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Money

3 Smart Ways To Downsize Your Life & Save A Lot Of Money!

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We’re in the unfortunate position of living through another difficult financial period. Those of you that remember the 2008 financial crisis will have hoped that it was the only recession you lived through. As inflation rates keep rising, life is getting much harder for the average person. 

Here are some tips on how to Downsize Your Life…

Downsize Your Life

In simple terms, everything is so damn expensive! 

We need to find smart ways to save money. And downsizing your life is a great place to start. Basically, downsizing involves going from something big or grand and swapping it for a smaller or more cost-effective thing. It’s usually spoken about in housing terms as people downsize to smaller and more affordable homes. While that is an option, it’s a bit extreme. Instead, here are three other ways to downsize your life and save money.

Downsize your car

Aside from your house, your car is probably the most expensive thing you own. It costs a fortune to run, particularly with fuel prices these days. So, selling your car and getting one that’s cheaper to run is a lot smarter. 

You can use online tools like the VW value my car registration search to see how much your vehicle is worth if you wanted to trade it in. Opt for something that’s more fuel-efficient and reliable than your current vehicle. This will help you save a fortune every month on fuel and every year on repairs. 

Downsize your shopping

How much money do you spend a week on shopping? If you go to one of the main supermarkets in the UK, you can easily run up a shopping bill between £100-£200 every week. 

There are plenty of ways to save money on supermarket shopping, but one of the easiest is to downsize to a cheaper store. Instead of going to Tesco or M&S every week, do your big shop at Lidl or Aldi. Everything is much cheaper, so you can buy all the stuff you like at a fraction of the cost. It all adds up and can slash your weekly shopping bill in half. 

Downsize your entertainment

It’s time to be smarter and more proactive with your personal finances. Stop splashing the cash on multiple subscription services that all do the same thing. If you’re subscribed to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus, you’re probably spending close to £30 a month on entertainment. And this doesn’t even consider a Sky or Virgin Media TV subscription! 

Downsize your entertainment by choosing one or two subscription services instead of three or four. Opt for Freeview instead of paying for TV channels too; it’s really not worth it if you’re also paying for a streaming service. The chances are you’ll still be able to keep yourself entertained but for much less money. Also, you can chop and changes subscriptions whenever you want. Have Netflix for a couple of months and then Amazon for another few, etc. It lets you experience all the shows without paying loads of money every single month. 

Give downsizing a try to see how much money your family can save. For the most part, you’re making a few small changes and tiny sacrifices that have a hugely positive impact on your life. 

Final Thoughts

Do you have any tips on Downsize Your Life? Let me know in the comments below.

Downsize Your Life
Money

Saving Money Might Be The Thing That Helps You In The Future

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Saving money might be the very thing that helps you out of some sticky situations in the future. We know that it’s not always easy to save money as there are so many situations in which you will find yourself wanting to spend, but we promise you that you’re not going to regret it if you manage. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you may need to save money for in the future, so keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.

saving money
Image Location – CC0 License

If Something Goes Wrong Financially

The first reason that you’re going to need to save is if something goes wrong financially. It’s always difficult to know when things are going to go wrong, so you’ve got to be prepared at all times as much as you can. It’s tough when things go wrong financially, and it often feels as though you’re a failure, but we promise you that this is not the case. Everyone struggles sometimes, whether that’s because they have lost their job, or because there has been a big, unforeseen expense. The important thing is that you have something that you can dip into to support yourself for a while.

saving money

If You Need Something Immediately

If you need something immediately, then having money in savings might be the best thing that you can do for yourself. We don’t all have spare cash just laying around, ready for when we need it, but savings can be used for this if you need to. If you’re worried about spending this money, you can always put it back when you get your next paycheck to put yourself back where you were.

Some of the things that you may need money for are home repairs, purchasing a new car if your old one stops working, or maybe even legal issues. If you do end up with legal issues and are going to be attending court, you may want to look into something like giving evidence lessons by veritas witness training just to make sure you’re fully prepared.

Money To Fall Back On

Last but not least, the reason that money is so important is that you have to have something to fall back on. It’s nice to know that you’ve got this sum in your bank account, ready for you to use should you need it for whatever reason. It’s a safety net of sorts, and everyone should have one if possible.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see some of the things that saving money can be helpful for in the future. We know that some people have a habit of thinking that the future is going to pay for itself, or that this is a problem that you can tackle when it comes around, but this is not usually going to be the case. You need to save now so that if you do find yourself in a tough situation, you know that you have a plan in place to support you. We wish you the very best of luck.

saving money
Money

Be More Proactive About Your Personal Finances With These Tips

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personal finances
Photo by micheile dot com on Unsplash

When it comes to getting financial advice, it can be easy for us to roll our eyes at the idea that we need to save more money or take charge of our personal finances. Instead, we need to find a financial planner to help us figure out where we are, where we want to be, and how to get there.

A financial adviser (through sites like financialadvisers.co.uk) will be able to provide us with the information and guidance necessary for us to make informed decisions about our money and investing.

There are a few other tips that can help you to be more proactive when it comes to your personal finances: 

Your Credit Score Matters 

Your credit score is a numerical representation of your creditworthiness. It can affect things like loans, mortgages, and insurance premiums. Your credit score is based on your payment history and the amount you owe. 

Budgeting is a Must

Budgets are the foundation of many good personal financial plans. With a budget, you can know how much money is coming in and going out regularly. This makes it impossible to determine if you’re saving enough or whether there are areas where you can cut back on your spending. 

