As Britain is hit with a cost-of-living crisis, now is as good a time as ever to start thinking about how we’re really spending our money.
Fortunately, Online Betting Guide (OLBG) are one step ahead, as they’ve conducted extensive research on the UK’s spending habits, for their Discretionary Spend Index.
Research from OLBG discovered, interestingly, us Brits are spending even more money despite the cost-of-living crisis.
To be more precise, we’re spending over £5,000 more a year on discretionary costs than we did in 2019-2020 — a 62% increase in our discretionary spending.
So, how can we spend smarter?
Read on, to find out some great money-saving tips, and start saving across some of the big areas draining our cash.
Streaming services
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that streaming services are among the main categories where we’re spending big, costing us just under £50 a year.
We’re all more than familiar with a cosy night-in watching our favourite movies and boxsets, which span across several different services, including Netflix, Disney+, and many more.
But here’s exactly where you can cut the cost. Try pausing the charges on your unused subscriptions.
This stops different subscriptions emptying your account at once, when — of the multiple you have — you may only be using one or two for the coming weeks or months.
DIY
Over the pandemic, ‘Do It Yourself’ projects boomed across the nation. The problem is, so did the strain it puts on our bank accounts.
OLBG discovered DIY was the biggest money-drain of all 12 categories, taking up almost a quarter of the total discretionary spend of the average Brit.
If you’re a fan of DIY, this might be concerning. But fear not, because there’s several things you can do to avoid major costs.
For instance, one of the best tips is to store all your leftover materials. So often, it’s easy to throw away unused materials after a project, only to realise when you start a new project, you have to buy the same materials again.
The solution to this wasteful spending – always keep what you can. It will come in handy when you most need it.
Eating out
There’s nothing better than munching away at your favourite food place.
Until you realise almost £1,000 has left your account, from a year’s worth of eating out.
But this doesn’t have to be the case.
In fact, a simple way to cut huge costs on your restaurant trips, is to take advantage of discounts and vouchers.
With a little strategy – picking the right days when deals are active or buying specific discounted meals – you can save your wallet the stress.
Sports betting
Whilst many of us Brits enjoy sports betting, it’s likely you don’t enjoy the pricy expense of over £250 that it takes from our accounts each year.
However, like everything else on this list, there are some money-saving tips to be applied.
The best one, is to follow a detailed guide on how to gamble more responsibly and safely.
This will help you be more aware of how much you’re spending on betting every year, and ensure that it remains in a responsible and affordable range.
For example, you could set a deposit limit to control the amount of money you spend on betting in a certain period of time, and have a much safer betting experience.
For more expert information, visit this helpful guide issued by OLBG.
