How To Save Money and Still Have Fun

You don’t need to sacrifice everything to save money! But you do need to get real with your spending and reevaluate where your money is going each month.

First things first you need to realise that having fun and amount of money spent are not related. You could spend hundreds on a day out and absolutely hate every minute of it. Or you could spend an afternoon on a hike (free!) and love every minute of it.

In this post I will go through 5 tips to help you save money and still have fun at the same time.

Embrace Free Activites

Having fun doesn’t have to cost a fortune! There are so many ways to have fun that are cheap or even free. Read this article listing 50 free things to do for inspiration.

Favourites include:

#1 Start learning a new language – Duolingo is a great free app that will start you off on your journey of learning a new language

#2 Reading – Borrow Box is a service that connects to your local library and allows you to borrow eBooks and Audiobooks for free!

#3 Go for a picnic – pack up the lunch you were going to eat at home and go for a picnic in a local park

Cut Down

Cutting down on all areas of your spending is the easiest way to save money without depriving yourself of anything you are used to.

Do you have a takeaway every week? The average cost of a takeaway is £20 so your weekly habit could be costing you £80 per month. How about changing that to once a month instead?

This simple change can save you on average £60 each month. Put this money straight into savings and you could have an extra £720 in savings by the end of the year.

From this example you can see how quickly savings add up by simply cutting down.

Break the Habit

Habits could be where your money is being wasted. Look at exactly where you are spending your money and see if any of them are habits which have just become something you do rather than something you enjoy.

Do you get a coffee each morning? Say your coffee costs £2.50, that’s £17.50 each week, £75 a month or £910 a year for this daily habit. Reflect on this habit and consider whether you actually gain any joy from this morning coffee or it has simply become part of your routine, like brushing your teeth.

If this is something you can’t live without try cutting it down. Even cutting this down to every other day could save you £455 a year. Or even better reduce it to a once a week treat and save £780 a year.

Make Room

The best way to still be able to do everything you love and save money is to plan ahead. Make room in your budget for these things. Allocate yourself a certain amount each month to spend, but once its spent that’s it. For example, if you like eating out give yourself an amount that you can spend each month.

This works really well if you follow a zero-based budget as you can make these categories lines in your budget. Treating them as if they are an expensive rather than variable optional spending.

Zero-based budgeting is great to make sure that you are saving first before spending.

Be Intentional

Saving becomes a lot easier when you are intentional and have a specific goal. Why are you saving money? What is this money for?

Knowing the answers to these questions will make saving easier as it will have a purpose rather than being something you’ve been told you should do.

To be intentional you need to make specific savings goals. This means having a goal amount, time frame and a plan of how you can reach this goal (e.g. the amount you will need to save each month to reach the goal). This will show whether this goal is unrealistic or too achievable and maybe you need a bigger challenge or shorten the timeline.

Having a goal also makes it easier to say no. Especially if you share your goals with friends and family, they will understand why you are saying no.

Drink Smarter

As this is a student blog we need to acknowledge the biggest challenge facing students trying to save – nights out 🙂

If drinking and nights out are your jam and something you can’t give up or reduce in fear of missing out, all you need to do is drink smarter. Or prioritise this in your spending – i.e. you can go out twice a week but you’re not allowed to get any takeaways.

Buy cheap alcohol at a supermarket (I’m a particular fan of Aldi’s £2.29 rose) and drink at home before going out. This reduces the need for buying drinks when you reach the club!

Further, make sure you have food in so you’re not tempted to buy that late night takeaway on the way home.

I hope this post has shown you that saving money doesn’t mean cutting out everything that brings you joy and happiness. Rather it is about being intentional and not wasting your money.