Ways To Save Money On A Tight Budget

For me, budgeting and saving money has always been in my blood. There have always been goals to save towards, from big ones like a house, a car or now a wedding. But then there’s also been the smaller goals saving for holiday spending money or a really fancy meal out. A lot of people don’t save money as they don’t think they have enough money to do so. But you can still save money on a tight budget, it just takes more planning.

If you struggle with having leftover money or feel your outgoings aren’t much less than your income then I highly suggest you re-look at your budget. If you create a budget and properly stick to it you’ll be surprised how much more organised your finances can become.

Save money on a tight budget with spending roundups

I’ve spoken about my love for Monzo a lot of this blog so I won’t bore you all with that. You can find out why I love my Monzo account so much here. But one of the great things is the roundup function. You can set up your card to roundup any purchase you make and store the extra money in a savings pot. So if you spend £2.50 on a coffee, it will round up to £3. Then the extra 50p goes into your savings pot. This is a great way to save a little money as you spend without really noticing it.

This won’t help you save thousands of pounds but it’s a nice easy way to save without having to think too much. And without putting in any effort as the app does it for you. If you don’t want to commit to big savings challenges to start with this is a way to save money on a tight budget.

Be brutal with your fixed spending

You probably already have this list set out but write down all of your fixed spendings. So things which come out every month (or maybe every three months) as a set amount. It might be easier to check all the direct debits/ standing orders you have set up on your bank account if you can’t remember them all. This will include your living costs such as rent/ mortgage, bills, council tax, internet, phone etc. But also those little extras like TV subscriptions, Spotify, beauty boxes, gym membership etc.

I promise you’ll be shocked when you write them all down. Firstly set aside all of the non-negotiable things like bills and rent as you can’t stop paying them. Although you can look at reducing them. Think about everything else and be brutal. Could you combine your Netflix with a friend and pay half each to save some pennies. Could you cancel your gym membership and join a cheaper one?

To save money on a tight budget you have to be brutal. Anything you do cancel set up a standing order for that amount to go into your savings account. This way you’ll be no worse off each month but you’ll have some savings started.

Other ways to save money on a tight budget

There are loads of other ways you can start saving or just up your pot including:

• Using Quidco to get cashback on anything you buy online. The money will start to add up as you make purchases. If you use my referral code here you’ll get a £10 bonus once you’ve made your first £5.
• Sell items and clothes you may no longer use by doing a car boot sale or through eBay/ Depop. Then add any money you make to your savings pot.
• Make money through 20cogs by completing offers and sign-ups. I made about £150 in total through the site and although I couldn’t get the money for about a month it was super easy to do. If you’d like to sign up my referral link is here.
• Take your own food and drink to work with you so you don’t end up spending money every lunchtime.

How do you save money on a tight budget?

Pin It