The whole process of moving into a new home can have so many different costs, so much so that every penny you can save once you’ve bought your property and are all moved in, can really help. We’ve put together our top 5 money saving tips that are sure to help you keep your finances on track during your first few weeks and months of living in your new home.
1. Try to reuse as much of the current furniture you own where possible – over time you can update the furniture room by room, rather than stretching your already tight budget when you first move in. You could even think about upcycling furniture to give it a whole new lease of life, our upcycling board on Pinterest is the perfect place to start, it’s full of inspiration for all around your home.
2. It’s likely that the only reason you’ll be heading in to the attic in your new home is to hide away the boxes you can’t face unpacking – whilst you’re there make sure you have a good look around. Is the insulation good quality and could you do with laying some more? Whilst it’ll cost a little bit to add some extra insulation, both you and your heating bill will be grateful in the long run when you’re saving extra money! Whilst on the topic of insulation, find your water heater and take a look at it, especially if you live in an older house as it may not be quite so well insulated. If it’s giving off heat then you may need to buy an insulation jacket to go around it, these are relatively inexpensive at around £15 and can cut heat loss of up to 80%. Insulation of many different varieties for your attic and water heater can be found at most DIY stores.
3. When it comes to providers of energy, power, phone lines and internet, it’s important to get it right. There’s some good deals out there, you may just have to spend a little time looking for them. Your best tool for the job is a comparison website such as USwitch – this type of website can pull in all the deals and help you easily compare, the great thing is they often get exclusive deals for their customers so it’s definitely worth shopping around…you may be thankful for saving that little bit extra!
4. Sometimes you need to spend a bit of money to then reap the benefits in the long run. You won’t believe the effect a good smart thermostat could have on your heating bills! The Nest thermostat can learn your behaviours and preferences over time and will start to automatically program itself to work around your life and to help lower your energy bills. It even knows when you’re at work or on holiday and will set your heating to ‘away mode’ to ensure the empty house isn’t being heated. It’s a fantastically smart way to save money…plus in the end, you don’t have to do a thing!
5. You probably don’t even think about flicking a light on when you enter the room, and if you’ve got kids around there’s a good chance that the lights will be left on whilst they tear around the house. LED lightbulbs are an ingenious way to light your room brighter than a conventional bulb whilst all the while keeping your electricity costs low, too! They are made to fit in to almost every light fitting and some reports even suggest that by using LED bulbs through your home, you could be saving a pretty impressive £240 a year…that’s an extra £20 a month that you wouldn’t have otherwise had.
If you put all of these tips together, you could be saving some serious money when it comes to running your home…most people are pretty grateful to save as much money as they can after the process of moving in to a new home. Remember that you can start basic and upgrade over time, that applies for furniture and also the likes of broadband packages – it sometimes helps by relieving some of the financial pressures that a move can have!
