1) The 30 day rule!
You may have come across this term before but it is a top tip for anyone looking at personal saving. When you might be considering making a buying decision for an item that isn’t essential to you, the best way to approach it is to make a list of items you want, wait 30 days, and then decide if you still want the non-essential item. Often buying decisions are made on the spot or as a spur of the moment which can lead to regret later on. By giving yourself 30 days to decide, you give yourself time to decide whether or not you want that item.
2) Research the product before buying it!
In today’s age almost everyone has access to the internet. We can therefore make informed decisions with very little effort by just typing in a few words into a search engine and doing a little reading. Reading reviews of other people who have bought the product in question are your best source of knowledge- they can tell you the positives and negatives of the product from personal experience. When buying items such as appliances, the cheapest isn’t always the best value. Buying the right appliance can save you money in the long term if one item is more reliable than another. Not every store is the same and it is in your interest that you make sure you are getting the item you want at the best price available to you.
3) Sale!
Now and then you will catch a break but only if you keep your eyes open! You can’t always wait for a sale to be able to get a good deal on a product you want. It can’t hurt to keep up to date with what special offers there are from different shops and services. A good deal doesn’t always come around but at the same time that doesn’t mean you should buy it just because it was a good deal (See the 30 day rule!)
4) Buy non-perishable items in bulk!
Goods that are non-perishable are more often than not cheaper to buy in bulk. They don’t say “buy in bulk and save” for nothing! The one problem with having a product in bulk is that you can tend to use more of that product than you would normally, as you know that you have more stored away. The other problem is that you may never get round to using all the products that you bought in bulk. This ends up gathering dust and wasting space, but more often than not it is worthwhile saving money by buying in bulk.
5) Go green!
You can save huge amounts of money by cutting your electricity bill down with simple adjustments. Turn your geyser on and off for when you want to use it (you can buy timers for this nowadays so you don’t have to it manually), replace your old bulbs with CFl’s which use up to 75% less power, turn your lights off in a room that you don’t use or when you leave the room, switch off equipment at the wall so that it doesn’t draw power even when it’s on standby. Installing insulation in your roof, insulting your geyser by a “geyser blanket” and installing solar powered water heater are other ways to save money.
6) Don’t speed and check those tyres!
As silly and obvious as it sounds, it does pay to not speed. Getting speeding fines are a good way to waste money when in the end getting to your destination a few minutes later shouldn’t have too much effect except to ensure that your wallet/purse stays full. Tyres that are not fully pumped will cause you to waste up to 5% of your fuel and at the rate that the petrol price is increasing, we should all be looking to make sure we save as much fuel as possible. Regular vehicle maintenance and check up can also reduce the risk of “big problems” occurring with your motor vehicle.
7) New isn’t always the best choice!
Buying goods second hand is not to be frowned upon. There are a wide variety of online sites that one can visit to look for any item you might want or need and get it for more than half the price of a new one that serves the same purpose. Of course there is always a risk when buying second hand as you do not know how the previous owner treated the item. One can save a huge amount of money by taking that risk and buying second hand goods.
8) Plan what you eat!
Okay maybe you don’t need to draw up a meal planner every week, but just by making sure you have enough groceries in your fridge for all your meals and having a general idea what you might want to have later in the week means you won’t have to eat out or pay extra to get instant food. Making sure your fridge is full can save more money than you think.
9) Make sure you are on the plan that suits you!
Contact one of our advisors today to make sure you are on the best plan for you. Saving on medical aid, car insurance, life insurance, home insurance and retirement can end up saving you thousands just by enquiring regularly to see if you are on the best available plan to you. Please don’t hesitate to contact one of our expert financial advisors today and start saving!
10) The best way to save money and manage your finances is to create a budget and stick to it!
Knowing how much money you will need for the months expenses is key in knowing how much you can spend after expenses. Budgets are simple tools yet are really effective in managing your day to day expenditure. Money 101 offers a service called “My money budget” which can be found in the top right hand corner of your screen and accessed by clicking on the blue banner called “mb mybudget”. And the best part is… it’s FREE!