With the current cost of living crisis, and with no prospect of it getting better any time soon, finding ways to save money and cut costs is essential for most households now.
And if you are in the process of moving home or have just done so, then money is likely to be extremely tight.
We have written extensively about how to save money on your home moving expenses, in fact, there is a whole section of our home moving blog that is dedicated to that very subject.
But now we want to find ways that help you reduce your monthly outgoings now you are in your new home.
Moving home gives you the perfect opportunity to review all your monthly expenses and see where you can make some savings.
So here we want to find out what the different ways to save money on your household bills are. How you can save money on your outgoings without having to live like Scrooge, making simple changes that will save money here and there.
You may also like to read: Moving to a Cheaper City: Is it Really Worth It? One way that you could save money is to move to a less expensive area or part of the country. In this guide, we find out if it is really worth moving to save money.
Save time and money on your move
Save up to 40% on your upcoming move and get a quote from reputable moving experts.
Little changes soon add up like switching off lights and unplugging appliances when not in use.
Moving to a new region of the country or even just a local postcode change may mean that you have a wider range of utility providers to choose from and therefore may be able to find a cheaper supplier.
www.moneysupermarket.com allows you to enter your new address and it will compare the tariffs for all the energy supplies in your area.
Even if you are still tied to your current provider you can arrange to have an email alert when a better deal becomes available.
The same goes for household, pet, health, and car insurance, as well as internet providers.
www.gocompare.com will compare numerous insurance providers in your area to get you the best deal.
www.comparethemarket.com is one such site that will compare all the broadband providers in your postcode so that you can find the best deals.
Your energy bills will eat up most of your utility budget but there are a number of ways that you can save money on gas and electric bills:
#1 Install LED Light Bulbs
Replace traditional bulbs with LED bulbs which are far more efficient (up to 85% more efficient than traditional light bulbs) and last longer too ( around 20,000 hours compared to a conventional light bulb that lasts around 2,000 hours). You can reduce your lighting costs by up to 80% a year by switching to LED light bulbs.
#2 Buy Efficient Appliances
If you are moving into a new home or having some renovations done then you are likely to be getting new appliances. By buying A+++ rated appliances you can save a large amount of money over a year.
www.thisismoney.co.uk reports that by upgrading to A+++ rated appliances you can make the following savings every year:
A D-rated dishwasher costs on average £89 a year to run whilst an A+++ rated dishwasher costs on average £39 a year to run.
Whilst a D-rated washing machine costs on average £62 a year to run, an A+++ rated washing machine will cost you on average £28 a year.
And when it comes to your boiler, according to www.theheatinghub.co.uk, a modern boiler is 94% efficient whereas a G-rated boiler is only about 60% efficient. Replacing a very inefficient old boiler with a new one could potentially save you around £340 a year in running costs.
Don’t forget to fit a hot water cylinder jacket. These are cheap and can save you around £80 a year.
#3 Turn Off Appliances
Simply getting into the habit of unplugging electrical items that are not in use could save you as much as £30 per year.
#4 Turn Down Thermostats
By turning down your radiator or room thermostats by just 1 degree you can save on average £80 per year. And only heating rooms you use will save you even more money.
#5 Install Double Glazing
According to www.energytrust.org.uk by installing double-glazed windows in your new home you can expect to save around £145 whilst if you install triple-glazed windows you could save up to £175 per year on your heating bills.
#6 Hang Thermal Curtains
If you have no need to install new windows then hanging thermal curtains in your home can make a big difference.
www.the-millshop-online.co.uk calculates that you could reduce heat loss through your windows by as much as 25% by fitting thermal curtains.
#7 Add Draught-Proofing
Fitting draught excluders to letterboxes and around door frames will help stop heat from escaping. Hanging a thermal curtain and using a door draught excluder will also really help.
Move furniture away from windows, doorways, and external walls as those areas are where the cold spots are.
#8 Insulate
Insulating your home will also help you save money on your heating bills and is often a job that you can do yourself.
www.onehome.org.uk states that insulating the loft of a detached home will save around £215 per year on energy bills.
