1) Make a monthly budget - budgeting is extremely critical if you want to save dollars. Plan how much you want to save for the month and allot a certain amount to whatever expenses you might incur during the month. By determining a target goal savings, you'll be motivated to reduce the amount of your monthly expenses wherever possible to reach that amount.
Christmas Tip - A Christmas budget for gifts would be very essential, have a list of persons and an allotted amount assigned to each person. Gift cards and vouchers from local vendors/craftsmen would come in handy. All gifts do not have to be bought, think out of the box --> baby sitting services, a home cooked meal, subject tutoring for a child, and help around the house are great gifts. Your girlfriend might smell nice with that lovely body shop gift set you got her but really will she be able to enjoy it if she has no time to herself? It might benefit her more if you offered to watch her child for one Saturday afternoon a month, so that she could get some time to herself.
2) Shop smart - you would be surprised how the terms "sale" "discount" and "BOGO Free" often cause persons to spend much more than intended. When shopping in stores or online, peruse the items in your cart and keep asking yourself "Do I really need this (insert item)?" For grocery shopping specifically, write a list of the items you need to get and stick to the list. Being disciplined will go a long way.
Christmas Tip -Plan your Christmas menu NOW, make a list if ingredients needed for each dish and do not buy anything which is not on the list. Planning your Christmas menu allows you room for creativity, enables you to try new dishes and saves you money since you are not trying to cook every possible dish which comes to mind.
3) Book your flight on weekdays - it's a well-known fact that flying on weekends is more costly than flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday. If you can fly on a weekday, you could easily save yourself $100 either way. Also, keep a sharp lookout for any flight deals that you can take advantage of.
4) Prepare your lunch - you can save a lot by preparing your own meals at home and taking to work rather than buying food every day. Don't scoff at the leftover chicken - use it and create a different meal for the next day!
Christmas Tip - Left overs from your Christmas meal can always be refurbished into another meal on Boxing day.
5) Turn off and unplug - switching off your fans and lights when leaving the house, and unplugging any unused appliances when not in use will net you significant savings on your next electricity bill.
Christmas tip - Those Christmas lights look great but do they need to be on all night?
6) Help your savings grow - find a bank or other financial institution that has great interest rates for savings accounts. Also, consider putting some of your savings in a fixed deposit. Fixed deposits offer varying interest rates and interest is paid either every quarter or at the maturity date. You can have the interest from the fixed deposit put on your savings account - which will increase your savings AND the interest paid on it too.
Christmas Tip - Give money specifically earmarked for SAVING as gifts to children.
7) Splurge smartly - no need to get your hair done or nail design changed every week. Find hairstyles that are long-lasting or can be self-maintained, and go with nail colors that go with just about every outfit possible. You can also save by washing your hair at home.
Christmas Tip - Do you really need your hair done for Christmas and for New Years at the salon? Pick which day is more important and have the one service instead of two.
8) Be car-conscious - beware the gas-guzzlers! Sure, everyone wants to have the most sophisticated or trendy car, but the expenses associated with maintaining them can eat away at your savings. When buying a car, go for the ones with good gas mileage. Something to consider - buying a well-maintained secondhand vehicle.
Christmas Tip - Carpooling to the various fetes and parties is a great way to save on petrol during the Christmas season.
9) Brand vs generic - sometimes buying the generic brand can be the best option. Most of the time the generic brand is just as good as (or in some cases, better) than the more well-known brand. And you save on future grocery bills.
10) Beware the credit card - the sweet promise of minimum payments is harshly distorted by the high interest penalties. If you must have a credit card, pay it off completely at the end of every month. Better yet, reconsider getting a credit card and get a debit card - you can only spend what you have in your account.
Christmas Tip - forward thinking/delayed gratification I am very particular about gift receiving, I do not believe in taking just because it is offered. Often during my time as a university student I asked for text books as Christmas gifts. I also put off gifts and called them in later in the year when I really needed it (sort of like an IOU) a lot of the times these delayed gifts came in handy as money for groceries or money towards my ticket home for summer or spending money or lions money.
Arniva Richardson graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, specializing in Accounting. She went on to graduate with honors from the University of Central Florida in 2010 with a Master of Business Administration, specializing in Finance. She now works as an auditor for KPMG LLC. In her spare time she enjoys reading, dancing and playing steel pan.
Kae -Toya Lee-Bramble Graduated with Honours from the University if the West of England, Bristol in 2012 with a Bachelors of Arts in Business Studies with Economics. She now works as a Financial Services Assistant at Nottingham University Hospitals. In her spare time she enjoys reading, blogging and Lacrosse.
