Be Smarter With Your Money This 2022*

*This is a collaborative post*

We're over halfway through January already, Christmas is but a distant memory and yet my bank account is still feeling the pinch. I don’t know about all of you, but Christmas really drains my funds. As part of my new year’s resolutions – a list by the way which is as long as my arm – I would really like to get on top of my finances and save some money. The question is though, how can I or indeed any of us, save any money when our income is still the same but our outgoing expenses seem to be ever increasing? The key is to get money smart and put a few measures in place. I’m going to trial this for a few months and then I’ll report back on how I’m doing.

Budgeting And Setting Savings Goals

Budgeting is paramount. I’m currently studying to become a level 3 teaching assistant and as such being a student, I live as the saying goes, hand to mouth. I try to budget down to every pound but to be fair it usually goes out the window halfway through each month and I end up with nothing saved. As of now, I’m going to be stricter with myself, why don’t you try this too?

Write a list at the end of every month starting off with what income you have due and what your expected expenses are such as bills. Then split the money left into the according number of weeks before next payday. Use this as your set weekly budget. I’m going to transfer a small percentage of my weekly budget into my savings account. This will be difficult with me usually spending all my budget, but I think if I cut back on some things then I can find a few pounds to save here and there. Instead of the five pounds bottle of wine, I’ll opt for the cheaper £3 version in Aldi. Every penny counts when budgeting. Why not set yourself your own weekly savings goal? It doesn’t have to be very much.

Make Use Of Discount Codes And The Sales

I have a family birthday in January and as such I hit the January sales looking for the perfect gift for my sister but on a budget. It took time scouring the internet but I eventually found some beautiful limited edition straighteners in the half price sale at Boots. The sales are great but they do require time and patience to scroll through.

I also needed to buy my daughter her very first bed and mattress. This was an expense I knew was coming and yet it still hit my purse strings hard. There were so many furniture sales around Christmas but I wanted a toddler bed which is a little more specific. Luckily I’ve become a dab hand at utilizing promo codes which is another fantastic way of being money smart. I’ve been a huge fan of these for years and I always scour the net for a relevant code before I splurge. Unfortunately, this is so time consuming because half the time the codes don’t even work due to being invalid or out of date. However, I’ve since found websites that do all the hard work for me. Discount Codes for example is a website that finds you all the best offers and codes on a daily basis. No more searching the net for hours, no more invalid codes! It’s a super user-friendly site and there’s no sign up required. You can just visit the site and search in various ways. There’s a trending feature so you can see which stores are popular or you can search by category. It’s a particularly handy website if you’re looking for a new mattress. The site currently features codes for Simba, Dreams, Emma and Argos just to name a few.

What’s Next?

I’ll be looking at more money saving ideas over the coming months which I will share with you in a future post. I’ll also be looking into ways to boost cashflow. If you have any ideas that you’d like me to share with fellow GirlGoneDreamer readers then please get in touch. I’ve set myself my saving goal for 2022 to try and save £2000. Time will tell if I hit my target come December.

Good luck with your own money saving endeavors!

*Photos via Pexels