It's all about the money ...

... or not in the case of January!!

Let's be honest, it's not a great month for our budgets is it?  We all got paid early for Xmas and it's now a very long time until January payday.  So how can we survive without having to live on just bread and water and not have any fun until we get paid.  Simples, you just have to think outside the box.

 First of all, I know the January sales are in full swing and there's bargains to be had but hang fire, it's false economy if you're buying something just because it's cheap and secondly, the prices will come down even further towards the end of the month so if it's something you really do want then you could bag yourself a huge bargain.

 Take a look around you, what else could you do so you're not having to watch every penny.  Well, there's loads of things you could try, some of which would be really good habits to build as they'll save you money long term and the extra could go towards a very nice holiday, thank you very much.  
Here's five things to get you going:

  1. Have a night in and make your own cocktails.  You and your friends are bound to have a few bottles of booze still hanging around from Xmas.  Invite them round and get shaking not stirring.
  2. Make your own lunches to take to work instead of wasting money on expensive but tasteless sandwiches.  At this time of year, it's even easier as you can simply make your own soup by whizzing up leftover veggies.
  3. Resist the urge to buy a new outfit in the sales and take the time to try out different style combinations instead of wearing the same things in the same way.
  4. Wash the car yourself instead of paying for valeting or the car wash.  I'm kind of cheating with this one because as I write, Mr Bob's son is outside washing both our cars!!
  5. If one of your goals was to get fit this year then don't waste money on joining the gym, you won't get in anyway cos it'll be rammed (until February at least!), simply get your friends together and go for some long walks.  You'll be getting fit and spending time with people you like at the same time.
It's all well and good trying to survive in the heat of the moment but why not take some time to think about how you could do things differently to avoid the same situation next January.

Ask yourself these few questions:
  • Did you waste money on expensive presents for someone when you would have been better off spending less and simply spending more time with that person throughout the year?  I'm sure they would appreciate it more.  Time is worth far more than money can ever buy.
  • What could you do differently this Xmas?
    • Create a budget and stick to it.
    • Agree in advance with people not to spend as much on presents.  Set a limit.
    • Spend more time at home with people instead of going out for expensive meals / drinks.  Make your own food and cocktails.
  • Think about what's really important to you - if it's the material things in life then you might need to do a bit of soul searching, if it's friends and family then you should have no problem in coming up with lots of alternatives for not spending huge amounts of money AND you'll all have more money come January!!
HAPPY NOT SPENDING!!

#2020

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