Dad-of-three saved £3,400 by cutting subscriptions, switching shops and selling junk

DAD-OF-THREE Joseph Seager managed to save nearly £3,400 a year by cutting his subscriptions, switching shops and selling unwanted stuff.

By making a number of small changes, he’s managed to lower his household bills by thousands and have enough money left over to save towards family holidays.

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Joseph, 35, who started the money saving blog Thrifty Chap back in 2016, lives in Lancashire with his wife and three kids.

The Sun spoke to the savvy saver to get his tips on how to make your money go further, tackle debts and be thousands of pounds better off.

Cut subscriptions – save £1,200

Joseph said standing orders and direct debits ”quickly add up”, and if you don’t cancel them, you could be needlessly out of pocket.

He’s saved around £700 a year by cancelling Netflix, Spotify and other memberships like BritBox and Disney+ too.

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Instead, he watches old DVDs if he fancies watching a film, or watches normal television.

But if you’re desperate to see a show that everyone is talking about and don’t want to fork out for a membership, you can bag discounts on streaming services – or get a free trial – if you sign up to company newsletters.

“I got two months for the price of one on Netflix last year, so I paid £10 to watch all the shows I missed out on, like Tiger King, and then cancelled my subscription,” Joseph said.

“Make sure to look out for free trials companies are offering – sign up and then immediately cancel so you don’t end up paying for it when the trial ends.”

Although he’s never joined a gym, Joseph said you could save an extra £480 by cancelling your membership and exercising for free instead.

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“I’ve never been to a gym, but I used to go to my local running club a couple of times a week for free before Covid hit last year,” he said.

“I exercise instead by walking and hiking around the West Pennine Moors and Lake District, which are both near where I live – and it’s all free!”

In total, that means you could potentially save £1,200 a year by axing subscriptions and gym memberships – enough for a “pretty good holiday”, Joseph said.

Switch supermarkets – save £1,900

If you’re in a hurry or you’re not keen on travelling to a cheaper supermarket, you might be tempted to pop into a closer – but more expensive – shop for your groceries.

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But shopping at more pricey stores can hit your bank balance.

Joseph said he’s saved up to a whopping £40 a week – roughly £1,900 a year – on his food bill by switching to cheaper shops like Aldi and Lidl.

“When it was lockdown last year, we were using Asda or Tesco’s click and collect service for our weekly food shop,” he said.

“I was shocked to see we were spending around £100 a week.

“By switching to cheaper shops, we knocked this down to around £60, saving us £40 a week.”

He said ditching big brands for supermarket’s own ranges could help you save even more.

“Buying Kellogg’s Cornflakes could cost you £2.89, but Asda’s own brand cornflakes cost a fraction of this at 80p,” he said.

“And while Warburtons Toastie bread is £1.10, Sainsbury’s version is 55p.

“The money saved could be directed to other areas of your life, including your savings account.”

Sell your clutter – £300

Flogging unwanted clothes, books, old Christmas gifts or even furniture you don’t need could make you hundreds of pounds better off.

Joseph said he pockets around £300 a year by doing a clear out and selling items online.

He uses Facebook Marketplace and Vinted to flog his bits for free and only uses eBay to sell more niche items as the online auction site takes a cut of any items you sell.

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“Selling a few little bits can add up,” he said. “I’ve previously sold a broken TV for £25 and a broken vacuum cleaner for £30.”

He said he usually does a clearout around four times a year, especially in the run up to Christmas.

This is because he finds people will often buy second hand stuff online and give them to others as Christmas presents.

He said quality kids toys can “make a mint”, especially if the item is no longer available to buy in shops.

“You can clear space in your home and de-clutter the chaos – while giving you more money to pop away for a rainy day,” he said.

Transfer Your Debt

Unfortunately, if you’re strapped for cash, it can be easier to slip into debt.

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Although Joseph hasn’t been in debt himself, he’s picked up tips to help him keep his finances on track and avoid owing money.

He said that you can avoid racking up expensive interest fees on money you owe by switching your debt to a 0% balance transfer card.

These types of money transfer credit cards allow you to move over debts you already owe onto a new card, and you won’t pay interest on this amount for a set period.

After this, lenders will typically charge you between 15% and 20% interest – so you’ll need to make sure you pay your debt off in time otherwise you’ll be whacked with high rates.

It’s also important to note that banks will charge you a fee – usually up to 4% – for transferring your debt, so make sure you factor this cost in as you might find you’re not saving as much as you think.

You can compare which 0% balance transfer card works out as the best deal for you by using comparison sites like Uswitch or Compare the Market.

“You can transfer your debt with a 0% balance transfer card and shift it somewhere with 0% interest for a certain amount of time,” he said.

“This means that instead of simply paying the interest, you have 12, 18 or maybe 24 months of 0% interest.

“So every pound you pay goes towards clearing the debt, not just clearing the interest.”

However, he said to check the conditions of setting up an account like this, and to make a note of when the 0% window runs out to avoid receiving a surprise bill.

“You’ll save yourself paying loads of interest and actually start clearing your debt,” he added.

Here’s how one couple saved £16,000 because of their Covid-friendly wedding and used the cash to buy their own rental flat instead.

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One thrifty mum bagged £2,000 worth of Very goodies in an epic returns pallet haul.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk