Words About Things

Saving money when you’re a student is an essential to stop the loan amount from increasing exponentially, but it can be done without impacting too much on your lifestyle.

Saving some cash here and there can really help should something unexpected happen. Saving always seems like a laborious chore, however there are a number of ways to cut expenditure and save a little more without feeling it too much.

Entertainment

Going to the cinema is expensive, getting on gor £20 perperson by the time you’ve got food as well. To save money, get a cheap entertainment TV package (no movies) and sign up for a DVD service. The savings really mount up over a period of time and could make your student bank account look a little healthier.

Travel

Owning a car is expensive, and it too often gets used for short trips. Get out and about with your feet when popping to the shop, not only will it help you get fit and save on petrol, but it will also help you spend less at the shop as you know you’ve got to carry it all home again.

Phones

Your phone and broadband can also be a monry pit. They can cost you way more than you need. Have a look at your phone contract and see if you use all those minutes, texts and data allowances and then cut out what you don’t use. http://www.e2save.com/

Last September I wrote a post about a survey which showed that 40 percent of Britons felt that they were unable to save money due to the tough economic climate. This statistic was shocking but not unfounded, unemployment was at almost 2.5 million and the recession was hitting hard. At the time 1 in 4 people surveyed had no savings at all which left them in a very precarious state financially. Others had savings already but were unable to increase them despite the looming threat of unemployment.

Although we are now out of the Recession things are recovering very slowly and many are still struggling. Consumer confidence remains low and a ‘double dip’ recession is a strong possibility. Whilst this all seems very negative it’s not all bad news. A survey completed in July shows that we are in a slightly more positive position this year: savings accounts balances at a major high street bank actually increased by £1.4 billion in the first five months of 2010.

Some people are still unable to move money from their current account to a savings account. 62 percent of those asked said that they were saving ‘much less than they should be’ and 22 percent were not currently saving at all. The reduction in personal saving is mirrored by the reduction in consumer spending, both show that lack of consumer confidence is having a negative effect on the economy. The Bank of England will publish their August Inflation Report on Wednesday and it is expected to predict a 2 percent growth in inflation next year. This is much less than previously predicted, the outlook as been revised to to continuing economic problems.

I’m no economist but it seems to me that what we need right now is some good news. A little growth in the economy would lead to increased borrowing and spending. In turn this would lead to more growth and increased job security for those reliant on consumer spending. All it would take is for some positivity to spread and not be destroyed by another wave of bad news. I’m feeling helpful so i’ll get us started: I just found £2.50 in change down the back of the sofa…

As was expected George Osborne‘s first budget as Chancellor was not an easy pill to swallow. Few would envy Osborne’s task of cutting spending and increasing VAT whilst still trying to maintain some sort of popularity amongst voters. It was clear that some difficult decisions would need to be made in order to attempt to steer the country towards profitability once again. Mr Osbourne had stated that his budget would be ‘tough but fair’ although some thought that that might mean unfairly tough on some.

What is most clear is that we need to improve the state of the economy in a fast yet sustainable way. Corporations are turning to their  treasury management systems and finding that they don’t have enough funds to support the growth they need to achieve.  Individuals are finding that they are unable to save and afraid to spend.

The Chancellor has suggested that he will be able to cut borrowing from 10% of GDP to 1% within 5 years. The following measures where introduced in today’s budget:

1. VAT will rise from 17.5% to 20% in January 2011.

2. Duty on Alcohol, cigarettes and fuel will not rise.

3. Child benefits will be fixed for three years. Tax credits and housing benefits will be reduced.

4. Public sector worker earning over £21,000 will have their pay frozen.

All full list of changes can be found on the BBC’s Budget page.

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