Savings

How to Increase my Savings

If you want to be able to increase the amount of money that you have saved up, then there are different things that you could try. You will need to make sure that whatever you try, that you concentrate on making sure that any extra money you have is directed towards your savings account though – rather than being spent!

Put Savings in Higher Interest Account

The first step is to make sure that the savings are earning as much interest as possible. If you put them in an account that pays very little interest then they will hardly grow. However, if you put them in an account which earns more interest then this will help them to grow. If you have a small amount of savings and rates are low, then you may not think that it is worth it. However, each small thing that you try will add up and as your savings grow, it will make more and more difference. You will find that if you want instant access to your money, then you will not be able to get such a high interest rate. So, if you tie it up in a bond or a notice account then you will get more. It is a good idea to think about whether you will be able to do this or whether you think that you will need access to the money right away. You may be happy to tie some up and keep some instant access. Compare the different rates as you are deciding and it should help you to make the right decision.

Transfer Money When you First get Paid

Many people will save by putting any money that they have left at the end of a month into a savings account. This means that they will only be able to save, if they have not spent it all. Often, we perhaps do spend it, because if we want something and know that we have the money available for it, we will buy it. Therefore, it can be better to save the money just after you get paid and then you will be forced to be more frugal during the month. Therefore, setting up an automatic transfer can be really helpful. You can still save anything that is left at the end of the month, but it is much more likely that you will save much more money by doing it this way.

Try to get More Money to Save

You may also need to see whether you can get more money to save. There are lots of different things that you can try in order to do this.

  • You could sell things that you own and no longer need and use the money that you raise to put into your savings account. We often have a lot of items that we no longer use and that are just cluttering our home and so these items could be the sorts of things that we could sell. Obviously, this will not provide an income but you could raise a lump sum of money.
  • If you have spare space in your home, then you could consider renting it out. If you have a spare room you could rent it out o a lodger or provide a bed and breakfast service. If you have spare attic space or garage space you could rent it out to people as storage. You can even rent out your driveway. You will need to own your home to be able to do this and you will also need to check with your insurer to make sure that they are happy with you doing this. They may require you to pay higher insurance, but it could still be worth it.
  • You could try to reduce what you are spending. You can do this by comparing prices and switching suppliers, insurers and retailers so that you pay less for things. You could also cut down the amount of things that you are buying so that you spend less as well. It is worth thinking about whether you really need everything that you are buying as well as whether you are paying too much for them.
  • You could try to work more hours in your job to get more money to save. You might be able to be able to do some overtime in the work that you are doing. You could also take on a second job, freelance work or other odd jobs so that you can get more money that way.
by admin4 Min Reading
Loans

Should I get a Loan to Pay for a Car?

If you are looking to change your car or buy one for the first time, then you will have to think about how to pay for it. Whether you are buying it new or second hand, you might find that it is too expensive for you to be able to afford to pay for right away. If this is the case, then you might be wondering whether a loan might be a good idea. There are advantages and disadvantages to doing this and it is a good idea thinking them through first before you make up your mind.

Advantages

  • If you take out a loan, you will be able to get the money really quickly and have the car quickly. Most loans do not take that long to arrange and you may even be able to get one from the dealer, if you are using a dealer. If you need a car really quickly because yours has broken down, then you might find that this is the best option to be able to get one quickly.
  • If you are borrowing money, you may be able to buy a more expensive vehicle compared to if you use your savings. It can be good to get a dearer car as it may last longer and offer you better value for money. Of course, this will very much depend on what you are spending the money on. If you only have a few hundred pounds, then you are unlikely to be able to get a car that will last you very long. However, if you have a lot more money, perhaps by borrowing it, you will be able to spend a bit more and hopefully get something that will last longer.

Disadvantages

  • When we borrow money we have to pay a charge to the lender. This is usually in the form of interest on the loan and could also be in some fees as well. This means that you will have to pay extra for your car if you borrow the money. If you use savings or wait and save up for it, then you will not have to pay this extra money. It is therefore a good idea to work out what the cost of the loan will be. Then we can decide whether we think that it will be worth paying this extra money for the vehicle that we are buying. Think about whether we would have still bought it had it been that much more expensive when it was advertised.
  • You will have to repay the loan at some point. Many loans will require a regular monthly payment and it is very wise to find out how much this will be. You will then be able to decide whether this is an amount of money that you will be able to afford. Make sure that you very carefully calculate how much you think you will be able to afford in the way of repayments first. Look at your previous bank statements and work out how much you normally have coming in and going out each month. Then work out what is left and whether it is enough to cover the loan repayment. If it is not then see whether there is anything that you will be able to cut back on that might help you to afford it more easily and whether this is something you will be able to do until the loan is repaid. Also consider what might happen if interest rates go up and whether you will be able to afford to pay more in the way of interest rates and what you will have to cut back on to be able to afford this.
  • You should also consider whether you will be able to get a loan. If you have a poor credit record then you may find that no lender will be willing to give you money. You might be able to do some things which will help your credit report but these may take too long to be able to allow you to get a loan in the short term. It could be worth checking your report and seeing if you feel you will be able to get a loan and also making sure everything is correct because any mistakes could lead to you being refused a loan unjustly. Also be aware that a credit report that is not so good could lead to you only being able to borrow money at a higher interest rate, so watch out for this as well.
by admin4 Min Reading
Family

How to Raise More Money to Prepare for a Family

If you are planning a family, then you might want to consider putting some money aside to help you to manage. There will be a lot of expenses that you will have to cope with and you will need to think about whether you will be able to manage. Not only will you have to pay for all the new things that you will need for the baby and as they grow, but you may also have to cope with a loss in income if one parent gives up work to look after the baby. Although there may be some financial help available, this may not be as much as you are used to. Therefore, you might feel that you will need to put some money aside to help, but you may wonder how you will be able to do this. There are many possible solutions to this and a few are explained in more detail below.

