My low income tips to survive and thrive

I learned early on in my life that money was not something to be worried about, even if you do not have a lot.  It is a tool, and like any tool, if it is used with skill and knowledge, it can be used to your benefit.  Here are some tips that I use to manage my money.  They are probably nothing new to you, unless you are at the beginning of your journey. and are common sense. Sometimes, however, it is just good to be reminded, or given a nudge.

1. Never pay interest.  The interest rates on credit cards (and some store purchases) are horrendous. Some are over 30%.  I never borrowed money that incurs interest, except my mortgage. There have been times, before I built up an emergency fund, that I did have to borrow money.  Examples are when my roof leaked on my house and I had no way of paying for repairs, my children needed new beds, and my car was written off and I needed to buy a new one.  No matter how much we needed anything, I always borrowed on an interest free card, and made sure that I could afford the monthly payments, and that it was all paid off within the interest free period.  I also bought a carpet from a shop offering interest free credit.  I knew that I could get an over time shift now and again, but did not factor this money into my budget to pay things off.  If I received a higher wage, I would use the extra to pay off a chunk of any debt so that I could get rid of it sooner.
2. Buy second hand.  This once had a stigma about it, but now adays it is eco friendly and something to be applauded as it is good for the planet.  Our clothes were often second hand from charity shops and car boot sales.  I never bought second hand shoes as we all walk differently, and we always had new underwear.  Now my daughter often buys from Vinted for my grandson as he has grown out of clothes within a few months.  She gets his toys that way as well as he is soon fed up of them.
3. Make a budget.  I went through all of my bank statements and made a budget.  I knew exactly what everything cost and what I could afford. I divided my annual outgoings by 12.  All purchases were intentional.  My budget also had things like holidays, clothes, birthday, car repairs, presents etc in it, and that money was transferred into a separate account called a sinking account.  That way I was less likely to have to borrow money.
4. Plan and shop ahead.  I would buy new clothes for my children in a sale, the year before they had grown into them and would often find them at half or a quarter of the price.  Things like cards, Christmas wrapping paper, and food I would buy after  bank holidays and then store to last for months.  A fresh turkey that I once got for a fraction of it’s cost at 4.30pm on Christmas eve, lasted us months when cooked and bagged up in portions.  I used to buy presents for the following Christmas in the January sales.
5. Shop out of season. I got myself a winter coat for £7 in a summer sale.  It is much cheaper to buy things out of season (except food which I buy in season).  Wellington boots and hats and gloves are also cheaper to buy in spring sales when shops are trying to make room for new stock.
6. Save or use any bonus money intentionally. If I did work over time or had sold something, I did treat the children to a night at the cinema or a trip out, but most of it was used to pay off debt, build an emergency fund, pay extra off the mortgage, or save for a holiday.  It didn’t just go into the bank to be frittered away, but was transferred to a different account to be used intentionally.
7. Have a zero food budget. When I used to give myself a £50 a week food budget, I would spend the whole lot, and often more.  There were always things I had forgotten.  By  having a zero budget for food, in my head I will spend as little as possible.
8. Pay myself and my bills at the beginning of the month when I get paid.  If I saw a large amount of money in my account I was more likely to spend it.  Once I would wait for pay day and splurge on things that I wanted and then have no money for the rest of the month.  I was living pay cheque to pay cheque.  Now all my spending is intentional.  On the day my money goes into the bank I have direct debits set up to pay for all of my bills, or for it to go into savings.  I draw myself a cash £50 allowance and that has to last me the month.  All of the rest of the money is accounted for except a £100 buffer that stays in my account for emergencies or an unexpected debit or school trip when the children were young.  In my head the £100 is not seen as credit and money that I am allowed to withdraw.
9. Watch and read financial tutorials.  People like Dave Ramsey or Martin Lewis taught me how to manage my money and how to make savings.  This helped change my mindset about money.
10. Use cash  When I did shop weekly I would take the money out in cash so that I could not spend any extra.  It is too easy when you just tap a card.  I use cash now for my £50 personal allowance.  Having this money that I can spend on anything that I want helps me not feel deprived.  I can still meet my friends for a drink, buy my grandson a toy from the charity shop, or treat myself to something without feeling guilty, or putting myself in debt.
