Like most people across
the country our family is one where we have a low income and live
paycheck to paycheck with very little or no ‘spare’ money.
Following on from the
expensive festive month of December and having had to overcome a long
January when the last paycheck back in December seems like a lifetime
ago, this month has been a very expensive month.
Whilst thankfully thanks
to my frugal Christmas shopping throughout the year I did not find
that I had overspent my Christmas budget or built up debts to do with
Christmas. However the long gap between paychecks, the extra costly
expense of heating during the winter and been tight on money in the
lead up to Christmas with no spare money to go around least of all to
be had for January means that the purse strings have had to be
closely watched.
If like us you have to
make your money stretch further during January or you are struggling
to cope with overspending at Christmas, here are a few things we have
done this month to survive financially -
Avoid the sales
As soon as Christmas is
over the sales start. Whilst it is tempting to snap up bargains
galore they are only bargains if it is something you would have
bought regardless of it being a bargain price. If you don’t need
it, however bargain-luscious it is you are spending money on
something you don’t need and taking money out of your tight budget
for nothing.
Resisting the sales
ensures your money is spent on necessities such as food, bills, rent
and any Christmas debt. Boring I know but practical when having to do
grown up things.
If you do hit the sales,
yes I did browse them, make sure to check if it really is a bargain
and be sure it is something worthwhile. I made sure that I closely
monitored my sales spending and have only bought a handful of things
that are not only bargain prices but things I have put aside for the
boys’ birthdays which will help us out financially when their
birthdays arrive in the next few months.
Voucher codes and
discount promos
During this long,
expensive and limited money month I have made sure to make good use
of voucher codes and discount promos to help make our money stretch
further. Voucher codes for clothing, accessories, home decor and travel can be found on such sites such as dealsdaddy to help you save money on purchases.
Similar to my motto of
sales shopping - it is only a bargain if it is something we need or
are buying anyway - I make sure that I use voucher codes on things we
are already buying to get them cheaper rather than buy something just
because I have a discount code for it.
Shopping smartly using
voucher codes or coupons means that I have more money to spare from
our very tight budget which helps us manage to cover all bills and
necessary outgoings so that expensive January does not leave us
overspent or in debt by the time February rolls around.
When using codes to save
money I keep an eye out for discount coupons in newspapers and
magazines, monitor money saving sites for tips on savings and
discounts, and frequently use voucher codes from voucheroo.co.uk
Meal planning
To make sure that every
penny of our budget is well spent and to make our budget stretch to
cover all necessities and bills I am extra vigilant on making use of
money saving techniques such as meal planning.
When food shopping I
make sure to stick to my lists, use vouchers to buy items on there
cheaper and only take advantage of promotional offers if they are
truly value for money (not always the case so I check out the small
print and compare to items not on offer to get the best deal and
price) and it is something on my list or something we use regularly.
I am super strict with myself not to be tempted by treats, the list
and willpower is key!
Do you have any tips
on how to financially survive January?
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