Beauty and Bentley

Okay, so today I'm going to be talking all about my tips and tricks for saving money when you don't have much to begin with. Currently I'm still staying at my family home....at 25 years old *disheartened sigh* and my regular income comes from a part-time retail job (I swear it's near impossible to get a full-time job these days.....or at least one I wouldn't detest but this post isn't about that so lets get back on track). As you can imagine it's pretty difficult to really seriously save for my future in my current situation but I'm giving it my best shot, so here are my tips for saving on a budget.

Decide What You Want

This may seem a little obvious but I think it's important to sit down and think about your goals and find what motivates you. Personally, I dream of owning my own home, I like to keep this at the forefront of my mind so I have something to focus on. Saving can be difficult at the best of times but if you don't have a clear picture in your mind of what you want and you're saving just to have money set aside/for a rainy day then I find it's easier to find excuses why I don't need to put money away that month. Find things to motivate you, I like to go online every now and then to see what houses are for sale or look at furniture items I'd love to buy when I get my own place. These kinds of things encourage me to keep going and work harder to get what I want.

Create a Budget

One of the biggest suggestions I can make is to take out the amount you want to save each month as soon as you get paid. Waiting to see what you have left over at the end of each month guarantees you won't put aside as much as you can. Sit down with a pen and paper and work out how much you earn each month then take off all your bills and outgoings, once you see what's left over you will get a clear picture of what you can actually afford to save. When I first sat down and worked out my own finances I was shocked at how much I was wasting each month, even on a smaller income I can save roughly £200 per month!

Don't Underestimate Saving Change

Okay again this is an obvious one but often overlooked, you would be surprised at how much you can save in spare change. This works more effectively if you put some 'guidelines' in place, for example, deciding to put anything under 50p in a change jar at the end of each day will mean you save much quicker. I would also recommend something like a Terramundi Money Pot, I have something similar that holds £1000 in £2 coins which is pretty impressive. Now anytime I get a £2 coin I feel guilty if I don't put it away so it's an effective way of saving some extra cash.

Can You Give Something Up

When trying to save money it's good to look at what you're spending, is there something you could be doing differently? You could stop buying expensive coffees, stop getting your nails done or just budget better. I find I can save money each week on my food shop if I plan out my meals and write a shopping list or if I've not had time to do this I use the calculator on my phone to see how much I'm spending while I shop.

No Spend Days 

Something else I have tried out is having no spend days, it's exactly as it sounds you do your best to spend no money for a day. This is good because having targets make you feel competitive so you might see how many no spend days you can have in a row or how many you can have in a week/month. This also lets you see how much you waste on unnecessary items, often people spend money without even noticing.


These are my tips to save some cash when you don't have much to begin with. Let me know your advice and please subscribe!

Emma.