12 Effective Ways to Save Money on a Tight Budget

Overspending is an easy habit to get into, albeit often a difficult one to identify and a harder one to escape from. It may seem disingenuous to say overspending is difficult to identify, as after all you’re always aware that you’re spending money when you go to the shops or buy something new. However, often we do overspend without realising, and are missing the small savings that can quickly add up into a considerable sum of money.

Usually the “small savings” element prevents people looking to save, as on the face of things there isn’t enough of a saving there to justify making a real change. By looking deeper at how you’re spending your money, you can make a real difference to your life, and enjoy significant savings while living on a tight budget.

Here are 12 effective ways to save money that will soon have the savings stacking up in your favour.

1.      Check You’re Getting the Best Deals

Whether utilities like electricity and gas, your mobile phone, home broadband, or anything else, how confident are you that you’re enjoying the best deals available? Take some time to gather any contracts and bills together, then sit down and look at what you’re paying. Even if you’re able to afford your current rates with relative ease, that doesn’t mean there isn’t potential for savings.
Get in touch with all your service providers and discuss the options available for saving money. If you’ve been a customer for an extended period, there will usually be loyalty offers available for you to take advantage of, particularly if you subtly indicate you might be considering taking your custom elsewhere.
As an extension of this, you should look at things you’re paying for that you don’t really need. Netflix and Spotify are great services and fun to use, but do you really need them? Is your child’s monthly subscription to Club Penguin giving you value when they can play other games free?

2.      Turn Everything Off

How many times have you read this piece of advice? Despite there being a wealth of knowledge online about the potential benefits of ensuring electrical items are fully turned off – not left on standby – and even unplugged if possible, many are still guilty of not heeding this advice. If you have two or three televisions in your home, a computer system, and a music system, all left on standby, you could be spending a small fortune on electricity while not even using these!
If this sounds a familiar scenario to describe your home, consider investing in energy saving plugs or adaptors that cut the power when it recognises something isn’t being used or is on standby.

3.      “Winterize” Your Home

Though it depends where in Australia you live, it might be unlikely that sealing up any gaps around doors and windows using draught excluders or other products will mean you can go all winter without switching on the heating, but it will mean you will use the heating less as your home is heated more efficiently. Either invest in the products available in the shops or create your own DIY solutions to ensure you’re not paying for heat that quickly escapes your home.

4.      Buy in Bulk if You Can

Buying in bulk might cost more at the time, but you soon see the savings as you need to purchase less often and your purchases last longer. Whether it’s taking advantage of bulk buying deals at the local supermarket or switching your shopping location to a nearby cash and carry, significant discounts can be enjoyed.

“Buying in bulk might cost more at the time, but you soon see the savings as you need to purchase less often and your purchases last longer.”

Before buying in bulk be sure to consider whether it will really work for you. Buying perishables that expire quickly, for example, isn’t a good idea if there is only two of you and you’ll never use something before it goes off. However, you can always save money buying non-perishable items, whatever your situation, so should take advantage of the products and deals available.

5.      Shop with a List

Shopping without a list is a little like shopping when you’re hungry; you inevitably end up buying things you don’t need, probably overspend, then end up wasting food when you don’t use it and it expires before going in the bin.
The other scenario is that you don’t buy everything you need because of not having a list, then end up spending more money at a nearby convenience store, having takeaway, or eating out. Take a shopping list every time you head to the supermarket, and be sure you’ve covered everything you need up until the next time you plan to shop.

6.      Use Coupons and Price Matching

Whether it’s shopping for groceries, clothes, or anything else, there is usually a saving to be enjoyed if you look hard enough. Instead of blindly heading out to buy things and paying the price on the shelf or on the label, take some time beforehand to research what coupons and price match deals might be available.

7.      Go Vegetarian

Often students will turn vegetarian to save money on the high cost of meat, but it is an option open to everyone at any stage of life. You can choose to ‘go meatless’ completely, or if meat is a large part of your diet and one you don’t wish to totally give up, you can designate meat free nights at home to cut back and see some savings.

8.      Enjoy the Park

Costs of children’s clubs and activities can be prohibitive, particularly in busier urban centres where such services are in high demand and usually very popular. Despite these clubs and activities offering a welcome service and providing excellent engagement for children, much of the time you can do all the same things free in the local park or area of open space. Instead of paying a premium for clubs and activities, get friends who have children together to enjoy meet-ups and your own social occasions filled with sports and other activities for everyone to get involved in.
The same principle applies for yourself if you’re paying out for a gym membership every month. Do you really need it?

9.      Group Deals

Keeping the spirit of community alive following your meet-ups with friends in the park, whether you’re doing things with the kids or on your own, using discount websites and taking advantage of group buying deals is a great way to keep your social life active while also saving money. Many people believe living on a tight budget means waving goodbye to any kind of social life, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

10. Consider How You Travel

Do you drive everywhere and pay out for fuel when it might be cheaper to take the train or the bus? Do you take the train or the bus for relatively short trips when you might be able to walk? Assessing how you travel can make a great difference to your finances but also make you fitter and healthier. If driving is essential, are you getting your fuel at the cheapest possible price, and are you getting the best deal on your vehicle insurance? If you do get the bus or train, are you buying the best advance or season tickets to save you money?

11. Cut Back on Eating Out

When you eat out, food, and drinks even more so, are subject to an extensive mark-up. You should really look to cut back on eating out altogether, but if this is a part of your social life, at least think about how often you do it, and what you buy when you do. Opting to drink water instead of another drink is the easiest way to save money, while choosing larger sharing platters and meal options is also often cost-effective. Another option is to eat out on nights when special deals are available, or at locations offering two meals at a set or discounted price.
Include the cup of coffee you buy on the way to work and the muffin on the way home in this, too. Eliminating these will save you a good sum of money over time.

“When you eat out, food, and drinks even more so, are subject to an extensive mark-up. You should really look to cut back on eating out altogether, but if this is a part of your social life, at least think about how often you do it, and what you buy when you do.”

12. Buy Second Hand

Buying something new and ‘box fresh’ is always a great feeling, but there are always bargains to be found at charity shops, garage sales, and other second hand stores, no matter whether you’re shopping for clothes or a new television for your home. You’ll save a significant amount of money adopting this outlook, and if you’re shopping for clothes, vintage trends and wearing reclaimed garments is all the rage right now anyway.

Saving Money on a Budget

While none of these 12 tips are likely to prove a ‘silver bullet’ for your finances on their own, if you put them all into practice they’ll add up into what could be a significant sum of money, depending on your current spending habits and regular expenditure. Take the time to consider where your finances could be better utilised, and become adept at saving money and managing your budget effectively.


What you need to know

Constancy Wealth Management is an Authorised Representative and Credit Representative of AMP Financial Planning Pty Limited ABN 89 051 208 327 AFSL 232706 and Australian Credit Licence 232706. This information does not take your circumstances into account, so read the relevant disclosure documents and consider what’s right for you. If you acquire an AMP product or service, AMP companies and/or their representatives will receive fees and other benefits, which will be a dollar amount and/or a percentage of either the premium you pay or the value of your investments. Ask us for more details.

This post contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information