Three easy ways to save today

We haven’t shared saving tips in a while and I think it’s time for an update. I found some great ways to cut back on everyday expenses and they’re too simple not to share. 

If you’re not sure what you should be saving for, you’re one of the lucky few. The rest of us are trying to manage debt repayments or building on our meagre retirement fund.

Take a look at our saving tips

We’re three months away from the holiday season, so now is the time to start saving if you want to do something exciting this year. Travelling is always an amazing experience and it will make all the saving and scratching together of pennies very rewarding.

Let’s jump right in: here are some tips to save money in the months leading up to the holiday season.

Shop during sales

Shop at sales this time of year as shops are clearing out their summer stock and it’s the best time to get bargains. It’s not just clothing stores that revolve their stock between winter and summer. You’re not going to get this opportunity once everyone is singing ‘tis the season to be jolly. But there’s also a big don’t when it comes to shopping at sales: only buy what you need around the house, for presents, for your children and not what you would like.

Sales trick us into buying things we wouldn’t ordinarily give a second thought to. But suddenly, when it’s affordable, you think you are saving by buying it. This is not the case. Stick to a shopping list when you go to the shops. If you are doing Christmas shopping, write everyone’s name down on a list so you can keep up with what you need to buy.

In the previous tips for saving money we go into another money-saving way to go around Christmas shopping, so you can combine this strategy of picking who buys presents for who with buying presents when they are affordable!

Re-evaluate your cell phone contract

Thanks to Nice Girl Notes for this one! Most people buy cell phones on contract these days. Well, if you’re not using all you SMS’s, data and airtime you are paying for, it might be time to look for a different payment plan. The same goes for your internet service provider: stop paying for data you’re not using by downgrading or see if topping up is necessary when uncapped could be cheaper.

How much saving does it take to change a light bulb?

If the promise of shaving hundreds of Rands off your electricity bill sounds promising, change your incandescent light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. They’re usually weird looking bulbs. The ones we have are longer and thinner than normal light bulbs and look like two pipes bent into a rectangle shape instead of the traditional round bulbs. They use a lot less power than normal light bulbs.

While we’re on the topic of saving electricity, make a point of switching off appliances, TV’s and lights when you aren’t using them. Unplugging electronics that go to standby mode can save you too. All the little bits add up at the end of the day!

Do you have any more simple tips for saving? We’d love to hear them below!