Full-time hospital catering assistant Rachael Howe, 31, and her boyfriend, Pete Walch, an industrial chemist, have been together for three years. They live in a terraced house in Bolton with Rachael’s rescue cat, Winston.
Generally, I have a cautious approach to spending money. I’m fortunate that Pete earns more than the minimum wage, so on the occasions where we’re faced with an unexpected expense, he kindly helps out where he can. I wouldn’t say we have a particularly frugal lifestyle, but I definitely try to be careful.
I attempt to simplify my money as much as possible. I have a mobile banking app, which I love because it means I know exactly what’s going on with my account at any time. I keep my statements paperless so I’m not sifting through papers to track down transactions and if I have any expenditure that I can’t set up a direct debit for, I’ll either schedule the payment through my banking app or set a reminder on my phone for 48 hours before the payment is due, to remind myself so that I can avoid any late fees.
Our main outgoings are rent, utility bills and food. Pete also runs a car, so expenses such as fuel and car maintenance are a fairly regular outgoing for him. I also set myself a weekly budget.
I keep track of the hours that I work, round my hourly wage down to the nearest pound to roughly compensate for national insurance and tax and take off the cost of my main outgoings – rent, utility bills, phone bill, etc – then divide my remaining total by the number of weeks between pay days to give myself a ballpark figure. I usually err on the side of caution and reduce the weekly amount by £10 to £20 to give myself some emergency funds in case I need them, and so that I can hopefully accumulate some savings.
I find that taking the time to write outgoings down in a notebook gives me more of an incentive to stick to my budget. For some reason, just working them out on a calculator without writing it down just doesn’t stick with me as well.
We have also had a smart meter fitted recently and we switched our gas and electricity supplier a few months back, having compared several companies to work out who provided the best value for money. Simple things, such as turning lights off and half-filling the kettle when you’re only making a couple of coffees, all add up to us having cheaper bills.
I have a few other regular routines to help me save money. The first is that I always put any loose change – smaller than 50p – from my purse into a money box when I get home. We also check the reduced sections of the supermarket for items we can either put straight into the freezer or use towards making a large batch of something that we then split into portions and freeze for a later date. We always make a meal plan at the weekend for the following week, so we know exactly what food we need to buy. I think it’s important to make a list before you go food shopping as well, and try not to deviate from it. Local markets can be a great way of getting the right amount of fruit and vegetables for you, rather than buying pre-packaged foods from a supermarket which can cost more money or mean that you waste more food. Also, never go food shopping when you’re hungry!
If I was to give any advice to young couples who are setting up home, it would be to always try to plan ahead. By planning your meals and other purchases, such as clothing and even entertainment, you can save a fortune. Try not to buy “bargains” on impulse if they aren’t something you’ll definitely use. Keep an eye on your favourite retailers’ websites to check for upcoming sales, and most cinemas, pub chains and other entertainment businesses have offers that can help save you cash, especially if you’re going out with friends.
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