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…

A lot of time and effort is spent trying to work out how and why we buy in order to get us to part with as much money as possible. They layout in your local supermarket is clearly not haphazard and it’s no coincidence that the sweets and magazines are next to the till. Our decision making patterns are observed and tested so that we can be convinced not only to spend but to spend more often. Ideally (for those doing the selling) we will leave thinking that we have found a great deal or got more than our moneys worth but this isn’t necessarily the case.

We all know that something at eye level is more likely to sell than something that needs to be sought out. We also know that something priced at 99p is supposedly more likely to sell than something for £1. there are however some tricks of the trade which you may not know about:

• The second cheapest wine on the menu is often the bottle with the highest profit margin. This is because most of us want a bargain but don’t want to look cheap so we go for the second cheapest option. For similar reasons the cheapest wine on the menu probably tastes disgusting, what were you expecting cheapskate?

• By adding an extra expensive option to the menu restaurateurs are able to make a high priced option seem cheaper by comparison.

• If items are bundled together (for example a set meal) we find it difficult to work out if we are paying a fair price particularly if the items are not available separately.

• Different size portions are often sold for different prices. This means that those who are hungry will pay more and those who are trying to save money will get a smaller than normal portion. Whilst the customer feels like they are getting more of a choice they still aren’t getting more than their moneys worth.

• Coffee chains like Starbucks sell their drink in confusing sizes like Tall, Grande and Venti but never ‘small’. By taking away the relation between the names and their sizes they are aiming to make us feel like we aren’t getting a small portion or being greedy by having a ‘large’.

• The upper right corner of the menu is apparently where we all look first (eye tracking studies have proven this) so items placed here are given a lot of thought. Often an expensive and fancy option will be placed here, this makes everything else look cheaper and makes sure that this item is not missed.