How I Saved £3000 in 3 Months

It’s been 3 months now since I moved back in with my parents. Since then I’ve managed to save £3000 towards my dreams of owning my own home.

What’s sobering is that it’s not even a lot of money in terms of buying my own place, but it’s a sum that would take much longer to save had I been renting.

If you’re keen to know how I saved so much money (on a modest salary) read on:

Savings

Every payday I transfer £700 into an ISA account along with anything left over from the previous month. This stops me from splurging for the rest of the month. I know £700 is a lot of money, so if you have more outgoings or responsibilites than me this might be tricky.

Car Boot

One of the first things I did when I moved in with my parents in September was gather all my old belongings together and do a car boot sale. On that rainy Sunday morning I made £180 before lunchtime.

You might also like: 5 Ways To Save Money On Food (Plus a free £5 voucher off your next supermarket shop)

Buy, Sell and Swap

I joined a ton of ‘Buy, Sell and Swap’ groups on Facebook and managed to sell my fish tank to a stranger for £40. This was all done from the comfort of my sofa and I only had to get up to open the front door, hand over the fish tank and take the cash.

Don’t be polite

After digging a pair of Converse out of my wardrobe having not worn them once in the two years since I bought them, my Auntie offered me £20 for them. I wouldn’t usually accept money from a family member for something I wouldn’t wear anyway, but seeing as I’m on this money saving mission, and she suggested I put it in my mortgage fund, I accepted her offer.

Premium Bonds

I’ve won £25 on Premium Bonds twice since September. After having them for several years I’m still waiting for a big win.

Tax rebate

Not much to say here really, I got a £29 tax rebate.

Amazon Trade In

I sold some of my old books on Amazon. I used the Trade In service and so instead of receiving money, I was repaid in vouchers. Thankfully my parents bought the vouchers off me as there were a few things they wanted to buy anyway.

Not Going Out

I’ve become soooo incredibly boring. I think I’ve been on two nights out since September and even though Christmas is looming I’m still being pretty tight when it comes to parties. I know I’m only 24, but I feel like I did enough partying between the ages of 18 and 22 for the rest of my life. Say what you want, I much prefer a night curled up on the sofa these days anyway.

Packed lunches

When I lived with my friends, a huge chunk of my wages was wasted on food I didn’t even need. Now that I’ve moved home, my Mum has kindly included food within the rent I pay her each month and because I’m living much healthier now, I’m not wasting money on chocolate and junk on my lunch each day. Sometimes I’ve found myself having to go halves on food when I’m at my boyfriend’s at the weekend and so I’ve started lugging tons of my mum’s homecooked frozen meals to his on a Friday night to last the weekend. My mum is top.

No shopping

I’ve found that one of the best ways to avoid unnecessary spending has been to not go shopping at all. Don’t step foot in clothes shops unless you need to buy a pair of shoes because all of yours were destroyed in a flood. It’s just not worth the temptation.

Accept hand me downs

Not even embarrassed. I now regularly wear two of my mum’s old coats and one of my brother’s old jumpers from ASOS. You could also have one of those clothes swapping parties with your friends – you know those ones that you read about in magazines all the time even though no one has ever actually thrown one before. Oh well, it’s a nice idea anyway.

Saving money can be difficult, and in order to make it worthwhile, you’ll probably find yourself having to make sacrifices. You need to determine what counts as an essential and what doesn’t, and plan your spending accordingly. I know I’m in a lucky position and not everyone has the opportunity to move back in with mum and dad whenever they need some financial assistance, but even if you have to go it alone and save up while paying rent and bills, there almost definitely are ways in which you can cut back.

If you’ve upped your saving efforts and have a few tricks up your sleeve, please share in the comments below.