50+ Ways To Save Over £10,000 Every Year

There are many ways to save money each day. Some less obvious than others.

Further to the popular 85 Ways To Make Extra Money, this post explores the variety of unique ways to save money monthly.

Everyone saves money in some way. Some regularly and others less so.

The thing I have found extremely useful in considering savings is to do it actively and deliberately.

Connecting your savings to a future goal or outcome also serves as motivation to do it, whilst keeping things fun.

I have an upcoming holiday to the Algarve in Portugal, and being so militant about the budget, I ensured we booked what we could comfortably afford.

More importantly, this was an active process that started when we created our annual budget at the start of the year, but tied a future outcome – A holiday.

Another really important aspect of saving is that bits saved here and there can add up to something material.

The sum of these marginal gains can be game-changing annually as you’ll soon see, even more so, can have a dramatic impact on your financial future.

Saving money as an activity and lifestyle inevitably leads to investing and exploring side hustle ideas, all of which are levers on the journey to Financial Independence.

Related: How Much Money You Should Have Saved By Age

Speaking of Financial Independence, a couple of days ago, I had a meetup with a number of people who have been Financially Independent for some time.

They don’t have day jobs and pretty much do whatever they want each and every day.

One of them revealed that he buys his formal shirts for a maximum of £8 a pop from Tesco online, which I thought was brilliant! Here is an example.

Some of the others actually admitted to buying clothes from charity shops, which I found fascinating but shouldn’t have been surprised.

NEW content on Our YouTube Channel – How To Save Money – Our 60% Savings Rate:

Below are 50+ ways to save over £10,000 every year:

FINANCES

1. Personal Finance apps – If you struggle to save money at all, then you need to stop whatever you’re doing right now and download the below apps:

Money Dashboard is a great app for figuring out exactly what you’re spending money on. It is Free and connects to your bank account, and does the hard work of segmenting your expenses by type.

You can also set a budget by expense type, so you challenge yourself to spend within your means.

I personally use this app, although I do my detailed budgeting and forecasting on a custom Excel workbook.

Squirrel is a unique app for helping your monthly pay stretch to the end of the month, thereby helping you to save money! This requires a £3.99 payment per month.

Chip is an intelligent Free app that helps you save money. You connect it to your online banking, and it gathers information about your spending.

It uses that data to work out how much you can afford to save. Every few days it transfers an amount it believes to be affordable into a separate savings account for you.

2. Pay annually in advance – It always amazes to hear that some people pay for car or home insurance monthly rather than annually.
I understand that for some, the cashflow is the main issue. However, I know far too many people who pay monthly simply because they have always done so by default.

Paying annually not only means that you actually forget about the payment for another year, but the savings can be material too.

I save circa £40/month (or £480 annually)

3. Reduce Your Tax Bill – Paying into a personal pension such as a SIPP is one way of reducing your tax bill annually as a result of the tax rebate you receive.

Also, if you’re a higher rate taxpayer, you can usually claim more money back via your tax return annually, which alot of people forget to do.

Making charitable donations (including payments to churches) are tax-free! You can claim back tax on these donations as you’re making them out of net rather than gross income.

4. Better Mobile Deal or Avoid Upgrades – The culture of today is to get the latest iPhone via an upgrade as soon as they get released. Personally, I think that’s totally nuts!

Instead, I move onto a SIM only deal when my contract runs out and I use the same phone for at least 3 years before I upgrade.

I save circa £24/month (or £288 annually).

5. Loyalty Cards – These cards are extremely handy if you visit the shops during the week as well as on your regular shopping days.
I use the Nectar and COOP loyalty cards, and the latter saves me anything from 5% to 15% per purchase.

I save circa £25/month (or £300 annually).

6. Use Price Comparison sites – These let you compare hundreds of products offers from various providers to choose what fits your circumstances.

I personally use these for the car, home, travel insurance and gas/electricity without fail.

The key here is to diarise the exact date each of these services runs out and set reminders. Then immediately shop around for cheaper providers.

I save circa £50/month (or £600 annually).

