When talking to the majority of my friends, I realise how many people my age do not understand the importance of saving money. At the end of the day your money is your money and you can do whatever the hell you want with it, but I was certainly brought up believing that saving money is extremely important and should not be wasted every chance you get. In fact I've been saving since the day I was born. Although a lot of people around my age may not start thinking about buying a house or even a car until a fair few years down the line, it's definitely beneficial to think about these things in advance, as the more savings you have now, the easier purchasing these things in the future will be.
If you're someone who struggles with the concept of saving money, hopefully you'll find at least some of my tips at least slightly helpful!
Get a part-time job
This one may be easier said than done, but having a part-time job evidently helps so much as you're having some sort of income coming in on a regular basis. I believe that as soon as you turn 14 you can look for a part-time job here in the UK, however most people I knew (including myself) didn't start looking until we were 16 and our GCSE's were over. Although sometimes it may be a little hard to balance with your studies, earning your own incomes means that you not only have more money to save, but also more money to spend. That's a win-win situation right there!
Open a savings account
This is something I would highly recommend for everyone. Having a separate savings account (or possibly even an ISA) from your debit account will most likely prevent you from spending money. I am aware that I have money in my savings account, but because there is no card or anything to directly purchase from your savings account and it's too much fuss transferring from that account to your debit account (well, in my opinion - I'd be too lazy to do so), the money literally sits there building up over the years. Make sure to find a savings account (from a reputable bank) with a good rate of interest. Obviously the higher the rate of interest, the more money is going to build up.
Put away a percentage of income each month
If you do have a job, be that part-time or full-time, I would highly recommend transferring a certain percentage of that income into your savings account. This could be absolutely anything you want, be that 10% or 80%, but even putting away a small percentage of income each month will build up over the years. If you're lucky enough to be in a position when you don't have to pay any sort of bills, pay for a car etc. then there should be no reason as to why you're not putting away a substantial amount of money away each month. However, if you don't currently have a job, you could do exactly the same with any money that you may receive for your birthday or Christmas. I can remember when I was younger and every year I would put roughly 50% of what I received away. It really does help!
Take out as much student loan as possible
This one if for any of you university students out there. I'm sure that pretty much all students actually do take out the maximum loan possible, but if not I would highly recommend you do. Depending on which area you're looking to work in after you graduate, chances are you probably won't be able to pay off the majority of your loan, so why not add additional money to that. After all if gets written off after 30 years. I know many people who live at university have their entire loans/grants go directly onto living costs, but if you're fortunate to have some leftover, saving is a great option.
Have a limited amount of money with you
Another way to stop spending money is to have as little physical money on you as possible. Anytime that I seem to have a few notes in my purse, I tend to impulse buy a lot more, especially when in Boots...but when I'm carrying very little money on me, I tend to buy a lot less. I'm not quite sure why? This goes the same when going out. I'm personally not a big clubber and don't really drink that much so never have to deal with this problem, but for anyone who enjoys going on a night out quite frequently, only take an allotted amount of money with you and leave your card at home. After all, you can't spend what you don't have with you!
Write down a list of things you need
If you're anything like me when shopping, in the moment you can probably justify buying 5 pink lipsticks and 3 more pairs of black boots, but do you really need them? A couple months before a new season starts I tend to think about what do I really need versus what do I want. For example, right now on the top of my list is some black comfy casual flats and a black bucket bag for my holiday. Therefore when I go shopping, at the moment I'm very focussed on looking for these two particular things. Although I definitely still grab the odd thing here and there, it stops me from pretty much clearing the shelves and buying things that I'm honestly rarely going to use.
If you're anything like me when shopping, in the moment you can probably justify buying 5 pink lipsticks and 3 more pairs of black boots, but do you really need them? A couple months before a new season starts I tend to think about what do I really need versus what do I want. For example, right now on the top of my list is some black comfy casual flats and a black bucket bag for my holiday. Therefore when I go shopping, at the moment I'm very focussed on looking for these two particular things. Although I definitely still grab the odd thing here and there, it stops me from pretty much clearing the shelves and buying things that I'm honestly rarely going to use.
