11 tips to save money!

Everyone wants to save money right? There are many ways that are right under your nose that you may be missing; Biz-find has come up with our favourite tips to save money.

1 Write a list before you go shopping – and stick to it.

The retail sector makes a fortune of Impulse buys and they spend years studying the science of how to get you to buy something on a whim, to beat them is to only shop when you have a list. Because when you’re without one, you typically end up making impulse buys and unplanned purchases – all things that cost money.

Creating a list before you go to the grocery store is vital. Not only can it help you buy items that fit with your meal plan, but it can also help you avoid buying food you’ll probably waste. Always create a list and, more importantly, adhere to it. This applies especially to woman who seem to have no plan whatsoever for even simple grocery shopping. Men should never go shopping when they are hungry, we know why hey guys!

Biz-find shopping list

2. Shut off the Noise

“Television; the drug of a nation breeding ignorance and feeding radiation”
Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy.

We have all learned by now the way we are hypnotized by advertisements telling us how to live and making us feel depressed about not having what we are told we should have.

Biz-find drug of a nation

I speak as I find here, I was a young lad growing up in UK in the mid 1970’s hooked on T.V. when my family moved to South Africa where Television was just not available. (Yes it’s true, find some South Africans and ask them why. Television only became part of households there in the early 1980’s) we found more time to chat as a family and play games; I thought I’d miss it but it had a profoundly positive effect on my life.

Reducing hours away from the noise can give you more time to focus on other things in life — such as your Children and business — and so on.

3. Don’t spend a lot of money entertaining your children.

Kids spell love T.I.M.E.

Think back to your childhood and well for those of us lucky enough to have been raised in a loving environment, and we will always remember the days out and the time parents or guardians spent with us giving us attention as the best memories of all. More importantly those times were probably the cheapest times for our parents.

Biz-find simple games

Ask your kids, do you want to go to a restaurant or the park? Unless you’ve raised your kids on junk food and they are now sugar and salt addicts, they will more times than not prefer the park.

Growing up I had the best of times playing games with my Dad and brothers with the oldest football you ever saw which was given to me for cleaning out a neighbours Garage.

4. Cut our convenience foods.

Biz-find junk food

You may say ‘well it’s a time issue’, but food preparation is the key to saving a lot of money and you can learn to eat healthily and inexpensively. An hour’s worth of preparation one weekend can leave you with a ton of cheap and easy dinner and snack options for the following week.

My Dad, now in his mid-80’s still cooks a mean casserole; he wakes up and just after breakfast cuts some onions, carrots and other veggies he has left over, buys diced beef from the butchers, throws water into a little slow cooker (one of the small ones that cooks for two that you can pick up for a few pounds in charity shops) a stock cube, and done, maybe 10 minutes work.

At 6 PM it is the most delicious and nutritious ready meal you have ever tasted!

Fruit smoothies the same, a smoothie maker are not latest technology anymore and I’ve seen them for a few quid in shops, many fruits cut up and add honey or syrup for kids sweet teeth they have now, and you can get some amazing nutritional fruits down your children, even if you thought it was impossible. Time taken; about 10 minutes max, the time it would take you stopping at a garage and buying a nuke able ready meal!!

5. Learn about Credit.

I wish I’d had finance lessons n school instead of being made to walk around a statue of Hail Mary for an hour and made to reflect upon our sins! Talk about accentuating the positive!

Credit should be available in every household but ONLY as an emergency. Not for holidays or frivolous things.

I asked my Mum once how are all these people able to afford holidays when the economy is so bad, “Credit son” I was told. Sadly personal debt has now has become a problem of epic proportions in many countries with Credit Card debt into the trillions!

Our folks built great nations after the war with no credit cards, they saved and they bought, why can’t we do that?

Biz-find Credit Card

If you have a habit of buying things you just don’t need with credit cards, hide your cards and keep them in a safe place in your home, not in your purse. If you need to keep a card for emergencies, that’s okay. Just don’t carry it around with you.

If you’re often tempted to use it, hiding it in a different place each time may sound crazy but it’s a lesson in memory as much as saving your money!

To have an expert give you a free financial health check click here

6. Buy quality appliances that will last.

Reassuringly expensive means a lot when it comes to electrical appliances in your home, doing your due-diligence when purchasing major items could mean your boiler or Refrigerator lasting just 5 years or three times longer saving you hundreds in the long run. There are consumer reports magazines available at the library as well as the Internet to do your research

Biz-find appliances

7. Don’t skip maintenance on your appliances.

In Northern parts of Europe and the US, boiler maintenance is as important as life Insurance and regular checks by the utility companies are part of life. But there is a lot you can do just to keep them operating at peak condition, as is Air Con Maintenance in South East Asia

Check them to make sure there isn’t any dust clogging them and that they’re fairly clean. Look behind the appliances, and use your vacuum to gently clear away dust. Check all of the vents, especially on refrigerators, dryers, and heating and cooling units. The less dust you have blocking the mechanics of these devices, the more efficiently they’ll run (saving you on your energy bill) and the longer they’ll last (saving you on replacement costs).

8. Avoid stress-spending.

The ladies call it retail therapy, but excessive spending just to try and cover issues that are probably best healed through other methods like meditation and exercise, sports, reading , walking with family etc. isn’t the best practice.
Spending money won’t reduce your stress in the long run.

9. Sharing and Dream building

“I can make you mine taste you lips of wine anytime night or day, only trouble is gee whiz I’m dreaming my life away” The Everly Brothers

Really imagining where you want to be like a lucid dream has been proven to have a massively positive psychological effect on the body and actually starts a chain reaction to prepare you to go and make things happen for yourself.

Watch your family’s body language change when you start to talk about things that you want as if they are already there in their dream, people become animated and excited.

Biz-find dreamers

Keep your dreams alive. Set a big, audacious goal together and encourage each other to be financially fit – soon, you’ll find you’re doing it naturally and your dreams are coming closer than ever.

10. Do holiday shopping right after the holidays.

You may hate hearing about people Christmas shopping in January but it’s not so much retail therapy as it is saving lots of money.
There are always bargains just after holidays and celebrations like watch the price for Mother’s day cards drop after the day. Wrapping paper and Christmas decorations are much discounted after the festive season.

11. Join up with a volunteer program.

My Mum encouraged me to join as many clubs as I can the actual activity of the club was never as important as learning to socialize and create a network even from an early age.

Just helping anyone in a positive project can lift anyone’s spirits, and is recommended therapy for anyone suffering from depression. You never know who you may meet at these events that could have a positive and financial effect on your life.

Biz-find P.A.T.T. charity work

Well do you agree with our random 11 tips? Do you have some more to offer?
Netmedia is a social media marketing company that now and again offers tips for financial awareness among our usual social media tips.