’ve had a few people ask for more budgeting tips since I published this post last week. I’m a self confessed tight ass and a huge saver which is always fascinating to spenders (listen to last week’s Straight and Curly where we discuss the difference!) so I thought I’d put together a list of smaller, digestible ways to save money.
Young woman drinking coffee in a paper cup
These are things you can do every day so they’re not super daunting or life changing. Even if you cut down your daily spending by $5 per day that’s $1825 over the course of a year. Here are a few things you can do to save money this week…
1. Skip takeaways
Occasional takeaways are totally fine but if you find yourself having them several times a week, it’s really going to start adding up. It’s easy to slip into bad habits of grabbing pad thai on the way home from work but just for this week, make it a rule to not buy takeaway food and eat at home for every meal.
2. Refrain from buying snacks and drinks on the go
This one is a killer. By the time you’ve bought a coffee and a muffin for morning tea, a fancy snack bar and a juice for afternoon tea and a protein drink/bar at the gym you’ve probably set yourself back about $20. That’s a huge amount of money for snacks. Be prepared and pack what food you need for the day. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you won’t need a snack – everyone needs snacks. Snacks rule so make sure you have some cost effective ones on hand to stop yourself from buying a $4 bag of nuts from the vending machine every afternoon.
3. Market shop
Do a trip once a week to your local markets and stock up on meat, fruit and veggies. It’s so much cheaper than supermarkets. Every single time I market shop, I’m shocked at how cheap it is. I’ll buy $10 worth of veggies to roast and it makes about eight serves of roast veg that Mr Smaggle and I heat up for our lunches. It’s the best.
4. Meal plan
Lack of planning is one of the biggest causes of money wastage. It’s those nights when you can’t be bothered thinking of what to cook that you drop $50 on takeaway tacos at the fancy Mexican joint near your work. This is where meal planning can help you. It doesn’t have to take long – just jot down a few ideas at the beginning of the week and try to stick to it. I have a running list of favourite healthy meals stuck to our fridge for inspiration. It’s great for when you’re having a giant brain fart and can’t remember how dinner happens.
5. Make ahead your meals
I usually make a big meal on the weekends like roast veggies with brown rice or vegetable mince with quinoa and pack it into the containers for the week. Mr Smaggle and I each get a few lunches or dinners out of it and it takes the pressure of for a few meals. That’s the mistake a lot of people make with meal planning is that they think they have to make every meal ahead – not true my friends! Just do what you can. It all makes a difference.
This week on Straight and Curly, Kelly and I are answering reader questions about budgeting. We have the most awesome Facebook group in the world (we have over 400 members now which is just insane!) and we discuss our life hacks every week. You have to join it’s beyond awesome.
Here’s this week’s episode – you know how to listen to it!
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Tell me… what little things do you do to save money each week? What do you scrimp on?
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Are we mates on Facebook yet?