Whilst installing cavity wall insulation will save approximately £245 per year on heating bills.
Adding floor heating will shave £65 a year off your energy bills.
#9 Reduce Water Consumption
The less water you use within the home the cheaper your energy bills will be and if you are on a water meter then there are savings to be made there too.
You can place a brick into your toilet cistern which will reduce the amount of water that fills the tank.
Install a dual-flush toilet if you don’t already have one.
Replacing your shower head with a more efficient one could save as much as £18 per person, per year.
Spend just 1 minute less in the shower per day and you will save around £7 per person per year.
Use a washing-up bowl rather than washing the dishes in running water.
Turn off the running tap whilst you brush your teeth.
Wash clothes at a lower temperature and try to reduce the number of washes you do per week. For each wash you don’t do, you will save about £5 a year.
#10 Lay Rugs
The National Energy Federation calculates that a good quality carpet with the right underlay could save you up to £500 over a 10-year period.
Just laying a few rugs around the home will help you save some heat from escaping through the floors.
#11 Layer Clothing
Whilst nobody really wants to walk around the home dressed like an Arctic explorer, layering clothes will really help keep you warm and allow you to lower your thermostat.
Wearing thick socks and slippers in the home will help prevent body temperature loss, whilst sitting on the settee with a warm blanket is not only really comforting but a good way to keep toasty.
#12 Radiator Tips
To ensure that your radiators work at their most efficient be sure to follow these few tips:
Bleed radiators to ensure that the hot water flows freely
Flush radiators if you have a cold spot
Don’t hang the washing over radiators
Move furniture away from radiators
You may like to read: How to Downsize Your Home Effectively. Many people choose to downsize their homes so that they can release the equity in a home that is too large for them. In this guide, we look at every aspect of downsizing your home and find out whether downsizing is really such a good idea.
How to Save Money on Your Council Tax
Most councils will allow you to pay your council tax over 12 months instead of the usual 10. Whilst this won’t save you any money it may make budgeting easier.
You can find out if your local council offers this option by contacting them directly.
You may also be eligible for a council tax reduction for any of the following reasons:
You are on low income
You are a student
You live alone
You are the only adult in the home
You are currently getting other benefits such as universal credit or income support
You live with someone who has a disability
You can find out more information about your eligibility for a council tax reduction by visiting www.moneyhelper.org.uk
How to Save Money Grocery Shopping
Supermarkets are a masterclass in trying to get you to spend money. Shop online to avoid impulse buying
We spend, and waste, thousands of pounds every year on our grocery shopping and it is one of the easiest expenses that we can reduce.
Supermarkets are designed to make you spend unnecessary money so here are our top tips on how to save money shopping for food.
Never go shopping when you are hungry
Don’t take the kids shopping with you as they invariably will want treats or things not on your shopping list. It will also be easier for you to concentrate on exactly what you are buying
Take your bag for life with you. So often we forget to take our own bags and end up spending half the savings we made in-store on new carrier bags.
Make a meal plan for the week then list the ingredients that you need
Only buy the products that are on your shopping list
Shop online so that you are not tempted by impulse buys instore
Double-check prices, often it is cheaper to buy two 500g bags than one 1kg bag
Check the bottom-of-the-shelf ticket for the cheapest price per kilo
Buying frozen is often cheaper than buying fresh
Only buy the amount of an ingredient that you need. There is no point in buying a kilo bag, even if it is on promotion if it will go out of date before you use it.
Buy own brands rather than premium brands or value brands rather than own brands.
Shopping at stores such as Lidl and Aldi will drastically reduce your food bill but you can also check out stores like B&M or Home Bargains which often have great offers on not only food but cleaning products.
Also, check out independent and ethnic stores. They often buy products with short shelf life or with foreign labels that they sell at huge discounts.
Buy in bulk or when products are on promotion, items such as toilet rolls or washing powder, things that will not go off and that you would have to buy anyway over the month.
Tinned tomatoes are an essential item to have in your kitchen so whenever they are cheap it is worth stocking up on them.
Online stores such as Amazon often have bulk buys with big savings on cleaning products for example
Follow as many brands and stores as you can online and sign up for their email alerts. They will often send you vouchers for discounted or even free products.
