Managing Finances

• 1). Create a spreadsheet and type in your outgoings v your earnings.
  
  
• 2). Look carefully at your outgoings and see if there is anything you can cut back on. Are you spending lots of money on taxis, for example, when you could be taking public transport?
  
  
• 3). Look at the things you buy and see if there are cheaper options available, such as supermarket own-brand products, for instance.
  
  

Essentials

• 1). Get an Oyster card to benefit from cheaper travel. Buy monthly or weekly travel cards for cheaper Tube, bus and overground train journeys as well as the river boat. Season tickets are much cheaper than single fares.
  
  
• 2). Change your pay-as-you-go mobile to a contract if you use it a lot. There are very cheap deals that allow you many free minutes and texts per month, which could work out to be less than you’re paying now. Change your landline to incoming calls only so as not to run up a large bill, particularly if you are sharing a house with others.
  
  
• 3). Do a weekly or monthly food shop and prepare food at home rather than eating out. Take advantage of in-store discounts and store cards offering points that can be exchanged for money off.
  
  
• 4). Pay your utility bills by direct debit if they offer you a discount. Check with your utility company as you could be saving money paying this way.
  
  
• 5). Take packed lunches to work. Buying lunch out every day can be quite expensive.
  
  

Extras

• 1). Eat out at places offering lunch or dinner deals. Better still, consider cooking at home more than eating out.
  
  
• 2). Set yourself limits on how much you will spend on a night out. Take out that amount from the cash machine and no more throughout the evening.
  
  
• 3). Shop for clothes during the sales, at secondhand shops, on Ebay, or discount shops like TK Maxx for affordable fashion.
  
  
• 4). Join a local library and borrow books and DVDs instead of buying or hiring them.