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Since the pandemic, our spending habits have changed – maybe forever – with more people understanding the value of having savings. Whether you’re saving for something special or in case of emergency, it’s a good idea to have some savings stashed away. Regardless of how much you can afford to set aside each month, saving hacks are accessible to everyone.
If you need financial inspiration, here are our top 10 saving strategies of all shapes and sizes that will help you turn pennies into pounds!
1. Shop at cheaper supermarkets
Supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi often offer cheaper fresh and perishable products than stores like Waitrose and Sainsburys, along with bargains on dry goods, toiletries and homeware.
At loyalBe, we have been loving the new (and slightly controversial) ASDA Just Essentials range!
The supermarket recently redesigned its saver's range - which replaced Smart Price products - which has bright yellow packaging which some shoppers feel stands out too much. It reportedly acts as a ‘poverty marker’, matching the colour of the store’s reduced stickers for nearly out-of-date food. However, ASDA has stated people should not be embarrassed about saving money!
We gave the range a go this week - with our total spend coming to £14.00 for a weekly shop it is a must-try if you are looking to save money on a weekly food shop with everything included from fruit and vegetables to microwave macaroni and cheese - perfect after a long tiring day!
"More importantly, however, most of the items that I bought were of good quality, especially the fruit and vegetables, and I would definitely buy most of these items again."
2. Share your subscriptions We all have that one family member or friend who stays signed in to our streaming services. Why not cut your monthly cost in half by sharing your subscriptions with family and friends and asking them to transfer you half of the charge each month? That way you can both enjoy the service for half of the price.
3. Check out pre-loved clothing!
We’ve coupled up with pre-loved clothing here at loyalBe! Demand for pre-loved clothing has soared thanks to eBay’s partnership with the UK reality TV show Love Island. The cost of living crisis coupled with growing awareness of clothing’s environmental impact made Love Island’s 5-million-strong audience receptive to the move, inspiring its viewers to consume clothing in a more circular way!
Less than a month after the series launched, the e-commerce platform eBay reported a 700 per cent increase in searches for pre-loved fashion. Similarly on Google, searches for ‘eBay preloved clothes’ rose by 756 per cent compared to the previous month, while searches for ‘pre-loved’ saw a 660 per cent spike.
In response, sellers also flooded the platform. Live eBay listings increased by 1,026 per cent within three months of the Love Island partnership being announced, according to e-commerce analysts at Optiseller. Since then, the number of listings has been consistently higher than at the beginning of the year.
A favourite of ours here at loyalBe is Preworn! We’ve partnered up with Prewon to offer loyalBe users 5% back in loyalCoins on every purchase, PLUS an extra 10% off your order with code: loyalbe10, on top of any site-wide discount.
Rather than splashing the cash on an entirely new wardrobe, you can shop in a more sustainable way (and for a lot less) by using apps such as Vinted and Depop.
4. Buy in bulk While we’re not encouraging you to hoard, it can sometimes work out cheaper to buy products in bulk. Just make sure you calculate whether or not it is cheaper and if you will use all of the products.
5. Earn vouchers and coupons
Available online, in local magazines and sometimes posted directly to you, coupons and vouchers are a great way to shave a few pounds from your weekly shop. So that you don’t forget the voucher itself, put it straight in your wallet as soon as you receive it or screenshot the code on your phone.
6. Make your own lunch for work
We’re all guilty of grabbing a quick lunch when we’re in the office. Research from 2015 tells us that Londoners were spending an average of £6.60 a day on lunch, which amounts to £2,500 per year – an amount that could be even higher in 2021 thanks to inflation and some shortages. However, if you choose to make your own lunch, you’ll probably find that you’ll spend less than £10 per week!
7. Use a cashback platform
It can pay off to use a cashback platform! The way this works is that the cashback company will receive a commission for any purchase you make via their site, which they then share with you.
loyalBe is a perfect example of this! (if we so say so ourselves!) With loyalBe, you can earn cash back when you make purchases from top retailers such as Primark, Tails.com, B&M and Greggs, in the form of loyalCoins which you can save up and use to redeem fab gift vouchers!
Download loyalBe here - iOS or Google Play Store!
8. Shop around for insurance
As well as providers of utilities and phone networks, insurance policies and breakdown cover might be more reasonable elsewhere. See if you could save money by using a price comparison website.
9. Implement no-spend days
In an age where we have our digital cash at our fingertips, it’s very easy to spend every day and go over budget. However, if you implement a strict no-spend day once a week, you’ll soon stack up savings.
10. Be tactical about shopping online