Consider eating more vegetarian meals. Meat is expensive and the alternatives such as Quorn are really good, you can hardly tell the difference in some products.
Beans and pulses are cheap, filling, and provide lots of protein. Replace meat in stews for example with beans and pulses to save a small fortune.
Make use of loyalty card schemes and discount voucher websites which can save you hundreds of pounds over a year
Avoid nipping to the shops for a single item as you will usually end up with a basketful of things.
If you must go for a pint of milk for example then take the exact money you need, no more, then you cannot spend what you don’t have in your pocket.
Always check your receipt. Often discounts are not applied at the till so it is worth checking that you saved the money you had hoped for.
You will find various money-saving forums and even more ways to save money on groceries at www.moneysavingexpert.com
You may also like to read: How to Do a Car Boot Sale. If you have things in your home that you no longer want or need, having a car boot sale is a great way to raise some cash and have some fun too. Find out all you need to know about car boot sales in this guide.
How to Save Money Cooking at Home
Visit student recipe websites, not all the recipes are baked beans on toast. There are some great ideas at budget-friendly prices
Having saved a fortune on our shopping bills, there are still further savings to be made in how we turn those ingredients into meals.
Using a meal plan for the week is a great way to ensure that you only buy what you need.
When doing so, think about how you can use leftovers from last night’s meal for the next day’s lunch and factor that into your shopping list.
Some of the best investments you will make in your kitchen are a slow cooker and an air-fryer.
An air-fryer takes half the time to get to cooking temperature and to cook a meal when compared to heating up an oven, saving you money on your energy bills.
A slow cooker can be used for not only cooking a multitude of dishes but allows you to batch cook.
Batch cooking is when you cook a large enough quantity of a meal to last all week or for multiple meals.
If you create a batch of a base meal you can then add pasta for example the next night, or add a tin of mixed beans for another meal.
Leftovers can be added back into the slow cooker for the next day or frozen for use another time.
BBC Good Food has a huge variety of slow cooker recipes that are perfect for batch cooking.
Even if you don’t want to go to the expense of buying a slow cooker you can still save money by batch cooking in your oven or cooking multiple meals at once whilst the oven is on. Always fill your oven when you have it on so that you use the heat efficiently.
Bonus Ways to Save Money Cooking
Here are some additional ways to save money in the kitchen:
Don’t fill the kettle to the brim, you could save £36 a year by only boiling the water you need
Use a microwave to heat enough water for a cup of tea
Boil water in the kettle rather than on the hob if you need boiling water to cook something
Match the pan to the ring. Use the right size hob ring rather than paying to heat the air around the pot
Use lids on cooking pots to help retain heat and cook things quicker
Turn off the rings or oven a few minutes before the food is cooked. The food will continue to cook in the residual heat.
Use the same rings for multiple pots. Take the first pot off just before it is fully cooked and it will continue cooking as you cook the next item on the same ring. Rather than heat up multiple rings use the same one as it will already be hot.
Plan your meals around a specific set of ingredients so that you do have to buy an ingredient that you will seldom use. Spices can be expensive and this is a classic ingredient that will likely sit in your cupboard unused again for months.
Cook filling meals such as pasta or rice which will fill you up and can also be used in a multitude of recipes if there is any leftover.
Learn what can be frozen. If you live on your own a loaf of bread for example will probably go off before you use it all. Freeze a couple of slices in bags so that you can take them out and use only what you need.
Keep your cupboards, freezer, and fridge organised. It is easy to forget that you have a pack of rice if it is buried in the back of a cupboard, so if you know what you have then you will not waste money buying duplicate ingredients.
Learn how to make bread, soups, and sauces. They are easy to make, will save you a lot of money making your own, and are often far tastier than the shop-bought varieties.
Invest in some freezer bags or airtight containers so that you can save any leftovers.
It is a really good idea to visit student cooking websites as they are often packed with budget-friendly recipe ideas.
If you have a number of ingredients in your cupboards that you don’t know how to use up, here are some really useful websites. Just enter the ingredients you do have and the site will suggest recipes.
