With the effect of pandemic, money is still on many of our minds. It can be difficult to balance our budgets during times of economic difficulty, so here are a few tips which could help you look after your money in 2023.

Keep a spending diary

Many of us are guilty of frittering our money away on takeaway coffees and sandwiches on our lunch break, but you would be amazed how much the dollar add up over the month. Before you can make a budget for 2023, it is important that you work out how much you are spending on a daily basis. To do this, buy yourself a little notebook and set aside ten minutes in the evening to tot up what you spent that day and where. This exercise won’t take up much of your time, and if you keep up the habit it will soon become second nature.

Make a budget

Once you know what you are spending in an average month, it is time to analyze your outgoings for areas you can cut back. Whether you are paying your cash advances or  it’s a weekly takeaway or an expensive phone bill, we all have parts of our life where money can be saved. Consider what you need to meet the cost of your essential monthly outgoings like your rent, mortgage payments, food, and bills, and set this amount aside for the month (don’t forget to add a little extra for unforeseen events like appliances breaking and birthday presents!) Then you can organize to transfer the money that you will save into an online savings account, whether it is a dollar or a $100.

[Photo courtesy of Dejan Nouval/pexels.com]

Check your home

Are you guilty of leaving the lights on when you leave a room, or keeping the television on standby? It is surprising how much little things like this can add to your electricity bill. Energy saving tips can be crucial for people looking to save some money, as well as helping the planet out. For example, save up your laundry to make sure you only wash full loads- a full load will use less energy than two half loads- and switch the dial down to cold. And whilst you are in the kitchen, don’t fill your kettle up each time- only heat what you need.

Ditch the ready meals

Not only are ready meals expensive but they are also incredibly bad for your health and your waistline. Home cooked food may sound like a chore, but you don’t have to turn into Jamie Oliver in order to make simple, tasty meals at home. Buy yourself a basic cookbook and start planning your weekly meals in advance. That way, when you go food shopping you will know exactly what you need. Buy plenty of onions, carrots, potatoes and broccoli, along with other things like pasta and cheap cuts of meat, and you will be able to cook up something frugal and delicious. Always try and make an extra portion to, so you can have it for lunch the next day.