7. Free Overdraft – Negotiating an interest free overdraft can be helpful and could even serve as an emergency fund if things are pretty bad.
However, don’t depend on it as it’s easy to remain perpetually in the overdraft.

Negotiating one of these free overdrafts helps you avoid often harsh penalties banks impose for mistakenly going overdrawn.

I personally have one of these myself for £1,000, and it acts as a safety net to ensure all payments leave as scheduled without a hiccup.

8. Transfer Your Debt – If you’re currently paying a high-interest rate on some debt, one way to save money is to transfer that debt onto a credit card with 0% balance transfer.

You don’t get charged interest on the debt for a period, giving you the opportunity to repay at no extra cost.

9. Banking app discounts – Banks such as Barclays offer their own rewards app for their customers.

Even with my free bank account at Barclays, I get access to their rewards app, from which I get a free coffee or tea daily, discounted meals, discounts to airport parking etc.

Check your bank for these rewards as they’re often considered too good to be true but do exist.

I save circa £50/month (or £600 annually).

10. Overpay On Your Mortgage – This is all about saving money in the future and recovering years of your life back as debt free!

When we first took out a mortgage on our home, we had a clear plan of paying it off early. We started off overpaying by £500/month and kept that up for a couple of years.

Then increased it by another £500/month, driven by savings from various areas I cover off in this post.

[yellowbar]Now here’s why this is important – The above move means our mortgage is paid off in a total of 10 years, rather than 25 years or even 40 years as some millennials are experiencing.[/yellowbar]

For us, that is 15 years of our lives recovered from the shackles of debt, and about £50k saved in interest over the 10-year term!

Related: 10 Tried and Tested Tips To Help You Become Debt Free

I save circa £417/month (or £5,000 annually).

FOOD & HEALTH

11. Buy Own Brands – Own branded products at supermarkets should definitely not be ignored.

We buy these for things like breakfast cereals, pasta, detergents etc.

People tend not to buy these because they think they’re buying something more inferior or less healthy or tasty.

In fact, some of the own brand stuff we buy such as Tuna and baked beans taste better than the branded equivalents.

I save circa £20/month (or £240 annually).

12. Bulk Buy – There are significant savings to be had if you can buy in bulk.

Wholesale retailers such as Costco offer significant savings if you own your own business.

In fact, the savings are attractive enough for you to justify starting a business in order to get it! You pay a small annual membership of £26.40 to get access.

Other wholesalers include Makro and Bestway.

I save circa £30/month (or £360 annually).

13. Extreme Couponing – Requires actively seeking out coupons and discount deals.

There are many bloggers who make this easy for us all because they seek out dozens of these offers and post them social media weekly.
If interested, simple google “coupon blogs” and subscribe to some local to you.

14. Price Match Promise – Large supermarkets such as Asda, Ocado and Tesco offer to price match if you could have shopped cheaper elsewhere.

So registering your receipt online for every supermarket shop or swiping your loyalty card can get you a discount on purchases.

15. Beware of luring discounts – Alot of deals such as Buy One Get One Free sound very attractive, but they’re often great opportunities to buy what you don’t need!

The point here is, stick to your budgeted list of items and shop accordingly.

16. Cut Down On Red Meat – This is not only good for your health but also brilliant for your wallet.

Last year we moved onto a mostly plant-based diet, and I noticed a significant leap in my energy levels as well as a massive drop in the weekly food bill.

Cutting meat out entirely could be tough, however, cutting down to maybe, once a week could be very beneficial.

Another way to do this is to buy cheaper cuts of meat. Instead of buying a fillet, you may instead buy braising steak and use a slow cooker.

I save circa £40/month (or £480 annually).

17. Packed lunches – Making your own trumps paying for lunch any day! You can source your ingredients properly and can actually get a decent lunch portion too.

Packed lunches keep me healthy and within budget. It also means I have to be better at planning ahead.

We do meal plans on Sundays on the way back from church and then do food shopping to go with it.

On the same day, we cook certain meals that get frozen, with notes for what days in the week we eat them. Some meals we cook the night before and then take them into work.

