WELCOME TO SMARTER Spending. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing expert advice and real-life experiences, giving you the tools to spend more mindfully and get more from your euro.
WHETHER YOU’RE METICULOUS about putting every spare coin into a jar on the kitchen counter or you find yourself baffled by your bank balance every month, making your money work harder is something many people want.
However, saving money doesn’t always have to be restrictive or difficult. It can come as a result of making small choices every day, like thinking twice before you pick up an item in the supermarket or wearing something you already own rather than buying something new.
To find out more about simple changes that can make a big impact in your budget, we spoke to money mentor Santis O’Garro from The Caribbean Dub. Below, Santis shared four ways you can make your euro go further. Read on to see what she had to say…
“My number one tip for saving money is making a meal plan,” says Santis. “It might sound boring and tedious, but it really isn’t.”
Santis’ approach is to create your meal plan around what’s already in your fridge and freezer, meaning you do a “top up shop” rather than a full-sized food shop every week. “Straight away you’re going to save money on your food shop because all you need to buy is exactly what you need to make the items you already have stretch for you.”
For example, if you have celery, mince and pasta already in your arsenal, you could make a spaghetti bolognese by picking up just one or two more ingredients.
‘No spend’ days have long been a popular way of saving money or cutting back, but the key lies in the planning, says Santis: “Having ‘no spend’ days has been a game changer for me.”
Rather than seeing ‘no spend’ days as a day of restriction, Santis spends time planning in advance so she and her children can still carry out enjoyable activities on the day – just with no extra cost. “Say you’re going for a picnic on your ‘no spend’ day, the idea would be to make sure you pick up the food you’ll need earlier in the week when you’re doing your food shop and to top up your Leap card in advance.”
Intrigued? Santis recommends starting with one ‘no spend’ day. “The idea is that you’re being really conscious of how you spend your money and how it makes you feel.”
If you find yourself throwing away scraps of vegetables each week or dumping less-than-fresh bread, this is for you. After making your meal plan, Santis recommends thinking about how anything that’s leftover can be used – like giving stale bread to birds rather than throwing it in the bin. “Or you could make breadcrumbs and freeze them so when you’re making stuffing for your Sunday dinner, you won’t have to go and pay for breadcrumbs. You could even have enough for two or three months’ worth.”
Another example is using vegetable scraps to make soup. “With the ends of my vegetables, like broccoli stalks, I never throw them out. I keep them in the fridge and then one a week I made a big batch of soup.” In order to further reduce leftovers, Santis makes a portion for her kids and a spicier portion for herself and stores them in individual portions in a large ice cube tray. “It works out much better than putting it all in a big container and having to throw some out anyway.”
Having a budgeting method that works for you can play a large part in ensuring you stick to it, as we shared in last week’s Smarter Spending feature. For Santis, this led to her creating her own budgeting method that involves using cash envelopes, her bank account and her Revolut account.
Alongside budgeting for transport costs, bills and other necessities, an important element when creating a budget, Santis says, is factoring in ‘fun’ spend. “I need to have a bit of fun, my children deserve to have a bit of fun. Life is about living and having balance.”
Her tip to achieve this is to “be intentional” with what you spend your money on, whether it’s a family trip to a local cafe or factoring in the cost of a movie night at home. “I’ll always say to say money and be frugal, but also ask yourself what you truly want. Your budget is a follow on from that.”
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