Counting the cost of summer holidays
Aside from the cost of a holiday (if you were lucky enough to have one this year) many aspects of the British summer have become ridiculously expensive over the past couple of years. For example, take the traditional weekend at the coast with the kids. Petrol prices are extortionate, accommodation will have been more expensive than last year, a day trip to keep the kids happy will shred the wallet and even though the 99p Mr Whippy is a distant memory you can now expect to pay more than £3 for this particular delight.
As summer draws to a close it doesn’t get any cheaper. The kids need new school uniforms, the car insurance is due, birthdays are coming up and before you know it it will be Christmas again with all of the expense that entails. So it is hardly surprising that many people are already making plans to start saving up so that they don’t go into the new year as a penniless, quivering wreck.
But how can you cut costs further? The global economic crisis has been going on for years now, which makes you think it may not actually be a crisis and more of a permanent change. During those years many people have already had to make changes in their lifestyle in order to cut costs and yet somehow it never seems to be enough. So what else can be done? Well here are a few suggestions to try and help you save some money before Christmas this year.
• Change your supermarket – One of the biggest expenses on a household is food shopping and whilst your preferred supermarket is conveniently located and you know where everything is, is it really offering you the best value for money? Be prepared to travel a little further to get the best deals and don’t forget to make use of online price comparison sites. Many supermarkets will give you the difference back if you find your shopping could have been cheaper elsewhere.
• Change your gym – Keeping fit these days is a necessity but why don’t you try using cheap gyms rather than your current health club or leisure centre. Many cheap gyms will allow you to just pay-as-you-go now rather than make you commit to full membership. There are also loads of new cheap gyms opening up around the UK with prices typically less than £20 per month. Cheap gyms are a direct result of the economic crisis with many companies offering low cost facilities so that people don’t quit exercise all together. If cheap gyms still don’t offer enough of a saving to make ends meet then don’t forget you can always go running instead – it’s free!
• Change your car – There are some great deals to be had on cars these days and as well as downgrading to a cheaper model you may find savings in getting a smaller but newer car where the running costs are far less. You should also look at changing to a more fuel efficient version of your car as you will save on fuel costs and probably insurance as well. Once again, don’t forget to check out the numerous price comparison websites to get the best possible deal.
