer term ones such as life cover, mortgage protection, serious illness cover etc., it only takes minutes to see if you can get the same cover (or better) for lower premiums. This is particularly relevant if you commenced them with a bank or insurance company that could only quote their own products. You could be paying the most expensive in the market! Just make sure you talk to someone who is not tied to just one company and can compare and find you the best option available. If you have given up smoking since you commenced one of these plans and have been off them for at least 12 months, the savings are colossal!
- Examine your bank statements – Take out a few months’ bank statements and make sure you can account for every deduction that is made. Regularly, we see people paying for things that should have been cancelled months or even years ago! There may also be debits for items that are no longer relevant or used, such as club memberships or subscriptions. It is also a good exercise in the prevention of fraud, which occurs far more frequently than you may think.
Of course, this can all take a bit of time and effort but unless you’re suffering from the complaint of having too much money left over each month, what have you got to lose?
Dave Kavanagh QFA has been advising people financially for over 25 years. For further information, use the contact form on this site. As heard on RTE 2FM, LMFM and TV3.
