Getting the Best Out of Your Adulting Expenses*

Once upon a time, I used to work and spend every last penny on myself. I could go on holidays, spend a fortune in Topshop and own 77 MAC lipsticks and not even bat an eyelid (ahhh those days at University). I thought I was an adult because I could buy whatever I wanted. Then I graduated and entered the real world. At first, aside from rent and bills, I could spend everything else on myself, it still felt great that I was working so hard and really reaping the rewards. But then, at 24, I became a single mother and adulting got hard. For a long time I didn’t get to spend my money on fun things, and it sucked. If you’re working you want to enjoy at least some of your hard earned cash. Thankfully, 7 years down the line and I’m juggling everything well and I hope this post will help some others do that too.

Credit

Keep Note of Everything
One of the first things I learned when I tried to make the most out of my income was to write down everything. Incomings, outgoings, things I wanted, ways I could make more money, everything. Every year I make a spreadsheet that has multiple pages. One for my earnings each money, one for my outgoings (what I spend, where I spend it), one for my bills. I’ve got one for 2016 right through to 2019 and it means I can go back and make comparisons which helps me see what my spending habits are and how I can improve them. It helps me feel on top of things and I honestly wouldn’t have survived this long self employed without it!

Shop Around
When I was first learning about money I just paid the price I saw and that was that, it was my Grandfather who taught me the beauty of shopping around. There are three tiers to this that will help you save money on those adult expenses you really don’t want to spend money on;

Household Bills
First up is your household bills. Rent or your mortgage isn’t something you can negotiate but your utilities, mobile phone and broadband are something you can work around. For example, your phone, perhaps you can look into sim only deals. The beauty of a sim only deal is they’re flexible. If you buy a contract with the latest handset not only will the payments be sky high (as you have to pay off the phone as well as your usage) but you’re usually locked into at the very least, a 2 year contract. If you don’t mind keeping an older phone it’s worth swapping to a sim only contract, and these can also still come on a pay as you go tariff so you’re not paying for what you don’t need!

Be sure to hit up price comparison websites as a lot of utilities also often an upfront payment to switch which is free money in your pocket and it can save you money in the long run.

Grocery Shop
I know this isn’t convenient for everyone, but it can save you a lot of money in the long run. Use different stores for different things. For example, you can get a lot of cleaning products from places like Poundland and B&M which are half the price of supermarkets. Often they’re discontinued smells or bottle branding but they still do the same job. I love to do the bulk of my shop in Aldi and Lidl as they do a lot of fresh fruit, veg and meat for a fraction of the price in comparison to big supermarkets. Finally, I shop only the deals in large supermarkets like Tesco and Asda. They do amazing buy one get one free offers that change almost weekly! I used to do my whole shop in a large supermarket, but now I split it up and save myself over £100 a month on shopping!

Use Discount Codes
I like to practice what I preach and the one money saving tip I preach to everyone who’ll listen. ALWAYS search for a discount code or coupon before buying. If i’m going away for a day I search for the restaurants that accept coupons. I save my Shoppix points for Amazon vouchers for new books or Christmas shopping and I never ever order anything where I have to pay postage. Those few pounds saved all add up, remember that.

Don’t Frivolously Spend
Anyone else have that little voice in the head that tells you to spend when you’re feeling a little down on yourself? I know I do and sometimes it even gets slightly shouty and it takes all my willpower to ignore it. To cope with frivolous spending I make a list of things I want to spend money on and order it with importance. So if I want some new clothes for my holiday, I need to list things on ebay I no longer wear. If I see a new book out I want, I have to sell some through Ziffit (it’s an app where you can sell books/games/dvds, search your app store for it!). I prioritise and I find just by listing things I’d really like I figure out I don’t need it. For me, going on holiday is a top priority, so once I list all the frivolous things I want to buy with the price, I can add it up and see that that money is much better spent on a flight!

Consider Investing Your Money
Obviously, to invest money you need to spend it. Encouraging you to spend money might seem an odd suggestion, but when you are investing it, the rules are completely different. There are many different things you can invest your money in, ranging from property to precious metals to antiques. However, one of the most popular investments that has burst onto the scene in the last few years is cryptocurrency. Many cryptocurrencies have a limited supply (as they are capped by mathematical algorithms). This makes it impossible for any political body or government to dilute their value through inflation, which is one of the biggest ways it differs from FIAT money. This, therefore, makes it a reasonably solid way to make a profit. If you would like to learn more, there is plenty of information and advice on the Kryptoszene website, including tips on how to “in der Schweiz Bitcoin kaufen“. Not only are you unable to spend it when you invest your money in something like cryptocurrency, but you should also see a return on your investment.

At the end of the day, adulting is hard and we’re all looking for ways to make it more bearable. If you can afford something you really want and you know it’ll bring you joy, buy it!