We're hearing all about the cost of living crisis. Everything is on the rise, from the price of petrol to the cost of food. Energy bills are about to go through the roof and many people are struggling. Let's have a look at some ways to save money, both at home and in the office.
Switch Your Bank
When was the last time you switched who you bank with? Maybe you're sick of the low interest rates and poor customer service at your current bank? Did you know what you can get paid to switch? Right now you can get up to £150 to swap your bank. They'll pay you to become a new customer! Go through the current account switch service and it is usually done within 7 days. It's a great way to get some £££ which could help many people right now.
Cancel Unused Subscriptions
How many of us review our PayPal subscriptions or our bank recurring transactions on a regular basis? I recently reviewed mine and found I still had a paid Zoom subscription, which I hadn't needed for over twelve months. That's £14 per month saved. Then a subscription to a networking group that I hadn't attended since the beginning of the pandemic, and have no intention of intending again. Another good sum saved every month.
Turn The Thermostat Down
It's one of the most talked about ways to save money but it's worth mentioning as we are in this cost of living crisis. Turn your thermostat down by just one degree and you'll save money. You might need to wear an extra pair of socks or pop a jumper on, but the savings can be great, especially when the energy price cap jumps by over 50% in April 2022.
Cut Back On Free Snacks
The cost of living crisis is hitting businesses too and it can be easy to put things into place to help keep staff happy. Free snacks in the kitchen is one of those things. As are free gym memberships. However your employees will understand if you cut back on these. It could be saving money on free fruit or starting to consider cutting costs with redundancies. Staff can bring their own apples into work and you can save some business expenses.
Consider Closing The Office One Day A Week
One of the ways to cut costs at work is to close the office for one day a week. That means you don't have electricity and heating to pay for. The kettle isn't being switched on every few minutes and even air conditioning isn't being used. Ensure that there is a company wide switch down of electrical equipment on the Thursday before work-at-home-Fridays, for example. This could save quite a bit of energy and hence money. By implementing a work from home day, you can cut the amount you need to for certain things in the office by 20%.
Ride Share
How about sharing the cost of petrol to get into the office? Maye it's time to implement a ride share scheme and actually encourage people to sign up. Yes we might love the comfort of being able to sit in our own car and singing along to the radio. However if you can half or maybe even quarter the cost of the petrol used to get to the office, it's a huge way to save on the cost of living crisis.
At Home
Avoid using the tumble dryer and hang washing outside to dry. Downshift the brands you buy at the supermarket, or change to a budget supermarket for your shopping. Compare insurance for a new quote rather than auto-renewing.
There are lots of ways to save some money which can add up if you put them all into play. The cost of living crisis is going to affect us all and we all need to figure out ways to save, both at home and within our businesses.