7 money-saving life hacks
By: Claire, redwigwam
If you’ve used the internet over the past ten years, you’d have seen the term ‘life hack’ before.
In essence, a life hack is a strategy or technique that is used to manage your life more efficiently; you can use them to re-use your rubbish, become healthier or simply to change your lifestyle. That’s not good enough though, we want to make and save money!
Thankfully, there is an abundance of money-saving life hacks that fit the bill, are you ready?
Google everything.
Maintenance costs money, but you can repair almost anything with a quick Google if you’re prepared to follow step-by-step guides with absolute precision.
It’s easy to throw in the towel and call the repair (wo)man, just make sure you give it a thorough Google first, be 100% sure you couldn’t just fix the problem yourself, as it could save you anywhere between £10-£1000.
Freeze!
Cooked a lasagne and thinking of feeding it to the dog? Freeze it. Bought a new loaf of bread when there’s one in the cupboard? Freeze it. Partner annoying you? Definitely do not freeze them.
You get the point, but it’s something way too many people don’t do. Not only do you get to eat something again whenever you fancy it, but you also won’t have to pay for the ingredients until you need to cook it again. Definitely a subtle life hack you should be embracing.
Go to the market
The savings you make by simply buying your produce directly from the supplier is really noticeable. Not only do you get to listen to the west country accents, but you also make an absolute bargain. If you love blueberries, why would you pay £2.50 in the supermarket, when you can get the same box for £1 at the market?
A trip to the market should save around £10 every week.
Toothpaste and honey?
If you have bad acne, put a dab of toothpaste on your face, it does exactly the same thing as spot cream and means you’re paying for one product to do two purposes.
Similarly, honey has been proven to kill bacteria and can even be used to treat burns, there’s a reason you’re told to drink honey and lemon when you have a cold!
Quality > Quantity
You wouldn’t expect someone telling you to spend more to save more, would you?
Ever bought a t-shirt for £3, only to have to buy a new one-two weeks later because it’s developed a few holes? Well, I certainly have.
There’s no shame in spending a little more, say £20 on a t-shirt, as you can almost guarantee you’ll get more wear out of it and it’ll be made out of better materials. Over time, spending five times more will work out better than buying the same shirt more than five times, you’ll just have to trust me.
I’m off! …Or am I?
Have you spotted a better deal at the end of your phone contract, or do you simply want to change to a different internet provider? Tell them about it.
I tried to leave my old contract provider earlier this year because I secured a contract at half price through a family member. Evidently, my old network couldn’t match the offer, but they came incredibly close, just because they wanted to keep me as a customer.
To think I could have received almost 40% off the regular store and online prices, just by telling them I had a better deal elsewhere… Now that’s what I call a life hack.
Get subletting
Having used Airbnb myself, I can only vouch for the service when searching for accommodation; £20 a night in central Paris? Don’t mind if I do!
It’s simple to sign your house or apartment up for subletting, so if you don’t mind someone living in your home while you’re elsewhere, you can get paid simply for having a dormant bedroom. If you want somewhere cheap and cheerful when looking for accommodation, enjoy the comfort of someone else’s home!
Adopt one of these life hacks, save a bit. Adopt them all, save a lot.
Bear in mind these are only a few simple hacks, there are far more out there waiting to be used.
Are you ready to become a money-saving life hacker?
And check out this blog post on money saving tips for the winter.
