Whether it’s due to the fact your children are off school for six weeks, you are going on a holiday abroad or your water bills are much higher during the summer months, this time of year can be expensive and there’s no doubt there will be faint anxiety about costs.
That’s why we’ve put together Shepherds Friendly’s Summer Savings Challenge to help you avoid overspending and find areas where you could be saving money.
We understand that everyone’s situation is different. Therefore, the idea of the challenge is to choose three ways you personally can save money.
You may be surprised at how much you can save in just six weeks by making a few small changes!
It’s up to you to then decide what to do with the money you save. You could put the money you save into a tax-exempt savings plan to save toward your future, or treat yourself to something that you’ve needed for a while.
So don’t let the sun burn a hole in your pocket, change your spending habits this summer by setting yourself three goals.
[Download the Summer Savings Challenge Worksheet]
Discover how to do the summer savings challenge with the instructions below:
How it works:
1. Choose three challenges (you can find a list of examples below) that most relate to you and your lifestyle. It is important to choose challenges that could be achievable, won’t negatively impact your lifestyle and will save you money. The challenges that you pick don’t have to be on the list below, you are free to think of something else that suits you.
Ideas for your Summer Saving Challenges:
• Get the bus, instead of a taxi
• Swap popular food brands for supermarket own bands
• Look for voucher codes when making an online purchase
• Car share with a work colleague
• Swap the gym for home workouts
• Freeze food to make it last longer and avoid waste
• Swap meals out for picnics in the park
• Give up your morning coffee shop visit
• Make packed lunches instead of buying your lunch
• Give up alcohol
• Give up smoking
• Compare prices online before making a purchase
• Cancel credit cards to help you avoid overspending
• Watch less TV (less exposure to adverts and lower electricity plan)
• Cancel SKY and premium TV apps
• Write a list before you go shopping to ensure you only buy things you need
• Turn off the lights when you leave a room
• Get a smart meter to track your gas and electricity spends
• Cancel unused memberships
2. Once you’ve chosen your three challenges, write them in the boxes provided on the sheet.
3. Over the next six weeks, you will need to jot down the amount you are saving each day, for each of the three challenges. The amount will vary depending on the challenges you have set yourself. Some challenges will involve small everyday savings, where some may involve a weekly saving at a higher amount – so don’t worry if you are not writing something down every day/in every box.
4. At the end of each week, work out the amounts you have saved from each of the three challenges and jot it down in to the boxes provided. This will encourage you to continue the challenges as you see the amount you are saving.
5. Continue the challenges for six weeks, you may find as the week goes by, the “challenges” start becoming a habit!
6. Once you’ve finished the six weeks, add the total amounts of each week together to see how much you’ve saved during the six-week summer savings challenge, for each challenge, and then add up the three challenges for your final summer savings challenge total.
7. Good Luck! Keep us updated and let us know how much you’ve saved with the hashtag #SFSummerSaving