Start Working More

It could be possible for one or both potential parents to start working more. This would raise some extra money which could be put away in a savings account to help you to cope with the costs of having a baby. It could be that they could do more hours in their current job or that they will find another job or source of income that will supplement what they are already getting. It could be possible to work weekends and evenings as well as during the day. There might be an opportunity to do some work from home, if you search online for it which would mean you would still be in the house an din a more relaxing situation compared with having to go out to a job. Some people enjoy working outside of the home and socialising with different people though, but it will all depend on what your feelings about this are.

Selling things you no longer need can be a great way to make money.

Spend Less

It might be possible to cut down the amount of money that you are spending and use that to put in a savings account and you could also take on a no credit check loan. You can do this is two main ways. If you compare prices on the things that you buy, you could find that you will be able to save money by switching to different items. This can take some time, to compare everything, but start with the expensive things like insurance and utilities and then eventually cover everything even down to coffee and carrots. There will be some things which you will not want to swap because you already feel that you are getting the best value for money but there could also be things that you will happy to change. You could find that doing this will save you a big chunk of money each month. Another thing to help you to spend less is to cut down the amount of things that you are buying. It can be a good idea to ask yourself whether you really need everything you are buying or whether you could go without it to be able to save more money.

Sell Things you no Longer Need

If you have a lot of items you may need to get rid of some so that you have more room for the children’s things. If this is the case for you, then you could consider selling those items to raise some money. You will be surprised what people will pay for things and so it is worth looking on sites such as eBay and social media sale sites to see what others are selling and whether you could sell the things that you have. It could bring in a useful sum of money for you.

Downsize

It might not be possible for you downsize if you do not have a lot of space as you will need space for your growing family. However, it is worth considering this if you have a large property. Even if you do not have a large one, moving to a different area could allow to buy or rent a cheaper home that will keep your costs down. Of course, you may need to also think about which school catchment area you are in as this will have a big bearing on things for you. Give it all some thought though as the cost of house and the council tax and heating costs can be much bigger if you are in a larger house. If you do not think that you will use all of the room that you have, then it could be worth considering getting something smaller. It will also make it easier to cope with the cleaning and maintenance when your lives are busier with children.

by admin5 Min Reading
Shopping

Top Tips for Reducing Costs When Buying New Things

When we are buying new things, we will always have to spend money. However, there are many of us that are paying out more money than is necessary. This is because we just buy an item when we see it. It is worth taking some time to think about your purchase first as it could lead to you saving money on it.

Do you Really Need it?

You should always start by asking yourself whether you really need the item that you are buying. This may sound odd, but we will often buy items which are not really necessary for us to have. We might buy then through habit or because we have forgotten we already have something similar. So have think, particularly if it is something expensive and decide whether you want to buy the item. Perhaps delay for a little while and give yourself time to think about it properly because you may find that you change your mind.

Can you Find it Cheaper Elsewhere?

It is also a good idea to delay until you have done some research. The first step of this is to take a look elsewhere and see whether you can get it cheaper. You will need to think about whether you want a cheaper one as it may not offer you such good value for money. However, sometimes paying more for something is just not worth it. If you have already decided on the brand. Then looking around to see who carries that product and how much they charge, will be really worthwhile. However, if you want a shop brand or only one place carries the brand that you want, then you will not be able to do this, but there are still other things you can try to see if you can save money.

Can you Find a Discount Code?

It is well worth looking to see if you can get a discount code. These can be found online so have a search for discount code websites and you will be able to see what is available. You will find that these will usually be codes that you can use online, so you may have to buy the item online to benefit, however, there maybe vouchers that you can print for some items as well. It is good to look at several different sites to see whether they have different deals as well, as they could vary. Also if there are no vouchers on one site, there is a chance that there will be some on another so it is well worth a good look.

Can you get Cashback?

Some companies will allow you to get cashback on purchases. You will have to be a member of a cashback site and usually buy the product through a link on the cashback site so that they can trace the purchase. They will then pay you some money back once they get it from the retailer. This can take a number of months to get the money and sometimes it does not work so you should not rely on it to make the item more affordable but use it more as a bonus if you get it. There are different cashback sites that you can sign up to and it is a good idea to compare them before you sign up, if you are not a member already, to see which looks like it will be the best. They will vary in the retailers that they have listed and the deals that they have so you can benefit from comparing them first.

Buy Second Hand

A complete alternative to think about is to consider buying second hand items rather than new. This can mean that the amount of money that you will have to pay will be significantly cheaper. However, you may have to search around a bit more to find what you want. You will also have to think about whether you trust the seller as you will want to be sure that when you get it, it will be suitable for you. It can be worth looking to see what is available as you never know whether they may have the most suitable products for you.

It might seem like a bit of a faff to think about all of these things when you are buying new things. However, if you are spending large sums of money then you will benefit by saving some money. It may not even take that long to do the investigating and you could benefit massively.

by admin4 Min Reading

Recent Posts

Categories

Pages

Copyright All Rights Reserved 2020