Number five in our financial goals for 2010 is:
5. Earn Extra Income and Reduce Spending:
In 2010 we will earn/save an extra £1,000 by
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maximising our cash back earnings
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learning to cook everything from scratch and reducing waste
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maximising our savings interest and re investing any interest earned
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cutting non essential spending
So I’m wasting no time in attacking this £1,000 target.
Cash back earnings:
-Hubby already has an Amexcard offering cash back which he uses for every purchase, mainly fuel. We have ordered an additional card on the account for me to use for the grocery shopping.
-Money Saving Expert is recommending that you switch gas/electric suppliers if you haven’t done so in the last six months; this switch should give us some extra cash back and save us some energy costs.
Cooking From Scratch/Food Waste:
-This is work in progress. I’ve started making our own cake (it would be cake wouldn’t it!) and we will no longer be buying them from the supermarket.
- Also work in progress food waste. The Frugal Girl runs an excellent weekly post ’Food Waste Friday’, which I find helps to keep me on track.
-Menu planning and more menu planning.
Maximising Savings Interest:
-I’m looking at the interest rates on our savings accounts, which are all pitiful at the moment, and researching to see if there are better deals out there.
Cutting non essential spending:
- I’m working on this. I’m craving new items for the house at the moment, but so far I’ve resisted and I still haven’t bought any clothes, although I will be buying new jeans very soon. Apart from that it’s make do and mend this year.
What cuts are you making in your budget?
{photo credit: jacekNL}
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Awesome post! I think it is such a great reminder about how the little things add up!
.-= Frugal Trenches´s last blog ..Brought To My Knees =-.
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well the hub is now freelance. and our car is a write off. I guess the commute and car expenses are off our list!
.-= mo´s last blog ..grump over =-.
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Nice post. As you say there are two main changes that can be made – earn extra income and make budget cuts. I really think people need to concentrate on the latter before tackling the former. The reason is that most people when they get extra income automatically spend more – which is why such people always seem to struggle no matter how much their income is!
I’ve got to the point where it’s difficult to cut my budget further, but it’s a tradeoff. For example I might save some money by growing my own vegetables, but the time spent on that represents an opportunity cost. For some activities it’s worth it – for example I do all my own painting and decorating, but some activities are just not worth it. You also need to throw in how much you like the activity too. Some people get a lot out of growing their own vegetables for example, nothing wrong with that.
These days I tend to focus on the “earning extra income” side of things. The emphasis so far being on increasing skills, setting up side businesses, and earning a higher salary in my “day job”. That’s worked fairly well for me so far.
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I made my biggest cuts in much the same ways you’ve talked about -cutting unnecessary spending, meal planning/making things from scratch and getting better deals on the utility type bills that you just can’t avoid. Great post – I always love seeing how other people are going about organising things. It spurs me on so thank you!
.-= Shoestring´s last blog ..Making a meal of it =-.
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Hi Laura,
Ambitious goals for 2010! I think you´ll achieve them all easily if you concentrate on them, one at the time.
I´m trying to cut expenses too, specially eating out and unnecessary stuff. I will spend a bit on home improvements but they´re necessary, specially my kitchen floor and painting. I haven´t done any home improvements in ten years, lol.
I´m craving for new bedsheets and summer bed-covers plus new curtains.
It won´t be easy to reduce my spending on clothes. With less 10 Kg nothing fits me anymore, only recent items I bought. When summer arrives, I´ll need new clothes both for me and my daughter.
We don´t have many cash-back or coupons opportunities here in Portugal (I wish we had) but I´m doing my best to use all coupons (of items I use) I can get and take advantage of good promotions.
I´ll have vacations from 16 to 28 February. I´m thinking about using a few days to unclutter my flat, also sooo necessary.
I just added your link to my blog “Mizé Journey” blogroll. I hope it´s Ok with you.
Warm hugs, Mizé.
.-= Mizé´s last blog ..Mizé Journey Topics =-.
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Oh-Ho! Good topic. I’m always thinking of ways to cut the budget. The only clothing I’ve bought this past year was underwear (trust me, I really needed it). We don’t have cable, magazine subscriptions, we don’t eat out. We’ve also stopped our weekly trips to the bakery that were costing us 4-6 euros a pop. Now I make our cookies, cakes and bread from scratch. We tried living without the heater too–but my in-laws came to stay and I had to turn it on then! Eventually, you kind of run out of saving options, don’t you?
But I really liked your idea on looking for the best possible interest rates for savings–I’ve been completely overlooking a chunk of our savings that is getting no interest at all–it adds up, after all.
The only-rewards type thing I do is for frequent flyer miles–but I hardly use my credit card (except to buy the occasional plane ticket). It’s something to look into.
.-= Trish´s last blog ..Pulling pumpkin soup out of the cupboards: this week’s dark day’s challenge. =-.
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Have you read Sharon’s blog @ Musings of a Midlife Mom. She recently quit her job to find an incredible amount of money saved by her not working. Might be a good read as she is in the same boat.
Glad to hear you are cooking.
Have you checked out A Year of Slowcooking? Fabulous and easy recipes. I’ve tried a few recipes myself.
As for myself, I really need to get back into cooking. I just can’t seem to get back on schedule since the holidays. LOL.
.-= Money Funk´s last blog ..iPhone vs Blackberry: did I get the wrong phone? =-.
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Move to Portugal Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 10:06 am
@ Money Funk thanks for the link Christine; interesting stuff
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BTW, since emptying my closet… I find that I miss having a broader selection to chose from. I think I would be fine, personally, as I love to wear my jeans. But professionally, I am limited and am beginning to feel like I am on constant replay with chosing the same, limited selections. LOL. So, I have started thrifting once again. Love it! $15 buys me quite a bit – small happiness.
.-= Money Funk´s last blog ..iPhone vs Blackberry: did I get the wrong phone? =-.
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