It’s so hard to save money these days right?
Wrong.
All you need are money barriers, but what are they? Quite simply, barriers are things that you put in place within your life to stop you from doing things. These barriers are known as ‘passive’ or ‘active’. Active barriers are physical things that stop you from doing something, such as locking away all your chocolate bars or hiding your entire student house’s booze in strange places!
The harder barriers to create are the passive ones, as they involve a bit more thought – so maybe it’s best to stay away from those for now, especially if you’re reading this when hungover!
You might still be sitting there with a puzzled look on your face though, so here are some practical examples of how you can use barriers in your day to day life so that you can save money…
Top five barriers:
1. Finding that you spend all of your student loan too quickly? Then place a folder or plastic wallet on your desk or wall and put every receipt and bill in there. Once it starts to get a bit full you’ll suddenly realise just how much money you’re spending. Read through those purchases and all those lunchtime trips to the local Sainsbury’s will suddenly seem like a bad idea!
2. Buying too many pizzas because you can’t be bothered to cook? Tear up all your takeaway menus. If the number for Domino’s isn’t sitting there in front of you then maybe you’ll make yourself something nice for tea instead!
3. Do you spend way too much in the sales? Ban yourself from going into the local shopping mall until they are over. If you can’t walk past the flashy adverts in the window then you can’t spend your money!
4. Always spending on your card towards the end of a night? Leave your card at home! Obvious isn’t it! Work out your weekly budget and get the cash out at the beginning of the week, do not go beyond it – ever.
5. Spending too much on your food shop? Write a strict shopping list and stick to it! Don’t be tempted by offers you don’t need, and keep your costs down. Even better, do it online – where you can’t be tempted by everything that’s sitting on the shelf in front of you!
These may only be three short tips to get you going, but you can hopefully see how you’ll be saving a few extra pounds each week to save for when you need it – and that doesn’t mean the next big night out at the SU!
If you can think of any other ways to save money using barriers then why not share them with us in the comment box below…