11. Live within your means.  I don’t just buy things unless I have saved up and can afford them now that the children have left.  This means that I never get back into debt.  No matter how much I want them, I wait until I have the money.  I look for ways to get the money.  This might be through selling something, doing a car boot sale, doing a hobby on the side that makes a product, doing a job using a skill for someone eg. I have made bread or cakes, and gardened for a neighbour and he has given me a gift card in exchange.  I know a lot of people that earn extra money from online surveys.
12. Look for the best deal.  This might be for insurance every year, for energy bills, for large purchases, or for food.  I never pay full price if I can help it, and wait for sales, use store vouchers, use things like my ‘blue light card’ , cash back, and shop around for the best prices.  I am also getting braver at haggling.
13. Invest money once you have saved some.  I am now mortgage free and have saved up a small amount whilst still working.  This is my emergency fund now.  I would not invest in anything that had a risk as I am not that brave and could not afford to take a hit, but I have put my savings in a high interest account that now pays me monthly interest.  This has helped me cope with the cost of living increases.  Instead of the banks charging me interest, I am receiving interest from them.
14. Meal plan.  Each week I make a flexible meal plan.  I know what I will eat that week but not the specific day as it depends on what I feel like, or how busy I am.  I then do meal preparation for the week on a Sunday.  This means I can make meals quickly during the week and I am less likely to get a take away, or suggest eating out and wasting money.  Eating out is a special occasion and planned.
15. Shop from the cupboards and freezer. I make my meal plan from what I already have in my cupboards and my freezer and only have a few things extra that I need to buy on my list.  This is often milk, seasonal fresh produce, and cheese.  Some people buy the same things every week in their weekly shop and then end up wasting things in the fridge as it is crammed so full and they can not see what they already have.  I bulk buy staples and always keep a well stocked cupboard as this makes meal planning easier.
16. Have no spend days, weeks, or months.  I used to have no spend months in March, July and November.  My direct debits went out and I had an amount I could spend on petrol to get to work.  Now that I don’t work I try to have as many no spend days in every month that I can.  This way if I see a bargain that we need, I can buy it.  I challenge myself to have more each month.  This make me creative with my meals, my leisure, and how I spend my time.
17. Have meat free days  I started with just one a week which wasn’t hard as we could make pizza, or quiche, or something.  I now have 4 meat free days and we don’t even notice as we enjoy vegetarian meals  like sweet potato and lentil curry   We also pad out all of our meals with vegetables and pulses and so eat less meat generally.  This has saved us so much money 
18. Review your budgets.  At the end of every month I check how my yearly budgets are doing and juggle things around if one of them is underspent or overspent.  So far this year my car has not needed any repairs and my toiletry and cleaning budget is underspent.  If any of my other budgets, like energy, have had any unforeseen rises, I can move  money from the budgets that have surplus.  This helps me put a stop to overspending and makes me more mindful and able to stick to my budget.  I might use my heating less or walk more to save money if I know that I am over spending and the budgets that are stretched.  If I didn’t check I could be building up debt and living beyond my needs.
19. Do less laundry, shower less, and wash at low temperatures.  When I was a kid we had a bath once a week, used the same towel for a week (but aired it or hung it out each day to dry), and my mum washed once a week on a Monday.  We don’t need to put our clothes in the laundry every time we wear them (except undies), and clothes wash perfectly well at low temperatures unless they are stained.  I have what I call a bird bath from the sink each day and so I am clean, and I only have a bath or shower if I am dirty, sweaty, or need my weekly hair wash.  This saves on energy and water bills (if you have a meter).
20. Learn from YouTube and other on line sources.  I have learned to forage, mend things, how to preserve, cook, and used it to learn how to save money from watching videos and reading articles.  It is a free resource.  Libraries are another helpful, free, resource.
21. Cook from scratch. Making soup and other meals from scratch is so much cheaper (and healthier) than buying ready meals and most cans,  Making snacks is also a lot cheaper.  Things like flapjack, popcorn, or a tray bake are so easy.  It is even easy to make snacks from waste like potato peeling crisps
22. Use any free or cheap sources of food that you can.  That might be an Olio app, a community fridge or food bank, foraging, food growing in your garden, or sharing a bulk purchase with a friend.  Just foraging alone gives us fruit to make compote for the whole year. I use this for breakfasts and puddings. Food is one budget that is easy to reduce, and is not set.  Just reducing the food budget by £5 a week, makes a saving of £260 a year towards paying for something else.

What are some more tips that you would give?