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Millennial Money: Clever Ways to Make Your Cash Go Further

Jennifer 20th Oct 2021 One Comment

Reading Time: 5 minutes

It’s a tricky time financially for a lot of us. Money is tight. Living costs are continuing to rise, from energy bills to grocery shopping, and it’s putting the pinch on our day-to-day spending. Of course, frugal living habits can hugely help reduce costs, but to avoid missing out on some of your favourite things, we’ve put together a list of our 7 top ways that can help make your cash go further.

Make the most of cashback

Cashback is a great way to earn a little extra money back when you make a purchase. For example, if you buy something for £100 with a card that offers you 1% cashback then you’ll get £1 back. It can take a while, but it really starts to build up over time.

For endless cashback, try Curve. An app that combines all your credit and debit cards into one. They offer 1% cashback on (almost) every purchase made with any card, anywhere in the world for your first 30 days. Meaning that you can start to earn when you buy everything from a grocery shop to a new household appliance. On top of this, they also offer personalised rewards that give you the chance to earn up to an extra 20% cashback on the brands you love and use most frequently.

If you want to enjoy 1% cashback for longer, all you need to do is invite friends. Every friend you refer earns you an extra 30 days of amazing cashback deals.

Plus, if you sign up by clicking any of the links to Curve within this article, you get a £5 welcome bonus to kickstart your Curve journey!

Check your subscriptions

Do you know every single direct debit you have going out your account every month? If the answer is no, it’s time to check your subscriptions. According to Natwest bank, on average in the UK we waste £39 a month on unused subscriptions, totalling up to a huge £468 a year.

Checking what services and subscriptions you do and don’t actually need can be a very quick and simple way to free up some cash. You could also consider sharing subscriptions – if you use a video or music streaming platform can you share you account with a friend to split the costs?

Collect loyalty points

Loyalty points can effectively turn into free cash so don’t miss out on any opportunities to collect! Curve makes this super easy by combining all your debit, credit, and loyalty cards into one easy-to-manage card to carry with you on the go.

Most brands have their own rewards schemes now. Tesco has been incredibly successful with this with their Clubcard. Not only use your points back in store (or for up to triple their value with their partners) but by just owning a Clubcard means you’re entitled to some huge discounts and offers in store.

Next time you’re making a purchase – find out how many points you’ve accumulated and whether you can use the cash yet to get yourself a great reward.

Change your eating habits

Have you ever considered a vegetarian or vegan diet? For most of us, meat and dairy products typically make up the most expensive parts of our shop; by cutting out these costs you can save up to £15 a week. Plus, you have the added bonus of knowing that your choice is being kinder to the environment too.

We all know the temptation of a ready meal or takeaway after a long day but cooking at home really helps your money go further. Not only are ready meals takeaways much more expensive than a home cooked meal, but they’re processed and packed full with excess salt and sugar too.

If you’re looking for cooking inspiration avoid recipe books which are expensive and often sit on our shelves unused. Instead, check our free resources like BBC Good Food – an absolute gold mine for recipes that will suit anyone’s needs.

Free up cash

Have you ever made a payment on the wrong card? Or found yourself looking to free up some cash? Curve‘s unique all-in-one card means you now can go back in time with your money! Sounds cool, right?

Through the Curve app, you’re able to switch payments from one card to the other whenever you need to. Whether you made a payment on the wrong card or want to free up cash by moving money from a debit to a credit card, you now can for up to 90 days after the payment was made. This amazing feature can’t be found elsewhere either – it’s trademarked. You won’t find this amazing transaction anywhere else either as it’s trademarked.

Don’t forget about free trials

Most companies will now offer a free trial, often anywhere from a week up to a couple of months, for their product or service. Anything from film, TV, and music streaming services, to meal boxes – there’s plenty to make the most of. Don’t miss out on your chance to enjoy the perks without any of the costs.

Just remember to set a reminder to cancel when the end of the subscription date looms to make sure you don’t get charged!

Refer friends to get discounts

Continue to enjoy endless cashback with Curve by referring friends. Every friend you refer earns you another 30 days of 1% cashback on every transaction.

Lots of brands offer referral schemes for both new and existing customers. Often you will be given a referral code that gives a discount to a friend and to you when they sign up. It’s a good way to help make your money go further if you’ve found and product and service that you like and want to stick with. If you were going to pay for it anyway – you may as well make the most of the referral schemes they offer.

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Please note this is a paid partnership between Curve and MoneyMagpie.

Disclaimer: MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.