Do you know taking a little time to manage your money better can really pay off in the long run? Knowing how to budget can help you stay on top of your expenses and save a great amount of money every year. Smart money habits begin with knowing what and where you are spending your money each month. If you don’t know where to start you can begin with tracking your spending and finding out how much you are spending on non-essential items such as movies or even your daily coffee. We have put together practical ways you can save money which you may not be aware of.
Get rewarded for shopping
We talked about this in another post, the main supermarkets in Australia, Coles and Woolworths have their own loyalty programs. If you haven’t, you should join their loyalty program straight away. With every dollar you spend you can enjoy points. From time to time, based on your shopping behaviour they would offer you coupons and exclusive offers.
Use coupons and vouchers
Do you know most retailers and online shops offer coupons and promo codes? Yes you just know where to find it. Most of the time vouchers are available online, in your local magazines and some businesses like KFC or Dominos would actually have them posted directly to you. Before you purchase anything online, make sure you check your email to see if they have sent you any coupons or promo codes (also check your junk mail) or you can ask around or on your local Facebook communities to see if anyone would have a promo code which they can share with you as sometimes people do get exclusive promo codes or company discounts.
Get a cheaper mobile phone deal
Have you been with the same network provider for a while now? It might be a great idea to shop around for a new deal. Many providers are willing to offer you a very good discount to have you switched over to them such as giving you additional internet data. If you don’t feel like changing provider, you can always check with your current provider to see if they can offer you something extra if you are going to stick with them for another year. You may also find that your current provider is actually willing to match a deal from a competitor so they don’t lose you as a customer.
Shop around for the best providers
Things like signing up with your internet provider or energy you might be surprised how much you can save if you give yourself some extra time to shop around. If you do not want to spend too much time doing your research there are many comparison sites out there such as finder.com.au which they have already put together shopping guides for you so you know the pros and cons of each provider as well as showing how much are they going to charge you.
Price match!
Many businesses and retailers such as JBHifi or Officeworks are offering price match. You can actually save hundreds when it comes to buying big ticket items such as a TV, a fridge or a computer. So make sure you make use of these retailers’ price match schemes, but keep in mind that each retailer has slightly different rules on how they go about price matching, you can check out these information on website like Brainy Customer. Some retailers may ask that you price match at the point of purchase which means they might ask you to show them the the listed price on the competitors’ website when you are at the counter.
Most of the money saving tactics take time. The more time you do your research before purchase the higher chance you can save money. You may find it difficult at the start but once you have done it a couple of times it will become a habit!