Saving Money In 2023

piggy bank

The New Year is upon us and, unfortunately, the cost of living crisis looks like it’s going to continue well into 2023. We wanted to start the New Year off with some tips for all of our users on how they can try and save some money during these difficult times. Here are our top pieces of advice:

Check Your Subscriptions

Something that is a very hot topic for personal finances now is apps that will identify all of your subscriptions and allow you to cancel them. When times were easier, having Dinsey+, Netflix, Amazon Prime and an assortment of other subscriptions seemed ok, but now that money is tight, you should take note of what you are actually using and be prepared to cut the cord on those subscriptions you barely use. You don’t need an app to do this, just take a look through your bank statements for recurring payments.

Switch Supermarkets

We tend to be loyal to supermarkets, and this is often due to either locality or reward schemes. We absolutely recommend using a rewards card wherever you do your food shopping, but you should shop around to see how much cheaper your average shop could be from another supermarket. The difference between M&S and Waitrose pricing compared to Aldi or Lidl could save you a significant amount over time, so it is worth seeing if you have a cheaper option close to you.

woman shopping in supermarket

Batch Cooking

Following on from where you shop, is how you cook! Batch cooking can save you a lot of money (and reduce food waste) if you live alone or with a partner. By doubling the amounts of the recipe of, say, a bolognese, you can have food for 4 meals instead of two, and by freezing it, you don’t have to always eat the same food two days in a row!

Energy Efficiency

We’ve written about this before here, but as the price of energy is one of the biggest drivers of this cost of living crisis, it is important that you stay on top of your usage. Some quick tips to list are:

  • Turn off unused appliances (including standby)
  • Cut down on water waste (shorter showers, no baths)
  • Draught proofing (cheap kits to tackle doors and windows)
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Sell Unwanted Items – Use Shiply

Rather than saving money, how about making some? Extra income at the moment is very useful, and we all have stuff lying around that we don’t need anymore. A wise man once said that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, so rather than throwing these items out, why not try and sell them online? There are plenty of sites to sell on, with even more niches for furniture, clothing, electronics, and antiques. Even small amounts of money for these items will leave you better off than throwing them out, and it only takes a little effort to post them. Plus, if the item is too big to ship, you can always use Shiply to get great rates for your buyer to have the item delivered!

We hope these tips help you this year!

The Best Ways To Save Fuel

The cost of living crisis is well and truly upon us with prices shooting up in almost every aspect of life. Fuel is one of the commodities that was hit hardest – prices have shot from 145 pence per litre of petrol at the start of the year to 191 pence in the space of just 6 months. Times are harder for everyone, so with this in mind, we thought our readers could use some tips on how to save fuel this summer.

Be A Fuel Conscious Driver

It may not seem like it, but even the way you drive can alter the amount of fuel your vehicle consumes. The quickest way to waste fuel is to drive excessively fast, and so the first thing you should do is focus on having a light acceleration (accelerating is fine, it just doesn’t need to be pedal to the metal every time!). You should also always try and drive in the highest possible gear (whilst obviously keeping under the speed limit). 

In general, slowing down and accelerating use more fuel, and so the less you can do this the better. It’s a bit of an art, but once you learn to read the roads and are able to anticipate, for example, an oncoming red light and slowly slow down rather than a hard break you will save fuel.

Watch Your Car Weight

Whilst the impact your vehicle’s weight will have on its fuel consumption rate is small, every little helps. Logically, a heavier vehicle will require more fuel to move, so ensure you are not travelling with unnecessary heavy items in the vehicle or boot. This also goes for roof racks and roof boxes, which have the added issue of increasing drag and therefore causing a lot more fuel to be consumed for the same vehicle over the same distance.

Air Conditioning

This one is nice and easy, if not a little uncomfortable at times! Air conditioning uses engine power, meaning it also increases the rate at which your vehicle consumes fuel. Always ensure you are dressed for the temperature in your car so as to avoid the extra costs.

We hope these tips help you save some fuel (and money), and remember, if you need anything delivered, try Shiply!