A reasonable budget should be realistic, easy to follow and have content categories that make sense for your spending habits. Once you have a solid understanding of your monthly expenses, tracking where the money goes each month becomes much easier so adjustments can be made as needed. 

Get Familiar With Your Expenses 

Every month, you may spend a lot of money on things you need to realize or remember. This can include everything from groceries and rent to Netflix and gym membership. Knowing where this money is going is important because it helps you make better decisions about how much time, effort, and focus you should put into saving for the future. 

Keep Track of Your Progress 

If you want to stay on top of all the financial details in your life and keep things running smoothly, then you need to monitor what is going on with your finances every day. You should be keeping track of your income, expenses, and savings in some way, whether with pen and paper or through an app on your phone. Keep tabs on where all your money is going so you can cut back if needed.

personal finances

Protect Your Identity 

Protect your identity by keeping your personal information safe. For example, don’t give out personal information to strangers, don’t open emails from people you don’t know, and don’t click on links in those emails. You must also refrain from emailing companies that call you, especially if they ask for it over the phone. 

Create a Plan If You Have Student Loans

If you are still paying student loans, there are ways to make the process easier, creating a budget and a plan so you can spend more than the monthly minimum. It’s tempting just to pay what you have to do for your monthly loans, but if you want them paid off quickly, it’s best to maximize every payment and aim for more. 

Always Have An Emergency Fund

You should have an emergency fund with at least three months’ expenses. This way, if something goes wrong with your car or you lose your job, you will be able to pay for the necessities and still have time to find a new job. 

If you already have this much set-aside and want to increase it further, consider putting some of it into a high-yield savings account. This type of account will give you better interest rates on your money than what banks offer with their traditional savings accounts so that more of it can grow over time without costing too much in fees.

Check out my other posts related to personal finances:

Interior Design Money

How To Afford More Home For Less

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Business Family

5 Reasons To Start An Online T-Shirt Business – roaringpumpkintees

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Money

3 Smart Ways To Downsize Your Life & Save A Lot Of Money!

15
Money

Saving Money Might Be The Thing That Helps You In The Future

0
Money

Be More Proactive About Your Personal Finances With These Tips

4
Business Money

The Pure Power Of Large scale Manufacturing VS Small Businesses

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It’s Never Too Early to  Start Saving for Retirement

Retirement is one of the most significant financial milestones you’ll face in your lifetime, so it pays to start saving early. The earlier you start saving for retirement, the more time your money has to grow. The longer money is invested, the more opportunity it has to make compound interest work for you instead of against you. 

So, the sooner you start saving for retirement, the less pressure you’ll feel to save a large amount at once. It’s much easier to make small monthly contributions than to suddenly come up with thousands at once. 

Conclusion

If you want to be more proactive about your finances, start by reflecting on where you are now. Once you have a plan in place for what needs to happen tomorrow or next week, then move on to the next step, making sure that this plan is realistic for both today’s world and tomorrow’s financial responsibilities. Remember that all good things will take time. 

personal finances
Business, Money

The Pure Power Of Large scale Manufacturing VS Small Businesses

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Please note – this is a sponsored post, but all thoughts are my own

Our business is expanding

In addition to three blogs, some side hustles and a whole load of writing, I am also in the creation stages of my own small business. I already have a Gumroad shop, which is close to launching. But as a family, we will be designing our own T-shirts and accessories. It’s so exciting to get my little one involved in the designs and my hubby is the most technical one in the house. Which means he’s great at transferring the images to a digital version. He is also better than me at designing. 

I honestly can’t wait to share our shop with you. 

Pure Power

Making connections with like-minded people

Just today, I had a productive Zoom call about an ongoing mutual working relationship. The thing I am most excited about is working with someone so like-minded. We both want to get the message out there that everyone struggles mentally. And that is completely okay. You are never alone in your struggles. The pure power of connecting through honesty and being your true self never ceases to amaze me.

During our conversation, we also touched on the infrastructure and logistics required in order to make a business successful. And it’s a great point. The conversation definitely gave me food for thought.

The limitations on small business owners

It got me thinking about the limitations on small business owners, compared with the pure power of large manufacturing companies. We will personally be using a dropshipping model because we simply don’t have the facilities or time to create the products ourselves. 

The benefits of quality control in mass printing 

The dropshipping company, along with any other large-scale manufacturer can invest in technology to ensure quality control is a top priority. For example, vision inspection systems are used in the print and packaging industry to ensure defective products are recalled before being sent out to customers. This means less downtime, as you won’t have to halt production to put things right. And in the current climate, there will be less waste, as everything you produce is fit for purpose. Sustainability is high on everyone’s agenda right now and it is a benefit we should all champion. 

Benefits to us as the designers 

Using a dropshipping company, with the infrastructure to implement these checks, means we can be confident our products will be high quality when sent to customers. This will strengthen our brand and reduce the risk of returns and complaints. 

Here are some of the other benefits of quality control systems:

  • Customers will return again to purchase your goods
  • Customers will make referrals to friends and family
  • Contribute to the overall positive branding of your product
  • Increase positive review and your position within the market

Automating quality control checks

Automating these checks saves large manufacturers time and money when completing the mass printing process. Reducing the time spent on quality checking and the overheads involved. A perfect solution to a common problem.

Is this solution right for me?

If you would like to learn more about the quality control aspect of manufacturing, click here

Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading about our new business venture. And about something I learned during my discussions about how this will work for us as a family.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.

Pure Power

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