How to save an extra £50 a month

What would it take to make you happy? For some of us, it could be as simple as saving £1.66 per day.

£1.66… it doesn’t sound like a particularly earth-shattering sum, does it? In fact, it’s the kind of loose change you often find rattling around at the bottom or your bag or collecting dust on the mantelpiece.

However, some 9 million Brits would feel happier with their lot if they were able to put aside this amount every day, which would equate to £50 over the course of a month.

This is according to research from government savings arm NS&I, which also found that 62% of Brits are dissatisfied with the amount of savings they have.

With this in mind, we’ve rounded up some tips that could potentially help you save. You’re probably not going to attempt them all, but taking up just one or two could help you hit that £50 target.

Save on showers

Following a recent spate of price hikes, the topic of energy bills is a huge source of concern for households across the UK. Luckily, there are numerous ways you could slash your energy bill with minimal effort.

You could, for instance, replace your traditional showerhead with a water-efficient model. According to the Energy Saving Trust, this could save the average family of four around £72 a year on water heating and another £78 on water bills.

Once you factor in the £27 cost of the showerhead, that’s an annual saving of £123 or just over £10 per month. While it doesn’t exactly meet the £50 target, it’s a decent start.

Remember this tip only applies if your shower currently takes water directly from your boiler or hot water tank.

POTENTIAL MONTHLY SAVING: Around £10 or higher if you also try other tips.

Stop wasting food

According to research from the Waste and Resources Action Programme, the average family with children wastes 680 a year on food. Doing the maths, that’s almost £57 per month.

Check out Stop wasting £680 a year on food for tips on how you could save.

POTENTIAL MONTHLY SAVING: Almost £57

Cut the interest on your debt repayments

If you’re currently paying expensive interest on your credit card, you might able to save money with a 0% balance transfer card as these products won’t charge any interest during an introductory period.

Imagine you have a debt of £2,500 and are paying interest at a rate of 20%, you would be paying £38 in interest alone this month.

With a balance transfer card, you could avoid these interest payments during the 0% period and focus on paying down your debt.

Just one word of caution – most lenders charge a one-off fee if you would like to transfer a balance onto a card and it’s wise to take this in account.

POTENTIAL MONTHLY SAVING: Depends on your level of debt

Ditch the vending machine

By now, you’re probably sick of being told how much money you could save by taking a packed lunch into work every day, but have you considered how much you spend on snacks?

Say you buy two cans of cokes and a bar of chocolate from the vending machine every day, you could easily be spending £1.66. Ditch this habit and you could potentially save £50 a month.

POTENTIAL MONTHLY SAVING: £50

We can’t promise eternal happiness, if you follow our money-saving tips. However, you might be able to put a little extra into your savings each month and perhaps feel a little less financially frustrated.

**This material is for information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. We strongly encourage our readers not to rely solely on this content, but to seek independent advice when making financial decisions.**

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