Replenish your empty bank balance by taking part in Frugal February

If things are tight after Christmas, you need to review your finances and see where you can make cut backs. Take part in Frugal February and see how many challenges you can complete to get your bank balance back in the black

After the Christmas splurge, you may find your bank balance is a little lower then you like. With a whole year to account for, it’s important to start a budget so you have money to pay for those extra treats or that dream holiday. Not sure how to start? That’s where Frugal February comes in. Frugal February is all about assessing what you’re spending money on, what you can cut out, where you can find those extra savings and most importantly how you can make a bit of extra money.

Start Tilly tidying

Many of the budgeting apps now offer round ups (where each save you make gets rounded up to the nearest pound) however you can do this yourself. Set aside one or two days a week where you round up a small amount and move it to your savings. For example if your balance is £101.50, either move £1.50 or 50p to your savings. You’re saving money without it really affecting your balance and over time this can really add up!

Are you paying too much for your gas and electricity?

With the prices of fuel going up all the time, you may be paying over the going rate for your gas and electricity. Go on a comparison site and compare the quotes against what you’re currently paying. New fuel retailers like Octopus Energy and Bulb are currently offering some amazing low rates if you want to try someone new.

Sign up to survey panels

Surveys are one of the easiest way to get into making money online and are a great way of earning cash and gift vouchers to treat yourself. You can save up over the year and put your cash towards your spending money on your holiday, or save up the vouchers for Christmas. Start off with my favourite ten survey panels and Prolific.

Shop around for the best insurance quote

Insurance companies often charge a lot more than your original quote when your insurance comes up for renewal. They rely on people being lazy and not shopping around so they can be quids in. Don’t be one of those – save yourself potentially hundreds of pounds by requesting quotes on your car, home, pet and contents insurance when it comes up for renewal. If you buy your insurance through cashback sites like TopCashback you could also earn up to £60 extra just for buying instance you needed anyway. If you’re new to TopCashback, sign up using my link and you’ll get a free £5.00 voucher. I will also get a referral fee if you sign up using my link.

Share your opinions at focus groups during the Frugal February challenge

Focus groups are essentially a bigger, better paid version of a survey. You can get paid from £30.00-£200.00 for just a short amount of your time and you often get fed and watered too. Check out my post on some of the best focus group panels to sign up to.

Switch your bank

A lot of banks offer a bank bribe to encourage you to switch over to them. If you have a spare bank account you’re not using, or you don’t like your current bank, take this advantage to earn yourself some hassle free money. At the moment you can find the following bank bribe offers:

• Switch to TSB and earn £100.00 through the refer a friend scheme – this will be withdrawn 28 February 2020. I can recommend you if you need a referral – just drop me a email.
• Switch to HSBC and earn £175.00
• Switch to First Direct and earn £100.00

Please be aware you will need to set up at least two Direct Debits and often pay a certain amount of money in each money to qualify for the account. Each account will have their own requirements.

Become a mystery shopper

One of the easiest ways to earn some money during Frugal February is to start mystery shopping. You can sign up to the conventional mystery shopping sites, or you can check my post on the mystery shopping checks which you can do entirely on your phone.

Get yourself some free money during the Frugal February challenge

Ease yourself in gently and discover six ways to earn yourself some money without having to do anything.

Earn money in your lunch hour

Ditch Instagram and be a little productive in your lunch hour so you can earn money whilst you eat. I’ve found some really easy to use apps from Curious Cat to AttaPoll that will help you start to make money.

Switch to sim free

Is your phone contract coming up for renewal? Before you renew your contract review your situation and see if you will be better off getting a sim only contract. With sim only you’ll say bye bye to paying £40-£70 a month for your contract – sim free contracts start from as little as £4.99. You can keep your existing phone from your previous contract and start putting the money you save towards that dream holiday or car. If you do anything for Frugal February, then reviewing your contract is a must as it can save you so much money every month. You can also earn cashback towards paying your phone bill with Airtime Rewards.

Quit one of your vices

Habits like binge drinking and smoking can cost you thousands of pounds a year. If you can cut down – or quit completely – do it. You’ll start to notice the difference in your available funds almost straight away.

Car share

By car sharing you’re helping the environment and your wallet. I currently car share with someone who lives near me, and I save around 1/3 on the amount I was spending on petrol a month. That extra £35.00 goes towards a new top or some makeup as a extra treat – however I can also choose to add it to my savings.

Sell stuff you don’t need anymore

Having a clear out and selling stuff you don’t use or haven’t worn for a long time is a sure fire way to get extra cash in your bank. EBay is a great place to start, alternatively you can try Facebook marketplace, Gumtree, Shpock or even boot fairs.

Cut down on your food costs for Frugal February

If you regularly shop in stores like Sainsbury’s, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer’s you may be spending more on shopping then you need to. Have a review of my top tips and discover ways you can save money on your shopping. Remember a little goes a long way.

Challenge yourself to essential spending only

Put yourself to the test and see how many weeks in a month you can go without spending anything. Obviously you can eliminate essential spends like petrol and travel. Anything you didn’t need like that burger at lunchtime, that new dress or DVD do count however. Keep a diary and tot up how much you’ve saved at the end of the week/month.

Whether you decide to undertake all the challenges in Frugal February or just one or two, they’re a fantastic way of saving money for your future. If you love the post please give it a share on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.