Money in Today's World

-          Save on utilities.  Gas, water and electricity can be very expensive for a large family, and keeping track of how much you're spending can be tricky.  You can cut your utilities bills by being more vigilant- turning lights off in unattended rooms, having baths instead of showers etc.  You could invest in a monitor which displays your utilities usage in real-time, meaning you can actively see how much gas/electricity/water specific things use to run.  This is a great way to motivate you to cut back as you can see how much you're spending as a result of your energy consumption.

-          Use vouchers.  The use of vouchers has risen 50% year on year since the beginning of the recession, showing that people are actively seeking discounts on their purchases.  Moneysupermarket.com hosts hundreds of printable vouchers and voucher codes for everyday things like food shopping, restaurants, days out, electrical goods and travels, meaning that whatever you're looking to buy you're likely to get a discount if you're willing to have a quick search for a voucher.  Vouchers mainly consist of a percentage discount or a 2 for 1 or buy one get on free, which means you'll be getting a lot more for your money by using one.  Before making any purchase, big or small, it is worth seeing if you can save a few pounds.

-          Shop online.  If you do your shopping in a supermarket, they're very likely to have an online shopping facility.  Not only is there discounts to be had by searching for voucher codes, but you're far less likely to place unnecessary goodies or treats into your online shopping cart.  When browsing the isles of your real supermarket, the smell of that fresh bread from the bakery or the glistening sugar on top of your favourite doughnuts can be ever so tempting, and will add pounds to not only your waist but your shopping budget too. 

-          Organise your direct debits.  Try to set up your direct debits so that they all come out around the time of your payday, which means that you will have paid all of your monthly bills within a few days of being paid, meaning that you can be confident that the money left over is yours to spend without worrying.  This will also help eliminate the chances of dipping into your overdraft as you will be satisfied that all of your payments have been processed.

-          Sell things you don't use.  Got a foot spa what you got for Christmas a few years back at the back of your wardrobe? Got a few dresses that you've never worn before and are unlikely to ever wear? Instead of letting them collect dust, sell these unused items on and earn some extra cash.  This will not only give you some extra cash, but it will help you to de-clutter your home as well.

A money-saving article, written by Rachael Miller, part of the Vouchers team at moneysupermarket.com.