6 Things You Should Stop Buying if You Want to Save Money
We're all looking to save money, no matter what it is we're buying. If we can get items cheaper, then we will! But saving money is even easier if we just stop buying things altogether. Now, I'm not saying to stop purchasing everything, but some of the things we buy aren't really a necessity and there are some simple swaps you can make to save even more money. So, here's everything you should stop buying if you want to hold back some of your hard-earned dough.
1. Takeaway coffee
I know, this is a toughy (especially for someone like me who basically lives on the stuff), but the good thing here is, I'm not saying you can't ever grab a takeout coffee ever again, I'm simply saying to limit your coffee purchases somewhat. Perhaps only save it for drinks with friends or a coffee date with your SO. Maybe don't go out and buy one every single day, for example (as amazing as that may sound, haha).
Let's say a medium sized latte from Starbucks is around £3.25, and you're grabbing one of those, on average, three or four times a week - those coffee trips will eventually cost you around £52 a month! If you limit your hot drink purchases to once or twice a week at the most, then you'll end up saving approximately £26 a month.
2. Buying disposable razors
Opt for a reusable, electric razor that can be recharged and reused over and over again. I know that the initial cost will be a tad expensive, but buying disposable razors will cost you far more in the long run, especially as a woman. The female equivalents are often more costly than the male alternatives, so make the switch to a reusable razor to save some dosh and also the environment as you won't be contributing to the build up of single-use plastic waste either.
3. Doing small food shops often
It's so easy to pick up things you don't really need when doing lots of small food shops throughout the week. Instead, limit it to once a week, make a list and stick to it. Meal planning will also aid the cause, as it'll help to stop food waste as well as save you some cash. If you can cover everything in your one weekly food shop, then there'll be no need to make tedious trips to your local convenient supermarket. Also, Tesco Expresses and Sainsbury's Locals, for example, will often carry a heftier price tag, simply because they're a convenience store, so keep an eye out for that too when buying your food.
4. Quit buying knickknacks
Small, piddly homeware items can clutter up the house and often be a huge waste of money, especially if you buy a lot of them. Something I've come to learn is that you'll quickly get bored of a lot of them and they'll become nothing but an annoyance after a while, prompting you to get rid of them eventually. Save your money and don't bother buying any trinkets for your home.
5. Cut down on the number of haircuts you have
Haircuts, especially for women, are extremely expensive. One way you can save money is to stop booking yourself in for one every 6-8 weeks, because in all honesty, you really don't need it. I can go up to three months without having a haircut, so I'll only be paying for haircuts four times a year at the most!
Let's say the average price of a women's cut and blow dry is around £45, and you're paying that every 8 weeks, you'll be spending around £292 every year. By switching it up and going every three months, you'd end up saving around £112 a year, and that's just for a basic cut and blow dry.
Think about how much dough you could save if you have additional treatments done every time you go - put the money you save to better use, it could go towards materials for a home renovation or even some holiday money for your next big vay-cay!
6. Pre-packaged or pre-cut foods
Stop buying ready-made sandwiches and pre-cut mushrooms, onions and even chicken fillets, for example, from the supermarket. Pre-packaged sandwiches are expensive and often less healthy than a homemade one.
The pre-cut foods you buy have been inflated price-wise, purely because it's more convenient for the shopper. Start chopping your own fruit, veg and meat and save yourself some money - it might not be a lot, but over a period of time, you could save a considerable amount of cash just by making those simple swaps in the supermarket.
For example, as of April 2021, a 400g bag of pre-chopped onions from Tesco will cost 85p, but loose fresh onions will set you back 85p for an entire kilogram. 250g of sliced mushrooms will cost you £1, whereas 300g of whole, closed cup mushrooms will cost 95p.
400g of fresh mini chicken fillets will cost you £3.00, but you'd be able to get 600g of whole chicken fillets (an extra 200g of fresh meat) for just 60p more - but again, you'll have to cut these down yourself to a more manageable size if that's what you need the smaller chunks for. If you're prepared to get your hands dirty, so to speak, then you could save a lot of dosh.
If you go out once a week and buy the pre-cut bits, you could end up with 400g of onions, 250g of mushrooms and 400g of chicken for £4.85. Over the course of a month, this equates to around £19.40. If you made the switch, you could get 1kg of onions, 300g of mushrooms and 600g of chicken every week for a month for £21.60 a month. Although it works out a tad more expensive, you'll be getting 850g extra produce every week, so it'll stretch much further.
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I hope you enjoyed this blog post! If you have any money-saving tips, then feel free to leave some in the comments section below. I'll see you again very soon with a brand new blog post :)
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