Bagging a Bargain - be alittle thrifty.

I know that you are all like me and you want to find a bargain. But did you ever get the feeling that some people are better at getting bargains than you are.    If so, than read through the few little tips that I have picked up recently which will hopefully help you bag that bargain.

Follow your favourite stores on twitter

These stores may tweet discounts codes or give you an insight as to when the sale may start either online or in store.  

Compare prices

Compare the prices of your most used products whether it is in store or online.   I especially do this when it comes to make up.  I  can save up to 5euro a pop on my regular make up product by comparing the prices in the store and online.

Seek out discounts special

Remember if you are a student you can get student discounts.  It doesn’t matter if you are a mature student – these discounts will still apply.  Teachers get discounts also and some companies can sign up for group schemes where discounts apply.   So get up and talk to your boss – you never know what discounts that you can get.

Know what you are looking for.

Just because something is discounted doesn’t mean that it is going to be a bargain.  You have to ask yourself some questions:

• Does it fit ? i.e do you have spend more money on getting the item altered?
• Do you have accessories to go with it?  Do you need to spend more money buying some more items to go with it?
• Do you have shoes to go with it? Do you need to buy shoes to go with the dress or outfit that you are thinking of buying.
• Do you already have something like this in your wardrobe.  Knowing what you already have in the wardrobe is half the battle.

If you any of the answers from the above cause you to spend more money than really it is not a  bargain is it.

Shop off season 

Some people may shudder when I say this.  But if you are looking for those classic items that will never go out of fashion i.e. good denims, plain t-shirt and winter coats – than shopping off season will work best for you. 

What tips do you have for a bagging a bargain?  Leave a comment below and let us all know. 

S

Reading and Money Saving. Yes, two go hand in hand.

Did you ever think that the two can be simultaneously linked? Well they are.   Are you a person who buys and reads at least 5 books a month?  Are you a person who spends money on books and then fail to read to them for months on end.

 

If you recognise yourself in any one of these descriptions than you need to join the library! The what!!! Never heard of it!  Yes, the library.   My local library is a fountain of books, cds, reference material – you name it and it is there.     And you can access it all for 15euro per year.   ( discounted or free in some cases depending on your circumstances)  You can take a book out for three weeks at a time – you can extend your “rental” on the book.   You can take our CD’s and DVDs for one week.  

With online access to the library you can extend the length of time you have a book or CD etc.  And what is wonderful about this whole system is that you can reserve a book, and they will email you when it is ready to be collected.  You can check what books are in stock – reserve it !  I love this system for when I read a review or see a recommendation online for a book – I go straight to the website for my library and add this book to my list  ( books I want to read in the future ) or request the book to be reserved.    Book worms don’t you just love it.

Ok enough gushing over my local library.  In terms of money saving it really is simple. Imagine it – you spend 10euro on each book that you have bought and read – per month that is 50euro but yet for 15 euro you have access to more books.   Money saving instantly.     In terms of my annual time in the library – I have saved myself an absolute fortune.   I am the person who buys a book and fails to read it - yuck needlessly spending money.   

Another good reason to join the library is trying new stuff – read a new author, a new style.  It is definitely more freeing.  But why not even pick up one of those books how to ... for dummies.  Learn something!

Other items available at some libraries are:

·         Audio books,

·         Language books,

·         Books in different languages,

·         Internet access so much more.

Recently, I took out “The Great Gatsby” It is a wonderful book and so different from my usual style of reading – chick lit and true romance.  I have also taken out books on fashion and make up and reference books for work on tips and ideas and how too.

But other than the above, there is a whole social aspect to your local library.   My library has regular talks from noted speakers whether it is from food to yoga or whatever.  Guess what its free!   There is also regular book clubs in the library so that you can join up and discuss their latest book. 

This is all for 15euro per year.  I think you can all see how this is money saving.   Check out your local library.

Are you already a member?  Any good books you can recommend. Even leave a link in the comment section to your local library.

S

My Finances - Where the hell do I start?

This is something that everyone wants to do – but sometimes just doesn’t get quite around to sorting it out.  Read this article and take some time this week and look at it. It really is easy and not as stressful as you might think.  Trust me all your need is a spreadsheet and some envelopes! Yes it is that simple..... read on for more information.

Finances are hard thing to look at.   Sometimes we are all going from week to week in the hope that we get by.  Others we are determined to save and then we dip in to the savings.  It is so hard to try and start anywhere to organise your finances.  Whether you have a debt that needs to be paid off or you are just saving for that rainy day or upcoming events.

Over the years of trying to save my money I have come up with some ways which have been of use to me.   I am going to share these with you and I hope that you will find them beneficial.

Reviewing your monthly / weekly spend

Look at your weekly / monthly wage.  Review your money, where is it going, is it being wasted away on unnecessary items or is it going to worthy causes i.e food.    Perhaps you can make a budget spreadsheet.  Don’t reinvent the wheel take a look at Microsoft Word templates or I can send you mine if you are interested in it.

If at the end of the above task you are still unsure where the hell your money is going – download an app for your phone which will allow you to track each purchase in to a category as you buy it.  Don’t cheat it – you are only cheating yourself.

Where is your money going ?

