Saving up money is hard and certain mistakes could stop you from reaching your savings goal as quickly. Below are just a few savings mistakes to avoid.
Skipping contributions
Saving up money requires making regular contributions – either every month or every week. Every time you skip a monthly or weekly contribution, you extend the time that it will take you to reach your savings goal. For instance, if you’re saving up for a new car, that’s one more month you’ll have to go without a new car.
By setting up a standing order you can ensure that your money is automatically contributed each month. It’s worth contributing this money straight after payday so that you don’t have a chance to spend it (you could even ask your employer to pay it straight into your savings account).
Dipping into it for other purposes
You can also stunt the growth of your savings by constantly dipping into your account for unnecessary expenses. This could include paying for new clothes or a takeaway meal using money that you’ve been saving up for a holiday.
Make sure that you have a clear purpose to your savings – whether it’s a deposit on a house or a rainy day fund – and stick to this purpose. Don’t dip into your savings unless it’s an absolute emergency. You could even consider looking for an account that has withdrawal penalties.
Not shopping around for better interest rates
You can grow your savings faster by putting them in a high interest account. Interest rates may change over time. Subsequently, an account that once has an interest rate of 1.5% may one day change to 0.5%. You’ll usually receive a warning when this happens. At this point, you should take the time to shop around for savings interest deals.
You don’t want to keep putting money into an account that’s earning you very little interest. By constantly switching to whichever account has the best interest rate, you can build your savings at a much faster rate.
Not considering other investment options
A high interest account isn’t the only way to make a return on your savings. In fact, there are many other investment options that can make you a much bigger return.
For instance, you could make a 10% return on your savings by investing in stocks. Alternatively, you could use a platform like MetaTrader 5 and start investing in forex, which could also make you a 10% return in a year. Such investment options are more risky, but you could make much bigger earnings on your savings.
Failing to declare tax on earnings
Some savings accounts are tax-free. Others are not – this means that any money you earn through interest can be taxed. Income earned through stocks and forex is also taxable.
Not paying tax on this income is illegal, so make sure that you’re making a record of it and including it in a tax return each year.
So here’s the real reason why things have been more quiet than ever before in the last 6 months.
Our IVF journey was one that moved at breakneck speed, and we barely had time to breathe.
I’m 12 weeks and 4 days pregnant now and the last 6 weeks have been especially rough in terms of nausea and tiredness so blogging has blogging has been the last thing I’ve felt like doing!
Anyway, I’m feeling loads better now and the secret is out. Hopefully this might mean less massive gaps between blog posts (but no promises, I’ve made that mistake before!)
Box gifted by Degustabox This is a PR box, this means there will sometimes be additional flavours or products than you’d get as a subscriber, I will highlight this within my post.
I’m pretty sure my one and only resolution for this year was to be more regular with my blogging. Given that is has now been a full month since my last post you can see how well that’s going…mostly thanks to the rest of my life going crazily well and keeping me well and truly occupied. Expect my resolution to pick up after a few more weeks (she says optimistically) and in the meantime, enjoy another review of yet another cracking Degustabox!
Quite a few years ago now Smarties released a block chocolate bar that then vanished. I was devastated, absolutely devastated. Seeing it land back on our shelves in a milk, white AND orange form bought joy to my heart. The orange bar is the latest addition to the range and is perfect for those who favour the orange smarties (which I do since they took all the colourings out of the blue ones!). This retails at £1 from major supermarket chains.
I do love a good flapjack but often find the bars you pick up in the shops are just too big, and once open I just can’t not finish it, leaving me feeling sick and on a major sugar high! These new 40g size bars from Brynmor Flapjacks are the solution to my greed- I tested out the apple & raspberry flavour which I didn’t think I would love, but actually I did- the tartness of the fruit balances the extreme amount of sugar! Available at Holland&Barrett, Ocado, Nisam WHSmith Travel and Grapetree (as well as online) for £2 for a pack of four.
