Increasing living costs have taken their toll on us all. We have all started trying to save money where we can but sometimes that is not enough. If you have cut out all of the obvious unnecessary expenses including these 15 Things you need to stop buying to save money, then it is time to look at some more unusual ways to save money.
Here are 7 of the most unusual ways I have used to save money that have helped me stay in control of my finances and stay within budget.
Grow your Own Veg
You would be surprised how the cost of fruit and veg can add up, especially when you are buying it with every shop. By learning how to grow your own you can cut out this cost completely! With just one packet of courgette seeds you could save yourself around £149!
You may not know much about gardening, or have much space, but this should not hold you back.
There are many youtube videos out there that can help you get started with just one plant pot! And just think of the satisfaction you will get when you have your first home-grown plate of food!
Start Comping
Comping is where you enter many competitions in order to win as many prizes as possible. And would you believe that some people can actually make comping their fulltime profession? Professional “compers” win thousands of pounds worth of prizes every year!
You can win nearly anything through free competitions. From vouchers to holidays, brownies to blinds. Winning just a couple of prizes every month could save you a substantial amount of money!
Of course, you are not guaranteed to win anything, but that is all part of the fun! The trick is to enter as many competitions as you can (as long as you want to win the prize that is on offer). I have heard some compers enter over 100 competitions per day!
I have only just started my comping journey and only have time to enter around 30 per day but I have already won an Apple Airtag! As I was planning on buying one eventually anyway, this has saved me nearly £40!
I know comping sounds a bit strange and unreliable, especially when you have never heard of it before, but as far as unusual ways to save money go, I think this one could be my favourite!
Who knows comping could soon become your new favourite hobby!
Pay for Coffee with Gift Cards
My best friend and I absolutely love catching up in a café. More times than not we end up chatting until we get kicked out at closing time!
The only drawback is that we end up spending quite a bit of money on tea, coffee and cake!
Luckily, there is now an ingenious way you can save money in your favourite coffee shops.
You can now get cashback on gift cards! Meaning you can buy gift cards to use in your favourite shops and cafes and redeem cashback, essentially saving you money on in-store purchases.
Historically, cashback has been an online purchasing perk only, so this is a very exciting development for those of us who often frequent the same shops and cafes.
Two of my favourite places who offer this service are TopCashBack and JamDoughnut.
TOPCASHBACK
If you are not familiar with it, TopCashBack is one of the most popular cashback sites and is usually my go to for any and every purchase. Within their site, you can find TopGiftCards which offers a wide range of e-gift cards with great cashback percentages.
Simply purchase a giftcard of your specified amount and they will email it straight to you! The cashback will then track and appear in your account shortly after.
As well as many restaurants and cafes, they also offer gift cards for some cinemas, so make sure you check the website before making any future plans.
TopCashBack is free to join and if you sign up with my referral link you will get a £10 bonus (once you earn your first £10). I will also get a little bonus so if you use my link, thank you!
JAMDOUGHNUT
The JamDoughnut app offers you instant cashback at over 150+ shops, restaurants, cafes and supermarkets all through gift cards.
Similarly to TopCashBack, you simply choose your desired retailer and purchase your gift card securely through the app. You will then receive a barcode that you can use in-store at the checkout.
The cashback will instantly appear in your JamDoughnut wallet as points that you can later cash out once you reach £10.
Don’t worry if you don’t spend everything you put on your gift card, it will remain there for you to use next time. You can even use any other vouchers or loyalty cards in conjunction with your gift card to maximise your savings.
If you are not signed up to JamDoughnut yet you can use my referral code VY7A to get a £2 Bonus.
Not only will you save money on coffee, but by paying in gift cards, you can cap what you spend on coffee per week! You can simply buy a gift card for the amount you budget for coffee and then not spend any money other than the gift card.
This is a great way to keep track of your spending, and not accidentally go over budget.
Cut Open “Empty” Toiletry Tubes
When I first saw my Mum do this I thought she was going crazy! But now I think it is crazy when people don’t do it!
Have you ever wondered how much product you are wasting when you can’t get the last bit out of the tube? I can tell you it is definitely more than you think!
By cutting the top off the tube (the side without the spout) you can get days more use out of it! In fact when I cut open my face sun cream, I can continue to use it for more than a week! That is a week’s worth of product that would have been wasted! You can even put the top that you cut off back over the tube to keep your product fresher for longer.
By using this method, you will need to buy fewer products each year, and each purchase will be less frequent, saving you money, without lifting a finger!
You can do this with anything in a tube. I have personally done this with toothpaste, spf, moisturiser, primer, tanning lotion and even with some cooking ingredients like tomato puree!
Learn how to Cut your Own Hair
Everyone loves going to get their hair done. But let’s face it, it is quite expensive! Especially when you want to dye it or have other treatments. So if you need to save money, why not learn how to do your own hair?
In the age of youtube, there is nothing that you can’t learn on the internet! So start slow, maybe start with just a trim and work up as you build more confidence.
You could potentially save yourself over £100 every month! Think of what an extra £1200 every year could do for you.
To take it one step further, you could even learn how to groom your Dog’s fur too! Grooming fees have gone CRAZY in the last few months so if you and your furry friend are willing, you could save yourself even more hundreds by doing it yourself!
Just make sure you take the right safety precautions for you and your pet, and only do it if your dog is happy and comfortable.
Only Heat One Room
I am sure you are sick of hearing about energy bills, I know I am! But it doesn’t look like they will decrease to a reasonable level any time soon, so the more ways we can find to keep our energy usage down, the better.
This winter, my household decided we would just heat one room. We turned off the radiators everywhere else, and spent everyday in the living room together. Although we were a bit snug at times, what with me working from home in there too, it was actually rather fun and it saved an awful lot of money on heating!
I know this is not possible for everyone, so if your household can’t all live in one room, consider turning the radiators off and shutting the doors on any rooms you can spare.
One word of warning, when you go up to bed it will be freezing so make sure to arm yourself with plenty of hot water bottles and blankets!
Walk Everywhere
Finally, the most underrated and unusual way to save money is to walk… everywhere.
There are so many benefits to walking everywhere, both for your health and your finances.
- You will spend much less on fuel
- You can cut out public transport expenses
- Save on those pesky parking fees
- You could even cancel your Gym membership because you will be getting enough exercise through the day!
So what are you waiting for? Leave your car on the drive, put your walking shoes on and walk yourself to better finances!
I hope these Unusual Ways to Save Money have inspired you to think outside the box and encouraged you to save more money than you thought possible!
Have more weird and wonderful ways to save money? Leave them down below so we can all save money together!
- The Best Cashback Apps of 2023
- 15 Things you Need to Stop Buying to Save Money
- How to Instantly Improve your Finances
- How to Save Money on Groceries in 2023
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