I save circa £100/month (or £1,200 annually)

18. Shop at Aldi – We do most of our grocery shopping at Aldi. This is very deliberate and the value is amazing. The fruits at Aldi also compares well to the other major supermarkets.

In addition, we can buy more items below £2/piece at Aldi compared to all the others.

I save circa £30/month (or £360 annually)

19. Click to Buy – Sometimes, it’s hard to figure out if you’re getting a good deal at a supermarket or not.

The MySupermarket app does the work for you by showing you recent prices for items that look like they’re on sale, comparing prices to other supermarkets and giving you vouchers.

It instantly shows you what you could save by shopping around, and it compares all the major supermarkets.

20. Freeze food for longer – This is all about reducing food waste as well as delaying the need to shop for more food.

I get very frustrated with food waste especially as I know there is a rise in food banks locally and more people are struggling to eat.

Make the effort of dishing out leftover food and freezing it. If anything, you’ll feel good for having done it and not thrown money into the bin.

21. Stop Gym Membership – Research shows that Brits waste a staggering £558m/year in unused gym memberships!

Over 1 in 10 people have not visited the gym in the last year, despite paying an average of nearly £50/month.

Stopping your gym membership is a guaranteed way to save a significant sum each month.

I love walking and you can usually catch me walking the scenic route daily from Charing Cross to Marylebone whilst avoiding London's enthusiastic tourists.

As such, I clock up 10,000 – 15,000 walking steps a day (about 2.4m steps or 1,236 miles in one year) and typically do a 5km run every other week.

If the weather is great, I cycle too.

I save circa £50/month (or £600 annually)

CAR

22. Drive An Electric Car – By far one of the best decisions we have ever made. These are good for the environment and drive beautifully.

Driving costs are down from £250/month to £30/month because our electricity costs are fixed.

And this is before the lower depreciation cost of our cheaper Nissan Leaf is factored in compared to the guzzling Audi we previously drove.

On top of that, we pay no congestion charge when we visit Central London for the museums and theatres, plus there is no car tax (saving £250 a year) and free parking in central London for up to 4 hours!

I totally recommend an electric car. There is now more variety too and at different price points.

I save circa £240/month (or £2,880 annually) or £323/month (or £3,880 annually) with depreciation included.

23. Rent Out Parking Space – This is fantastic especially if you live 10 – 15 minutes from a train station.

Lots of people who travel in from further afield like to park their cars and then walk to the station.

You can easily rent your parking space for £5 – £10 per day, which is equivalent to between £100 and £200 a month of income.

JustPark has very good user feedback and is well established. They broadly charge a 3% commission.

24. Buy Second-Hand Cars – This is possibly one of the best things you could do financially.

Don’t feel you’re driving an inferior car and don’t bother dreaming about a brand new one! You can buy second-hand near-new cars.

The best part is, such cars are already heavily discounted, and on top of that, you can drive a hard bargain.

25. Buy Insurance Online and Pay Annually – Surveys show that it is generally cheaper to buy insurance over the internet than over the phone.

Reviewing your insurance each year, shopping around and paying annually in advance are guaranteed ways to ensure you get the most savings.

26. Shop for Cheaper Fuel – If you drive a diesel or petrol car, then websites such as PetrolPrices are great for finding the cheapest petrol in your area.

If you want to pay even less and control your price, I’d recommend driving an electric car as covered in #22 above and fixing your electric price.

27. Get Breakdown Cover – This pretty much acts as a form of insurance for inevitable breakdowns.

You can get good cover fairly cheaply and negotiate a discount annually if you don’t use their services.

28. Car Share – This is increasingly popular because joining a car-sharing scheme could halve your fuel costs.

Sharing a daily commute can save you more than £1,000 a year, according to liftshare.com.

Car sharing is also popular among parents doing the school run and can not only save money but also alot of time.

29. Cheaper Car Parts – It’s natural to go to fix your car and accept parts offered by a garage.

However, if you’re having a major repair works, you should definitely shop around.

Platforms such as the AutoPartsTrader have a database of nearly half a million parts from salvage experts nationally.