You may like to read: Where to Free Stuff When You Move Home. Getting stuff for free is awesome and in this guide, we look at various ways in which you can snag some amazing things for your home for free.
How to Save Money Gardening
You can save money by getting your garden tools from websites that offer things free to the collector
Many people choose to grow their own vegetables in the hope of saving money.
Sadly, the reality is that gardening is an expensive past-time and it is often more cost-effective to buy in-season produce.
That said, even the smallest balcony or windowsill can provide you with produce that does save you money and can be grown for very little outlay.
The secret to saving money from growing your own produce is to grow high-yield crops that you will actually use.
There is no point in growing things that you do not eat or that can be bought cheaply in shops.
Herbs for example can be expensive to buy but will grow in a pot on a windowsill.
Lettuce, beans, cherry tomatoes, and courgettes are easy to grow and will give you a good harvest for little investment.
If you have been bitten by the gardening bug, and it is a hobby that will definitely grip you, there are ways to save money to make it more cost-effective to grow your own produce.
Plan your garden so that you know what plants and how many you will grow. It will save wasting money on plants that you don’t need.
Save seeds from the previous year’s crops instead of buying new ones every year
Grow plants from seeds rather than buying plants
Use egg cartons, toilet rolls, or plastic pots to start off your seeds rather than buying seed trays
Cut the ends off of plastic bottles to create cloches to help your seeds grow
Join as many gardening groups as you can, gardeners love to swap plants
Follow seed and plant pages on social media and sign up for email alerts. They will often send you discount vouchers or notify you of offers.
Visit sites such as www.freecycle.co.uk where you will be able to pick up pots and tools for free
Stores like B&M or Home Bargains often have a gardening section with really cheap offers
Make your own compost from kitchen and garden waste, local councils often supply compost bins for free
Spread used coffee grinds and tea leaves around plants to enrich the soil rather than buying expensive garden nutrients
Split perennial plants. Seed potatoes for example can be cut in half, allowed to dry, and then planted to double your crop. Ensure each half of the potato has buds. The same can be done with herbs and many other plants.
Bare-root plants are about 60% cheaper than pot-grown plants
Use water butts to save water and thereby save money on watering costs
Once cooled, pour cooking water from vegetables and eggs for example into the garden, not down the drain. The water will help fertilize the garden.
Buy net curtains from car boot sales or get them from sites such as www.freecycle.co.uk to use as netting to protect your plants.
You may also like to read: Moving into a Multi-Generational Home – All You Need to Know. Many families are choosing to move into multi-generational homes to save money. That could mean your family moving into your parents’ home or vice-versa. Find out if this would be a good idea for you in this essential guide.
How to Save Money Commuting
Cycling is one of the cheapest ways to get to work
Now that many companies have returned to work in the office for a few days a week, people who have moved further away from their office will be facing some hefty commuting costs.
In response to this new way of working National Rail has introduced a flexible season ticket.
It allows you to travel on any eight days in a twenty-eight-day period. These tickets are aimed at people who will go to the office two or three times a week, if you just go once a week, or more than three times a week, a day ticket or season ticket will be more cost-effective.
Read on to discover how to save money as a commuter in other ways.
As long as you travel after 0930 Monday to Friday or anytime at the weekend, you can make savings of up to £153 a year.
The rail card costs you just £30 a year but if you travel from York to London for example you will pay just £58 instead of £88.
Trainsplit
Some train journeys are actually cheaper if you buy tickets for different legs of the journey. There is an app called Trainsplit that will work out the most cost-effective route for you.
Book in Advance
If you book your train tickets in advance you will normally make some significant savings. Train tickets are normally released 12 weeks in advance of the travel date.
Consider Car Sharing
Sharing your car with others will be good for the environment and your wallet.
If you don’t own a car then there are car sharing schemes all over the UK. You can find maps, contact details, and more information about car share clubs all over the UK at www.como.org.uk
Save Money on Fuel
Shop around for the best prices on fuel for your car. www.confused.com allows you to enter your postcode and it will show you the cheapest fuel stations in your area.
