Times are hard and every penny counts. Sometimes even if you have a big salary it seems that it is never enough and you still come up short. If those people with money are finding it hard to stay within their budget, what more those who are living on a day to day basis. That is why it is so important to have a budget and to not go within that budget. It is also a must to be disciplined when it comes to money. Always keep in mind that earning good money is not forever, meaning you are not going to work for the rest of your life. Think of the future and what you will do when you are unable to work anymore.

Unexpected expenses are just that – unexpected. Whatever the reason for that unexpected expense, it still somehow wrecks havoc to your budget. For that reason, we have made some assessments on how those extra savings can come in handy if something unexpected happens.

Traveling

There are a number of ways you can save when it comes to commuting. Use a megarider ticket because with this you will be able to travel as much as you want and can tailor your own needs to the ticket type. Whether you are in need of a weekly bus fares for your travels, or a monthly one — you will find yourself making a huge saving compared to purchasing a ticket daily. Starting off with something small can still make a big change to keeping the money in your savings account.

Did you know that the average motorist in the UK will spend an astonishing £168,880 over their lifetime? Since public transport has become more efficient, it is reason enough to make that decision to take public transport instead of using your car, thus saving you a lot of money.

Servicing a vehicle can cost up to £441 over a twelve-month period depending on the individual’s situation. MOTs can cost up to £168.46 annually. Gasoline can cost a driver £1,052.04. The cost of parking is also rising and there seems to be a higher demand for it because there are more vehicles on the road. When it comes to insurance, this can sway dramatically as younger drivers will find themselves paying a higher cost to be on the road — on average, insurance costs an experience driver £436 every year. Tax can equate to £116.35 on a yearly basis. Car supplies can cost a driver £29.61. If ever you get a speeding ticket, you will also pay a hefty amount for that. So a megarider ticket really makes a difference.

Lifestyle

Smoking

If the rising cigarette prices has not already put you off, knowing that you could save £3,796 (if you smoke 20 a day) should be the motivation for you to quit. MoneySupermarket.com has stated that non-smokers pay around £6,309 less for life insurance, which could be something worth investing in for the new year.

Vaping is an alternative that many smokers are turning to. It is considerably cheaper than smoking.

Coffee

According to research carried out by MyVoucherCode, people in the UK visit coffee shops at least three times per week. This means that Brits visit coffee shops around 156 times a year with an average spend of £8.52. This creates an annual average spending of £2,600, a majority of which could be saved if you were to opt for taking your own coffee to work.

Branded coffee company, Douwe Egberts, has said that a 250g pack of ground coffee can make up to 30 cups. When looking to see how much a 1kg pack would cost, Amazon has priced the coffee at around £15, meaning that each cup of coffee would cost close to 13p. Try taking a flask to work and even buying an on-the-go coffee cup that will see you through the whole day.

Lunch

According to research carried out by VoucherCloud, buying lunch daily could cost you £1,288. It is more practical to cook your own food and ultimately save you a lot of money. You could just make a sandwich or cook something on the microwave.

Unexpected expenses

We’ve all been victim to an unexpected expense, with 54% of 2,000 people asked saying that they suffered from an unexpected expense within the household. On average, these costs totalled £248.70 — showing that any saving is beneficial for occurrences like these. Using the savings you would have made by cooking your own lunch and taking your own coffee to work, traveling smarter, and quiting smoking, will definitely make life easier. Change the way your life is going by thinking smarter this 2018.