I’m still not sure how I feel about these fruit smoothie jellies from Maynards if I’m honest. They were nice, fruity and with awesome flavour combinations, but I think if I’m going to eat sweets I’ll always favour wine gums or sports mix over something like this. However, if another bag made turned up in front of me I certainly wouldn’t turn them away! £1 RRP from major supermarket chains.
The Esprala apple and red plum is a lightly sparkling vegan fruit drink that apparently also makes a fabulous mixer for gin. Unfortunately I can’t confirm or deny this as I managed to drop and explode the can, oops! This costs £1.09 per single unit or £12.57 for a pack of 12 from Amazon. Thankfully I managed not to drop both drinks in this month’s box and got to sample the Lucozade Zero tropical. I really liked this- the flavours of pineapple and mango come through well and it provides a good hit of caffeine without the sugar associated with normal Lucozade. This retails at £1.49 from all major supermarkets.
Bob was in charge of testing these Pitch Bloc’O’Choc brioche rolls out and he did so with great enthusiasm. These are great breakfasts or snacks on the go- a soft and fluffy brioche roll with a solid chocolate bar inside (we recommend warming it up if you’re having it at home). Individually wrapped for top on the go points! £1.40 per pack from Co-Op.
I love mug shots (I’m sure I’ve mentioned that once or twice before!) but don’t always find them a very substantial lunch, especially at the moment when I’m trying to eat bigger meals and snack on rubbish a bit less! Mighty Chicken & Mushroom noodles gets a thumbs up from me and my grumbly tummy, and at £1.49 from major supermarket stores it’s a lot more wallet friendly than my usual daily snack haul when I’m at work!
This was the Degustabox product of the month and easily mine too! I’m obsessed with peanut butter on toast right now (and chocolate spread) and I’m all about this blend of smooth peanut butter and crunchy honey roasted peanuts. There 100% needs to be more cereal and peanut butter mash-ups in the world please. £2.50 a jar from Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Iceland, One Stop and sometimes from Aldi.
My all time favourite cereals are the sugary American ones, but when I’m trying to be good, or trying to not spend £5+ on an import box then it’s Cheerios I always return to. These cheery looking box marks Cheerios UK debut in to the organic market- honey flavour hoops and chocolate cereal pieces make for a delicious breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or snack…) £3 from Waitrose and on Ocado.
I am currently more obsessed than ever with savoury snacks and did a little dance when I saw Hippeas in the Degustabox! Salt and Vinegar is my favourite flavour, but if you haven’t tried Hippeas yet then you really can’t go wrong with any flavour. These have crunch and flavour like no other and I am addicted. From all major supermarkets and online for around 99p per bag. Shame it’s Easter Monday, the shops are about to close and I have none of these in the house as I could really go for some right now!
How cute are these little bottles of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Fillipo Berio? We are going to save these for when we go camping over the summer as they are the perfect solution to lugging big bottles around with us and both items are staples for us. £1.29 from major supermarket chains.
Not going to lie, I didn’t even try the Enervit Protein bar, I can’t deal with berries and chocolate together and knew I just wouldn’t enjoy this, which is a shame as the product itself sounds awesome- 20g of protein, low sugar, no gluten, no palm oil. I’d 100% try this in any other flavour! The Mallow & Marsh vanilla marshmallow bar coated in milk chocolate definitely DID appeal. I love marshmallows and this was so indulgent for 134 calories. £1.35 per bar from Sainsbury’s, BP, Boots, WH Smith and Waitrose (I know what one snack I’ll be picking up on my lunch break tomorrow!)
I hope you enjoyed this month’s round up. Let me know which products caught your eye the most and what some of your favourite festive snacks are.
If you’re new to Degustabox, it’s a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money. On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this as you can see if you do the maths.
If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim £3.00 off of your first box (making it just £9.99!) by entering the code XOQGC at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.