Find Free Car Parking
There is an app called appyparking that helps you find free parking spots in over 450 towns and cities.
Just download the app and follow the navigation.
Find the Cheapest Car Parks
Parkopedia shows you the cheapest car parks around your destination, how many spaces are available and how much it will cost you to park there.
Just put in your destination, your arrival and departure details and the site does the searching for you.
Cycle to Work
If it is practical to do so then cycling to work will save you a fortune.
It may not be so much fun in the winter but even if you cycled a few months a year there are still big savings to be made.
You can even get a new discounted bike through your employer saving you up to 40% on bikes and accessories through a government scheme called cycle2work. The cost of the bike is taken out of your wages monthly and as the amount is taken before tax, you pay less income tax and national insurance.
You will save money by being patient when renovating your home
Time, cash, and Youtube will be your friends when it comes to saving money renovating or redecorating your new home.
I have renovated many homes over the years from simple cosmetics to almost complete house reconstructions.
This is what I have learned the hard way:
Take Your Time
From planning what needs doing to final finishes, take your time deciding, get it wrong and you will waste a ton of cash.
Spend time living in the home so that you really get to know it, so that you find out what and what does not suit your lifestyle or accommodation needs.
It is easy to go full steam ahead only to discover a year later that your remodeled home does not meet your needs and that you need to redo some projects.
Finish one job at a time or you will end up with a home of unfinished rooms. You will have spent money that you have no finished result from and you will not be able to enjoy or use the area unless it is finished.
I usually have one interior and one exterior job on the go, so if the weather is bad I can work indoors, and if the weather is good I can work outdoors.
Finally, spend time discovering what parts of the renovation you can and cannot do yourself, more about this later.
Pay Cash
It is inevitable that any renovation you do will cost far more than you think. Prices of materials go up or problems arise, or a tool breaks.
Most people will pay for renovations through credit, but if at all possible pay cash so that you are not incurring interest charges.
If this is your forever home, then saving up for each phase of the renovation, paying as each part is completed, is the most sensible option.
If you are renovating to sell then getting a loan will be a quicker route if you are absolutely sure that you will recoup your costs when you sell.
DIY or Hire Tradespeople?
Hiring professionals seems like the most expensive route to go. But that is not necessarily so.
There are certain jobs that you should not and cannot do yourself unless you are qualified to do so such as gas or electrical installations or knocking out supporting walls.
If you make a hash of any job then it often costs more to put it right than pay someone to do it properly in the first place.
But there are plenty of ways to save money if you can do even small parts of the renovation yourself. That could be knocking tiles off a wall, sanding, clearing the room of furniture, or painting for example.
The more preparation or finishing work you can do yourself the cheaper the project will be.
YouTube is a gold mine of DIY tutorials and a few hours spent researching those videos will help you save money on many aspects of your renovation.
Consider not only your level of competence to do a job but whether you have the right tools to get the job done. That is often the most expensive part of a renovation if you need to buy a workshop full of tools to do it.
You can of course hire tools but often it is the broken drill bits, screwdrivers, or little hand tools that you need that you cannot hire and that will blow your budget.
The good aspect of hiring tools is that you will have a set period of time you have hired them for which is a great motivator to get a job done.
Take into account that you will not have the right size screws or nails, you will not have realized you need certain parts or fittings, and that every time that happens, you need to stop work and waste time shopping for those things that a tradesperson will have to hand in the back of their van.
It may also be that you are self-employed or get paid overtime by your employer. Work out if the time you spend on a project would cost you more to hire someone to do it or would cost you more in lost wages.
Don’t Move It Unless You Have to
Moving drains, pipes, sanitaryware, gas, and electrical fittings will add significantly to your renovation costs. If you can keep toilets and showers for example in the same place this will save you a lot of money.
Upcycle
Upcycling old building materials and furniture is not only fun but will save you a lot of money.
I recently made a 12-seater dining room table from a broken solid oak wardrobe as well as repurposed old kitchen shelving into a breakfast bar.
The point is, don’t throw anything away that could be reused. Not only will this save you money but will add character to your home.
