Wherever you are on your money journey, saving money is never a bad thing. Whether it is to pay down debt, build up an emergency fund or put towards a goal like homeownership, a dream holiday, or you may simply wish to put more money towards investing – we would all welcome tips of how to save money.

1. Use your budget – or start one if you don’t have one

This is your tool for knowing where your income currently goes. So open up your Financielle Budget & Goal Tracker and don’t skip an item – review line by line for opportunities to squeeze money out of your budget to save.

2. Flex your Food

The most important item in the budget and also the most flexible – investing in good nutrition is a crucial thing we pay for each month. Aside from ensuring we eat a healthy balanced diet, how you spend your food money can vary wildly. Cutting eating out and takeaways, even just for a fixed period, can have a major impact on your food spend. Bulking meals up with vegetables or even removing meat altogether can reduce your grocery bill. Embracing frozen vegetables is a way of limiting food wastage whilst maintaining the same nutrient quality. Also switching up where you shop, using existing food stores in your pantry cupboard and meal-prepping are all ways to squeeze your food budget significantly.

3. Remove non-essentials…

… and pro-actively replace them with a free alternative, for example Netflix or Spotify can be switched to watching or listening to content on Youtube or Podcasts.

4. Switch utilities

When comparing and switching utilities, keep an eye on switching and referral bonuses – I’m with Octopus energy and I received a £50 credit when a family member also switched to them. Don’t rush this process, treat it like your job, compare the costs, it will pay you back.

5. Ditch Debt

Tackling your debts and removing them from your life also means eventually removing them from your budget, giving you more money to save and put towards your bigger goals.

6. Learn to say NO

How often do we feel on track and then we sabotage ourselves through our inability to say no? Plan your month ahead, include social activities that are “essential” then say no to the rest.

7. Recognise marketing triggers

Billions of pounds is spent attempting to make us part with our money. Make sure you spend mindfully rather than impulsively and recognise when you are being “influenced” to buy something that may not provide an ROI right now…

8. Sell things that you wouldn’t buy again

Look around you: what do you have of value that YOU no longer value? Could you sell things on a local marketplace and bring in extra money without missing the “thing” you sold?

9. Gamify the process

Make a game of saving more money – create a chart that you colour in and watch the numbers grow – involve family or friends and set a deadline for your savings goal.

10. Focus on your WHY

You need both a strong strategy and mindset to win on your money journey. The above is mainly strategy, but what will take you that extra mile and really ramp up your savings rate is knowing your why. Why are you saving money? And we mean REALLY why. Is it for a material thing, or is it really for health, wellness, happiness, security, freedom even? Remembering these bigger “why” feelings can help you squeeze the budget that bit deeper.

These are just some of the tips and strategies contained within The Financielle Playbook – which is our simple money plan that is empowering people to take control of their money, work towards financial wellness and build wealth from themselves, their families and their communities.