Make money online
If you don't have a job or a regular source of income, it is still possible to make a little money here and there online. Obviously having a blog or YouTube channel can act as a source of income, but it takes a lot of time and effort to actually get to that stage - I've personally only earnt a very small amount myself in over a year. Other sources of income could be sites such as Opinion Panel or Swagbucks. Although I don't believe you receive physical money with these, you can receive free gifts cards which in a sense is a form of money (which may stop you from spending any physical money). Swagbucks is probably a good place to start; you can gain points from answering questionnaires, daily polls and even by using their search engine (instead of Google or Yahoo). You can then soon swap these points in for vouchers for a variety of different companies, such as Amazon.
If you don't have a job or a regular source of income, it is still possible to make a little money here and there online. Obviously having a blog or YouTube channel can act as a source of income, but it takes a lot of time and effort to actually get to that stage - I've personally only earnt a very small amount myself in over a year. Other sources of income could be sites such as Opinion Panel or Swagbucks. Although I don't believe you receive physical money with these, you can receive free gifts cards which in a sense is a form of money (which may stop you from spending any physical money). Swagbucks is probably a good place to start; you can gain points from answering questionnaires, daily polls and even by using their search engine (instead of Google or Yahoo). You can then soon swap these points in for vouchers for a variety of different companies, such as Amazon.
Look for discount codes/deals online
Before I'm thinking about purchasing anything online, I always remember to look online to see if there are any current discount codes or better deals elsewhere. This could get me a certain percentage off my order, free delivery, or I could find the exact same item from a different site for a much better price (although remember to check that the site is legit first). If you have a little look around, you may also be able to find some free printable vouchers which you can use in stores. For example, when I was living at uni I can remember having a voucher for a free pizza, and being student meant I had little money spare anyway, so this was a great bonus for me. You can also find that a lot of brands offer free samples for some of their products, particularly makeup brands. I've been sent free samples before for products that I was really interested in buying, and ended up hating the product. It definitely saves me money, as I didn't end up purchasing the full product.
Before I'm thinking about purchasing anything online, I always remember to look online to see if there are any current discount codes or better deals elsewhere. This could get me a certain percentage off my order, free delivery, or I could find the exact same item from a different site for a much better price (although remember to check that the site is legit first). If you have a little look around, you may also be able to find some free printable vouchers which you can use in stores. For example, when I was living at uni I can remember having a voucher for a free pizza, and being student meant I had little money spare anyway, so this was a great bonus for me. You can also find that a lot of brands offer free samples for some of their products, particularly makeup brands. I've been sent free samples before for products that I was really interested in buying, and ended up hating the product. It definitely saves me money, as I didn't end up purchasing the full product.
Get a credit card
This isn't so much about saving money, but it's something that I believe is extremely important. I'm always shocked at the fact that all of my friends (and when I say all, I mean all) do not have their own credit card, and look at my oddly when I say I do. Although it stills years away for many of us, if in the future you wish to buy a house and have a mortgage, you will most likely need a good credit rating. If you don't have a credit card, then you won't have a credit rating. There are many cards you can get, and setting up a direct debit will mean (as long as you have the money in your debit account) you will never have to worry about transferring the money over every month. Great if your forgetful like me! Just remember to pay it off every month or else you will get charged interest and have a poorer credit rating.
What is your #1 tip for saving money?
I've also filmed my first ever collab with my friend Amie! I would love if you could check out our Smoothie Challenge and let me know what you think!
Lots of Love
This isn't so much about saving money, but it's something that I believe is extremely important. I'm always shocked at the fact that all of my friends (and when I say all, I mean all) do not have their own credit card, and look at my oddly when I say I do. Although it stills years away for many of us, if in the future you wish to buy a house and have a mortgage, you will most likely need a good credit rating. If you don't have a credit card, then you won't have a credit rating. There are many cards you can get, and setting up a direct debit will mean (as long as you have the money in your debit account) you will never have to worry about transferring the money over every month. Great if your forgetful like me! Just remember to pay it off every month or else you will get charged interest and have a poorer credit rating.
What is your #1 tip for saving money?
I've also filmed my first ever collab with my friend Amie! I would love if you could check out our Smoothie Challenge and let me know what you think!
Lots of Love
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