Curb your Spending

With a recent Beneden health survey finding savings and our financial future to be the third most common worry, we’ve asked TED readers to share their weekly spending habits to see where it is we as a nation are going wrong with our spending.

We’ve also spoken to John Pill for his expert advice on money saving and how to curb your spending.
John Pill manages the Money Education Programmes at Exeter’s Citizens Advice Bureau.

Lauren Binder, 21, is a full time University Student with a part time job. She lives in a student house.

Luxury: £41
Essentials: £25
Going out: £34
Total: £100
Here’s what Lauren had to say about her spending…

“If I get no extra over time at my work I’ll only get paid for six hours a week. I’m not going to say how much that is but it certainly isn’t £100!”
“Despite this I actually felt my spending wasn’t too bad this week. If I hadn’t been noting it down it would have been a lot more!”
“I was surprised by how much I spent on food. I tried to stick to essential items whilst shopping but still managed to spend £25. Rather than eat the food I’d bought I also went out for dinner one evening, which also put my spending up.”

John Pill had this advice:

“To avoid buying unnecessary items at the supermarket it is vital that people makes a list of what it is they actually need to buy. They should then try and stick rigidly to this list.” “Another great way of reducing your food costs is by finding out when local shops reduce their produce costs. This might be at odd times of the day or night but if you ask a store’s customer service department they should be able to give you this information. It definitely saves you a lot of money doing things this way”
“Alternative ways to save money on your food bill also include cooking with fresh ingredients which is cheaper than buying ready meals and also by bulk cooking.”

Next time: How to avoid spending too much on your loved ones and avoiding those meal deals!