Let’s face it; most people tend to find it difficult to save money or stick to a strict budget. From teenagers to students and right through to adults, nobody like restricting their spending, but we like having no money at all even less. These five simple tips will (hopefully) help beginner savers manage their money a little better.

Create a Budget

Barely anyone creates a monthly budget and sticks to it. The appeal of nights out with friends and shopping the newest trends are just too good to resist. But creating a budget really is one of the easiest and most effective ways to stick to your monthly allowances.

Try creating a spreadsheet specific to your needs for what you have coming in going out. At the start only add in the costs that are 100% essential — things like rent, gas and electricity bills, transport costs and food shopping. Then log anything else you spend that month.

Once you have an overall view of your monthly income and spend you’ll be able to see a) exactly how much leftover you have spare, and b) where you are wasting money. If you have trouble sticking to a budget, try printing it out. Having to look at the physical budget will likely make you more inclined to stick to it if you can see the money you’re wasting day to day.

Take Advantage of Discounts, Coupons & Reward Cards

If you’re on a budget, discounts, coupons and reward cards are going to be your new best friends. If you’re looking for a day out, then look out for weekend discounts in the newspaper. Going as a big group? Team up with friends and family to buy tickets and receive a group discount.

Buying anything online can be cheaper than buying in store, so take advantage of the online price and try to get free shipping. Some websites offer discounts for signing up with an email address, and if they don’t try googling “store name” + “discount/voucher code” and see if anything comes up, you might get lucky!

Make discounts count. Try shopping in stores such as TK Maxx to buy designer items ot higher priced items (fashion, bags, homeware and even cosmetics) for less.

Lastly, signing up for store reward cards is always a good idea. Most of the major supermarkets have points cards, and so do some drugstores like Boots and Superdrug. Even high-end department stores like Debenhams and House of Fraser have a points card you can take advantage of.

Put Money Aside For “Treats”

The easiest way to save money is to have an incentive you’re saving for. Set yourself a goal, open up a savings account and work towards that goal. It could be anything; a new laptop, a holiday, a car – whatever you want.

You don’t have to break the bank either. You can start saving from as little as £1 and work your way up. Try transferring over what’s left in your current account to your savings when you know you’re due to be paid again, and then start a fresh month on the same budget as the money before. Before you know it, you’ll be jetting off on that holiday you never thought you would be able to afford.

Do Your Food Shopping in The Evenings

It’s a well-known fact that big supermarkets (like Tesco and Morrisons, to name a few) start to discount items after a certain time of night. These foods are perfectly edible; they are simply are about to go past their “sell-by” date. This food is perfectly fine to eat, and this is the stuff you should be going for if you’re on a budget. The items are reduced because the store can’t sell them after their date, or the item perhaps hasn’t been a popual seller so they want to sell off stock,  not because there is anything wrong with the food.

Some people can save up to £50 a week on a food shop by using this method instead of paying full price.

You also want to be looking for ant discounted items that are a freeze-able. These items are great for someone on a budget as they can be bought now, and as long as you freeze them that day, they can be defrosted at any point after that and still be completely fine to eat. This could be a life-saver when it gets toward the end of the month, and you find yourself with a little bit of a tighter budget.

Automate Your Payment

Setting up automatic payments for your important bills is a really good way for making sure your bills get paid on time each month, so if your bank allows this option, it’s worth looking into. This way the cash will be automatically transferred to service providers and creditors (handy for things like rent, phone bills, contracts, internet bills, etc.) and you won’t miss any payments.

Nobody likes the feeling of just getting paid and then seeing a list of bills being debited right away but doing it this way does ensure the bills get paid before you can waste the money. It also means no late payment fees or marks on your credit score.