How to save when you like to spend.
Recently my friend and I had this “where-would-you-like-to-travel-if–you-had- £5,000-of-savings” kind of dreamy conversation. You know the type…
Money gives you the sense of freedom hence happiness. However, we never seem to have enough of it.
My friend can’t save. All she wants to do is spend, spend and spend some more. She is young and wants to live her life to the fullest. There is nothing wrong with that; you only live once, right?
The bottom line of saving is spending less than you earn. If you think about, you realize there are more possibilities to achieve this than just counting your pennies. You can save by growing the money you have – investing; and this is exactly what my friend does without even realizing:
I’ve added some of the things that she said that she does.
1) Buy clothes at the end of season
“Best sale months are January and July, but some outlets offer good discounts at the end of every season. I particularly love sites like brandalley.co.uk and shoeaholics.com. I recommend signing up to newsletters from your favourite designer, as you can often get special discounts emailed straight to your inbox. I receive letter from Kurt Geiger, Russell and Bromley, Boden and many others.”
2) Sell stuff on ebay
“When I feel like I need some extra money, I sell my designer stuff on eBay. I’ve recently sold some bags and shoes I don’t wear anymore and got half grand richer in a week.”
“I love ebay: it has even helped me to earn more money than I initially spent. For example I once bought designer shoes for £160 (real price £320), wore them half a year and sold them for £230.”
“Sometimes I also get some things in the normal store on “Buy one get one free” and then sell the free item at full price on ebay.”
3) Shop with vouchers
“I always check voucher deals before I buy anything. You can always get more than 10% off stuff, sometimes up to 50%-70%. Vouchers are all over the web, so there is no excuse not to make the best of them.”
“My Voucher Codes is the one I use the most. It’s the biggest voucher site in Britain.”
“Boden coats are my favourites. I recently bought Holland Park Coat through the myvouchercodes.co.uk boden store. I not only got the coat delivered to my home for free, but got a free bottle of wine with it.”
Other ways to save
There are many other simple things you can do to save without any sacrifice:
1) Master the 30-day rule.
Whenever you’re considering making a big purchase, wait thirty days and then ask yourself if you still want that item. Often you’ll find that the urge to buy has passed and you’ll have saved yourself some money by simply waiting. There are also some other tips that I often use to help me save money, that are definitely worth checking out: Tips to stop spending.
2) Turn off lights before you leave.
If you spend one minute turning off lights before a two hour trip, that’s the equivalent of earning $50 an hour. That’s some impressive savings.
3) Instead of buying, borrow books from the library
Whenever possible, borrow your books instead of buying them. The card to your public library is free and the libraries are generally well stocked and even if they don’t have the book on stock, they can get it for you.
What other ways do you save when you want to spend?
Great tips! I’ve learned that I actually enjoy saving money much more than I enjoy spending it, so we shop at thrift stores, use coupons, and go without spending anywhere we possibly can.
I definitely give things a lot more time now before I spend money, especially on larger purchases. For instance I have a digital converter box for my TV that is stuck on NBC. I could easily justify a new one, but with Hulu playing most of my favorite shows the next day, I keep putting off the purchase until I can’t take it anymore. 🙂
The 30 day rule is genius. I try to get heavy spenders to try it out, but that suggestion is usually ignored in the name of spontaneity. I’m also a big fan of the library and I always turn off lights (although we don’t pay for electricity, it’s included with rent).
I have done similar on eBay and it has been great. By being selective about brands I have found when I no longer wear an item it is virtually guaranteed to sell, often for what I paid or more in some cases as I look for these same brands second hand as well.
The 30 day money rule is brilliant too. We started doing it a few years ago and it makes a huge difference.
When it comes to purchasing clothes for my daughter, I always buy off season. I have saved hundreds of dollars on clothes this way. I get quality for pennies….my kind of deal.
I’m the spender and my wife is the saver in our relationship. I conquered my spending habits once I started investing.
I began to turn my spending towards investing. I would buy stocks and index funds instead of junk.
Now it’s to the point that I always know what I would do with an extra money. I am always looking to invest it!
What a great post. Thanks for all of these creative ideas! I’ll add one – you can often sell clothes that you no longer wear at a consignment shop. Sometimes they pay cash on the spot, or offer store credit. Then you can buy something fresh and new, without dipping into cash or credit.