30. Part Cycle/Walk – If you live in a city or even a commuter town, cycling and walking rather than driving is great for many reasons.

It’s good for your health, the environment and certainly for your pocket! I personally do not drive at all during the week because I walk to our local station instead.

31. Cut Down to One Car – Alot of young families and couples insist on having 2 cars, which I find utterly wasteful.

For some, it’s a necessity for work, which I understand. However, for others, they simply just want their own cars.

If you really want to save money, cutting down to one car is a must! Think of those recurring insurance, fuel, financing and service costs you could save.

ENTERTAINMENT

32. Slash TV Packages – There is no end in sight once you start signing up for Sky, Netflix, and Prime Video etc.

Not to mention the significant upsell you also fall for when you sign up for these things e.g. a boxing night costs £20 to view at home.

Slashing your TV package is a guaranteed way to boost your savings. In our home, we stick to all the Freeview channels. And even that’s too much TV because we ignore the box 90% of the time.

An alternative is to unsubscribe for 6 months in the year. Not all TV content is recommended viewing, so you can surely switch off for half the year and do something more interesting.

I save circa £60/month (or £720 annually)

Related: 7 Non-Essentials Holding Your Future Hostage

33. Eat-out off-peak – If you’re flexible, you can enjoy a lovely meal at a top restaurant fairly cheaply. 

For example, a number of restaurants offer a pre or post theatre menu that is far cheaper than what is available during the peak hours. You can have a lovely meal at a top restaurant fairly cheaply.

A guaranteed way to get a discount is to sign up to the Gourmet Society , which offers two brilliant deals –

1) 3 months trial for only £1! Grab it fast!

2) 40% off their annual membership for only £39.95. Incredible value!

34. Drink Tap Water – Don’t bother with expensive bottled water. I also don’t waste money on drinks that I know are terrible for my health.

I usually order a jug of tap water with lemon in it, and that comes for Free.

Once in a while, I do ofcourse buy a drink but this is usually when there is some sort of celebration.

I save circa £15/month (or £180 annually)

35. Use Voucher Offers – Daily deal websites such as Groupon and Wowcher are great for restaurant deals.

Many restaurants also offer their own offers. For example, Pizza Express and Zizzi have recurring offers for 2 for 1 on main courses.

36. Book Night Out Online – There are attractive 50% off and 2 for 1 deals on websites such as Opentable.com and Lastminute.com. Some of these deals even have wine included.

37. Do Lunches Rather Than Dinners – If you’re in a major city like London, have a go at lunch instead of dinner, and you could access some of the country’s best restaurants at a great value.

These are particularly great if you have a special occasion and want the best balance of quality and price.

38. Eat Out Less Times Per Month – The secret here is to have planned socials, which force you to deliberate about when your socials are. As such, over time, you can reduce your planned socials in order to save.

I aim to meet one friend a week. I keep it to that and decline all others or have a call with them instead. This helps cap out my expenses on socials.

Even when I meet friends, we don’t always have meals. We may do a coffee/tea instead.

I save circa £40/month (or £480 annually)

39. Check Out Free Events – The best things in life really are free. There are free things to do in most cities.

Websites such as Timeout.com and Eventbrite.com list a variety of events and activities that can appeal to anyone.

Even major cities like London can be explored for free without spending a penny.

Free things to do include museums, art exhibitions, upcycling workshops, story-telling, music making, activities for children, etc.

40. Do One Less Holiday Per Year – This is an obvious way to save money if you’re used to going away a few times a year.

We’ve done this exactly and decided to instead seek out interesting things to do with our children locally over the period we would have travelled.

It means that for the periods that we’re away on holiday, we ensure we’re doing something of high quality that will be memorable.

When you do need to book your holidays, you should definitely check out lastminute.com top secret deals.

I save circa £200/month (or £2,400 annually)

HOME

41. Buy Clothing Smartly – I recently spent some time with some Financially Independent people and we discussed clothing.

What was interesting was that the majority of them either bought their clothes at charity shops or they bought them very cheaply online.