It could be that you don’t like the look of your kitchen but that the units are perfectly solid.
A coat of paint and a change of handles could be all it needs. Or you could add moldings to the doors that are easy to apply and are readily available at your DIY superstore.
Scour the free-to-collector websites for furniture that you could repaint and for things that you can repurpose, they are an endless source of great things for your home.
You may also like to read: Making a Small Home Work for You. This guide has some useful ideas on how to make the most of the space you have in your home. There are some great storage ideas as well as tips on the practicalities of living in a small home.
Be a Savvy Shopper
In Thailand, they have a saying: “A poor person always visits the market twice”
Whilst you will want to save money where you can, there are certain things like taps and showers that if you buy cheap now, you will be replacing them in 2 years’ time.
It is far more cost effective to put in good quality fittings now than having to pay for them to be replaced in the near future.
If you have the space to do so, shop for big-ticket things when they are in the sale and then store them until you need them.
Buying out of season, during Black Friday events, or closing down sales can help you make significant savings.
Most big retailers have a seconds’ area where they sell lightly soiled or damaged items. You can score some big savings on large kitchen appliances and furniture where the damage is hardly noticeable or where it will be hidden from view in the place that you intend to put it.
If you have to replace your kitchen look at websites that sell ex-display and second-hand kitchens where you can get kitchens at heavily discounted prices, often up to 70% off the retail price. Many also come as full packages will all the appliances, worktops, and sinks.
Be sure to shop around if you are hiring tradespeople by getting at least 3 different quotes.
Personal recommendations are obviously the best, but be sure to also check out the reviews of anyone you are thinking of hiring. And as always, the most expensive is not always the best, and the cheapest quotes are not always the cheapest in the long run.
Finally, when planning and budgeting for your renovations don’t forget to include clean-up costs. Hiring rubbish skips will eat into your budget massively, so try to keep waste to a minimum.
If you have bricks from a demolition, for example, spend a day cleaning the mortar off of them, try to incorporate them into your project in some way, try to sell them, or list them on a free-to-collector website.
That is far better for the environment and will also save you money by not having to get them carted away.
It is amazing what people will take off your hands when it is free, so if you have no use for it be sure to offer it to others before hiring that super-expensive skip.
How to Save Money on Bank Charges
By switching accounts you could save a small fortune every month.
Moving into a new home, redecorating, and making the place feel like your home all cost money, and often over-draughts and credit cards are used to pay those expenses.
By changing your bank or credit card provider though you could make some significant savings.
www.moneyhelper.org.uk has a really useful tool that allows you to compare the charges of all the different accounts from all the different providers so that you can see whether changing to a new bank or different type of bank account will save you some money.
You can also find out the best credit card providers and compare them at www.moneysupermarket.com
Bonus Money-Saving Tips
Vouchers, loyalty cards, wholesalers, newsletters, and social media followers, there are dozens of ways to bag a bargain
Space does not allow us to list all the hundreds of ways there are to save money, and whilst it is not likely that you can take advantage of every suggestion we have made, we hope that you have found this guide useful and if nothing else has made you look at your new home and new life from different angles.
Every penny counts and it is the small changes we can make that soon add up to an extra few pounds in our pocket every week.
Money off vouchers, annual prescriptions, buying in bulk, loyalty card schemes, and signing up to sample websites or email newsletters are just some ways to reduce your outgoings for a small investment of your time.
One habit I got into was emptying my pockets of change every night into a jar. It is really surprising just how much you can save without really noticing it. And when you are down to your last few pence and need a loaf of bread, that jar comes in really handy.
A new home gives you that inspiration, that opportunity, to make changes in your life and to form new habits.
Often the times we learn the most from in our lives are when we have little or no money and when we have to actually consider how we spend every penny we have.
Looking at ways to save money is a good habit to get into, even if you don’t really need to.
Websites such as those listed earlier have hundreds of pages with even more advice, ways to create a family budget, and how to review your monthly expenditure. It is well worth spending some time trawling these sites.
And as mentioned previously, be sure to visit our home moving blog where you will find many guides on how to save money before, during, and after your home move.
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