Are you a Budgeting Boss?
14% of people in the UK often have to borrow money to pay for food or bills
Managing money is a skill. Something you may have learnt as a child, or out of necessity. Wherever your skill level lies, there is always room to learn a few more tips and tricks.
Through running our COVID Cash Recovery course we find that many people are keen on the ‘jars’ technique. Allocating money to different areas to visually see what is left over. This can work really well when there is cash involved, in 2020, however, through obvious reasons, cash is rarely used so this can make things more challenging. To solve this you might explore the plethora of bank accounts that are available, providing a ‘digital jar’ scenario. You might try an app, spreadsheet, or good old fashioned ledger. Whatever your choice there are people out there willing to provide advice and support.
We love the printable at Stepchange if you want something physical to start your budget on.
Or Money Advice Service have an online Budget Planner tool.
1/3 less food was wasted during lockdown this year
What are your Favourite Budgeting tips? Here are some of ours:
Making a Menu can save pounds on your weekly shopping bill
Looking at your cupboards and planning that menu based on ingredients you already have/need using up. - Try Love Food Hate Waste for ideas on using up leftover ingredients
Checking out Jack Monroe’s ‘Cooking on a Bootstrap’ page for recipe ideas that cost pennies!
Consider mending some of your old clothes, or re-fashioning them into something new. Love your Clothes has ideas to get you started.
What about entertaining the kids on a budget? Going to local parks and greenspace is great, what about free museums/historical sites? There is a list of them here and another here
Kids bored at home?
Hiding some of their toys away for a few weeks/months can breathe new life into forgotten toys.
Try your hand at making things out of Rubbish; robots, castles, string telephones…..take a look at our Coronavirus activity ideas on our Lifesavers page for more ideas of things to do on a budget.
Try putting small amounts away. If you are on benefits or a low income you can sign up for a help to save account which rewards you for saving!