The Escape Artist is a fan of Tesco online. Here is an example of a formal shirt he wears at only £8 compared to £30+ at places like TM Lewin.

42. Wrap Up Warm – If you’re walking around your home in a t-shirt whilst dialing up your thermostat, then you’re throwing money down the drain.

Layering up can make all the difference and save you hundreds of pounds, especially in the winters when the price per unit is higher.

43. Reduce Wash Temperature – If you own a dishwasher or washing machine, then it is easy to crank up the temperature on these things hoping for a better wash.

The key is usually to buy the right detergents, which can wash well even at low temperatures.

I’ve made this mistake myself so many times and given a family of 4 do 2 washes 2 to 3 times a week, it can easily add up to a large bill.

44. Don’t Heat Unused Rooms – Thanks to radiators with their own controls, you can now turn off heating in specific rooms if you’re fortunate to have a spare one.

This is another area most easily ignore and that includes me too.

45. Shop Around for Utility Bills – Gas and electricity are commodities, and so the choice of provider should only be dictated by price.

Provided you’re choosing a major supplier, you can expect to get a good service.

The important thing is to make sure you do not get moved onto a standardised contract after your deal runs out.

Diarise your negotiation date and use the price comparison sites to seek out cheaper deals.

I tend to get fixed term deals as fixing my electricity price for example caps out the cost of driving our electric car.

MAKE MONEY TO SAVE MORE

I really love the idea of making more money in order to save more. For #10 above, I told you about how we were able to overpay on our mortgage and recover years as debt free.

A big part of raising money for overpayments not only comes from saving money here and there.

It also comes from doing things that make money or creating side hustles dedicated to helping us become Financial Independent. Below are a few ideas:

46. Start A Successful Blog – This is by far the easiest way I know to make money with very little cost!

Whether you’re looking to make an extra £1,000 or £10,000 per month, creating a blog will most definitely take you there if you’re patient.

You could literally start a blog for as little as $3.95 (£2.80) per month (the cost of a coffee!).

If you want to start a successful blog, then check out my detailed tutorial here. You can get the above price for your hosting through my discounted Bluehost link for a limited time only!

Feel free to also sign up for my Free 7-day course to help you launch a successful income generating blog:

47. Perform tasks – Swagbucks pays you virtual cash for short online tasks. You can then exchange your virtual cash for real money, PayPal credits, Amazon or M&S gift cards and much more.

Swagbucks also acts as a Search platform like Google and you get rewarded for using it instead. Other tasks you can do include completing polls, watching videos etc.

You get paid by Swagbucks passing on a cut of the advertising revenue that they receive.

48. Get Cash Back On Purchases

Earn £100's a year by making your regular purchases through cashback sites.

The top site that pays the most is TopCashBack , which is FREE to use and pays out up to 105% of the cashback it receives from merchants.

You can take your earnings as cash or boost your returns or swap them for Amazon vouchers or Tesco Clubcard points.

Our second best cashback site is Quidco, which has similar payout rates to TopCashBack . Both usually compete for exclusive deals.

49. Create A Niche Paid Course – Platforms like Teachable make this an effortless process for anyone anywhere in the world to get started.

Do you have specialist knowledge? E.g. Experience flipping property, Coding, Writing, Cooking etc.

All these have a waiting audience on Teachable. So why not create your own school on the platform today? You can start with a FREE account.

Related: 85 Ways To Make Extra Money

50. Start A Profitable Side Hustle – By far, one of the most recurring queries I get on this blog is about how to start a profitable side hustle.

If you don’t already have a side hustle or one that’s profitable, then you really must sign up for the below Free course:

 

Related:

7 Guaranteed Ways To Make An Extra £1,000 A Month

How are you currently saving money or planning to? Please share your ideas below and let’s create a massive list to refer back to 🙂

 

Do please share this post if you found it useful, and remember, in all things be thankful and Seek Joy.

 

I am taking part in the Monday Money linky with Lynn from Mrs Mummy Penny, Faith from Much More With Less and Emma from EmmaDrew.Info