Once you have established where your money is going – you can determine how much needs to go where.   Remember there are only a few items which are a necessity to your everyday life and these are:

Rent / Mortgage,

Utilities,

Child related expenses ( kids clubs, schools etc)

Loans / repayments

Food,

Car expenses, i.e petrol,

Then you have annual expenses,

Health Insurance

Car service,

School Fees,

If you can think of anything else add it to the above list as appropriate.    Next – put each of the above in a column of a spreadsheet and then mark the relevant month/weekly out.  So your spreadsheet will look like this. ( I get paid monthly )

	Jan-12	Feb-12	Mar-12	Apr-12	Etc
Wages	1200	1200	1200	1200
Rent / Mortgage,	250	250	250	250
Cable TV	150	150	150	150
Gas	50	50	50	50
Electric	50	50	50	50
Child related expenses	0	0	0	0
Loans / repayments	50	50	50	50
Food,	400	400	400	400
Car expenses, i.e petrol,	150	150	150	150
Total Required Per Month	1100.00	1100.00	1100.00	1100.00
Remaining each month	100	100	100	100

Ok so now you have broken down your expenses every month as the required expenses.  You may have more or your may have less – but notice you put your wages amount in the top row, list all your expenses, and minus from your wages total, you will get the amount you absolutely require each month.   Some expenses may vary and leave you with month left over. I will discuss that later.

Savings

You will notice under the required amount, there is a small section which shows the money that is surplus to your own requirements – immediately set up a bank account and arrange for that amount to be taken from your wages each month directly in to your savings account.

If you don’t have a savings account, set up one.  Take a look around at what has the best rates and how you can access this money – make sure it is an instant access unless you really want to see a return on your money.   With instant access to your cash, this means that if it is needed urgently you can access it no problem at all.  Take a look at your bank options, and other banks – look at credit unions and post office – what ever will work best for you is the one to go for but definitely research.

Paying bills

Dependent on how you pay your bills, it may online or a post office.   Get that money out straight away – pay your cable tv bill early so you don’t have to worry about it – same goes for gas and electric.  Why wait until the due date as you may end up forgetting about it and getting charged a late payment.  Keep an eye on these bills regularly as you may find that you have over paid and be able to leave a payment go for one month – whoo hoo extra money.

 

For others such as groceries and car expenses – take the money out of the bank and divide it in to envelopes with the title of what it is required for clearly marked.  So you will have envelope for car expenses with 150 in it, you will have an envelope for groceries.  Now, the important thing to remember is that once this money is gone.... it is gone.  You can’t rob money from one and put it in the other.    If at the end of the month you discover that hey I didn’t spend 150 on groceries this month – take that money out and do one of two things with it.

Put it straight in to your savings account, so you are building a nice little nest egg for those annual expenses or take some of it and buy a bottle of wine as a treat or put it towards a new top or dress that you have been looking at.

Annual Expenses

With your annual expenses, I would recommend sitting down now and discovering how much money you actually need to pay these expenses.  My health Insurance is over 1200euro annually so I have to budget to ensure that I have this money ready and available to me by August each year.  With this in mind, in my own monthly spreadsheet I have a column specifically for that – so I know each month how much goes in to this savings fund for that.  Any extra cash that I have left over at the end of each month goes in to my holiday savings account so that I have cash to spend when on holiday, or even enough to pay for my holiday.    I love my holidays each year so I have a column whereby I put a small amount away each month to pay for a  holiday.

People have different methods of what works for them – and the above really is only the basics that will get you started and thinking about budgeting and financial planning.

Financial budgeting and planning doesn’t need to be hard or stressful but you just need to start it and set your goals.  Set out what your monthly expenditure actually is – set out your annual expenses.

What works best for you with your budgeting and saving – leave a comment and share with other readers.

S

What does it actually mean and how can I start?

Thrifty means being frugal and economical and heaven knows in a time of recession we all need to be thriftier wherever we can.  For me it is looking at getting coupons, discount codes and looking to see where I can get the best value for my money. 

There are some great sites out there that will allow you to print off coupons that you can bring to your local supermarket and claim money off items e.g 50cent off bread or your detergent.   Print these out people there is no shame in saving money wherever you can.  Of course, it is not a bargain or a saving it you are buying that item just because there is 50 cent off the original price.  So take note.

But there are not only coupons out there – many stores and brands are doing special offers for example, my normal size box of washing powder is 10 euro but recently I came across a double size box normally priced at 20euro for 10euro. Half Price – I snapped it up there and then even though I didn’t need the powder yet – it is the brand I use and I will need it.  I saved myself 10euro.  

Being thrifty doesn’t mean that you have to cut back on items that you normally buy, it just means that you need to search out the bargains that are out there to be had.

But not only with food items with clothing as well. Recently I went shopping – I had no real intention of buying anything as money is fairly tight at the moment as I am currently not in work.  However the stores that I visited had sales on which meant discounts – I got three dresses – yes three for 60euro. Each dress was an average of 20euro each.  I know have three sassy dresses for technically the cost of one.   So maybe clothes shopping is not to be avoided after all.

Even in terms of internet shopping you will find discount codes that can be used on a certain site which will give you a 10% discount – so why go out there and find them. What sites do you use?  Why not add them in the comment section on the blog.

My one tip that I would like to leave you all with today is use coupons.  The Americans are very big on couponing and when you look at the sites they have dedicated purely for coupons you can understand why this is such a craze at the moment.  Ireland and the United kingdom are finally catching up with our American cousins in this regard.

A site which I use is www.pigsback.com but I know there are probably other undiscovered sites out there that I haven’t come across yet.

Any recommendations?

S