Why Drinking Water Saves You Money

We all know that 80% of our body is made up of water so it stands to reason that we should keep ourselves ‘topped-up’ at all times.  Strange then that many people drink very little water at all each day and still think that tea and coffee are suitable alternatives.  They aren’t, tea and coffee as well as alcohol are diuretics, meaning that they dry us out. 

The perceived wisdom is that 2 litres of water a day is sufficient to keep an average adult ‘topped-up’.  Of course no one is average and you will need more in hot weather and when doing exercise but 2 litres is what we all should be aiming at.  Filling up a 2 litre bottle with water each morning might be a little daunting so the best way is to full a small (500ml) bottle and take it with you.  Just 3 refills in the day and you’re done.  And remember that tap water is free, just check it’s drinkable first.

So why does drinking water save you money?  There are 3 reasons for this:

1.   If you are drinking 2 litres or more of water each day you won’t want to drink as much tea, coffee or other drinks and these will cost you considerably more than even bottled water.

2.   You won’t feel as hungry as you previously did as your stomach will feel full more often.  Again saving money on food that can be really expensive when eating out.

3.   As you start to make sure you are drinking sufficient water each day you will after a few days start to feel healthier.  There is a knock on effect here as you will then start to want to eat healthier food, i.e. more fresh food.  Replacing processed food with fresh ingredients is far healthier and cheaper in the long run.  Maybe not an obvious saving but probably the most significant one.

The health benefits of drinking enough water each day are obvious but the savings in your pocket will add up too.  Try it for a month and see how much you save and how much better you feel yourself.

Drinking Too Much Coffee?

For anyone who enjoys coffee there are lots of opportunities to drink it in specialist coffee shops, on-the-go, at work and at home.  Too much caffeine isn’t good for us but how often do we stop and think about how much we’re spending on coffee each week?

If you totaled up what you spent on coffees and anything else you might buy with them you could come in for a big shock.  A little discipline when ordering and just getting what you went in for in the first place will save some but there are other ways of reducing your spend too:

Cut Down By One A Day

Depending on how much coffee you drink each day this may not reduce your intake much but if you multiply this by 5, 6 or 7 you could be saving quite a lot.  More so if you go for the real fancy coffees - which is where coffee shops make the real money!

Stick To Regular Coffee

Even the price of a straight black coffee, an Americano, is expensive when you think about it but you are paying for the atmosphere and people’s wages in the price.  Switching to a regular coffee from lattes, cappuccinos and the like will greatly reduce your spending and you’ll get to taste the coffee too!

Drink Something Else

Drinking coffee can become a habit for many people.  Caffeine is addictive after all so it’s no surprise.  There are alternatives that we all know about but tend to forget about.  Water, teas and fruit juices provide variety and water especially is far healthier and often free.  Substitute one of your daily coffees for one of these and you’ll start to see the difference in no time at all.

Take Your Own Coffee With You

While you might not really want to make fresh coffee in the morning and fill a vacuum flask to take into work there are real benefits.  It’s far cheaper than anything you will buy and you will get exactly the right tasting coffee for you.

Use Smaller Cups

I know the price difference between small, medium and large cups of coffee (or whatever name your favourite store likes to use) isn’t that much.  But ask yourself “do you really want to drink a pint of coffee two or three times a day?”  Having smaller drinks won’t save that much in itself but when combined with the other ideas here it’ll help reduce your spending and hopefully improve your health too.

So, the next time you go into your local coffee shop just stop and think about what you are spending and what you really want.

Saving Money On Train Fares

The cost of train tickets can at times seem extortionate for what appear to be short journeys.  This is especially so if you travel at peak times and buy your ticket at a train station on your day of travel.  

Thankfully there are ways of significantly reducing the price of train tickets.  What’s required is some forward planning for travel plans, wherever that is possible.

Here are some ways that train ticket prices can be reduced:

Buy Tickets Ahead Of Time

If you can plan your journey ahead of time then you have the opportunity to buy your tickets up front.  This is no different to buying flights really; the sooner you can book your ticket the cheaper it will be.  You can buy tickets ahead of time at train stations or online.

Plan To Use Specific Trains

If you are able to specify exactly which train you plan to use then you are able to benefit greatly compared to a less restrictive ticket.

Buy Tickets Online

There are a number of train ticket websites and each of the UK’s train companies has it’s own site too.  Occasionally it is cheaper than buying equivalent tickets at train stations.  The systems work well and you can have your tickets posted to your home (usually free) or arrange to pick them up at the train station on your day of travel.

Travel Outside Peak Times

If you must travel during peak times then there will be quite a cost associated with that.  You can offset this by buying ahead of time, reducing the price of your ticket compared with just turning up on the day.  Make sure you check the times of your journey as peak times aren’t the same everywhere. 

Season Tickets

For people who know what their forward travel commitments are buying a season ticket for as little as a week or perhaps as long as a year is worth considering.  Just remember that if you have any known periods when you won’t need to travel then you might want to mix and match season ticket durations.

For those occasions when you get no notice at all about having to travel then the ticket price will be high.  Hopefully those situations are few and far between and a little forward planning will save a significant amount of money.

Spend a little time to save a lot of money! 

Debt Reduction Goals for 2011

The start of another year means new challenges and goals for everyone.  As positive as everyone wishes to be if you know you have a mountain of debt hanging around your neck it can be a real downer.  Debt isn’t bad in itself but what needs to be done is break down debts into manageable chunks.  This is exactly what’s needed at the start of 2011.

The thing to do is First decide on which of your debts you want to get rid of (have a look at my post on this) and Second, decide how much you want to pay off by 31^st December 2011.  Then Third, put together your plan for how you are going to go about it. 

Your plan needs to be split down into 12 monthly steps identifying how much you aim to pay back each month.  A combination of reducing outgoings and increasing income will provide you more than you think and faster than you think.

Set SMART Goals

For your goals to be meaningful they need to be challenging so that when you go for it and meet each monthly goal you’ll feel really good about yourself.  To do this make sure your goals (your annual and monthly figures) are S.M.A.R.T.

Specific : your goals will be to save a set amount by doing x, y and z and increase your income by doing a, b and c.

Measureable : your financial goals are only measurable if you put numbers against them – don’t say ‘reduce amount spent on buying coffees’, put numbers against each goal.

Achieveable : make sure your goals are achievable and attainable, not easy ones - give yourself some challenge.

Realistic : ensure your goals are realistic given the time and resources you have and your own personal circumstances.

Timebound : put a date on each goal.  Pretty simple for these goals as you just need to check progress at the end of each month.

Record Your Goals and Measure Progress

All you need to do is write your goals down in a notebook and keep everything updated throughout the year.  By all means create a simple spreadsheet to track progress if that helps. 

As you go through the year it’s OK to update your monthly goals, just make sure you keep them challenging.  Keep thinking about what works best for you in terms of reducing your outgoings and increasing your income.

Spend a little time to save a lot of money!