With summer right around the corner, a lot of us are looking forward to our girls’ trips. Although my annual girls trip is arguably my favourite week of the year, the money aspect tends to stress me out as it does for so many others. So, here’s some tips that help me save a bit of extra money before jetting off to my girls trip every June.
First off, unnecessary expenses are my biggest enemy, especially this time of year. I love to start planning my online orders from April onwards from PLT, ASOS etc. However as much joy as it brings me, it definitely tends to drain my bank account. I’m not saying don’t buy yourself a few cute fits, but definitely don’t over consume. Most of the time my order comes and I only wear half the clothes in the package. So, pick two or three nice outfits and I promise you, you’ll want to wear them more than once.
I am definitely guilty of wanting a spice bag from the restaurant everyday for lunch, however, this isn’t good on the bank. Although it is only six euro, it does start to build over time. Instead of buying lunch everyday in college, get to Tesco or Aldi over the weekend and pick out a few bits for lunch. Pasta, some form of protein like chicken or ham, some small snacks, pre packed salads, these all make for great lunches throughout the week and you will be shocked at how much money you save. Then every now and again you can treat yourself to a cheeky lunch from the restaurant.
Are you an avid smoker or vaper? If you are, Im gonna ask you to go calculate how much money you spend on smokes, vapes or vape liquids every month. You will be shocked at how much money you are spending. I’m not telling you to quit altogether, but by cutting back, you can put the money you would have spent on smokes or vapes towards your girls trip savings. When you start saving this money you actually won’t know what to do with yourself as it would typically just disappear into thin air but now its sitting snug in your bank account waiting to be spent abroad.
Side hustles are a great way to make a bit of extra cash. There are loads to chose from. If you’re not already employed, I would definitely suggest downloading Indeed and jobs.ie as they’ll keep you updated about the jobs searching for employees in your area. Whilst your waiting to hear back or if your already employed, there’s many things you can do on the side. Babysitting is an amazing side hustle. Hand a few flyers into houses in your area, you will be surprised at the amount of parents that need babysitters. Just make sure you’re upfront and clear about your rates otherwise you may not be paid fairly. Another side hustle you can look into is becoming a mystery shoppers. A mystery shopper is someone hired by a company or research firm to visit a business, shop, or service anonymously and evaluate the customer experience. There are so many websites out there looking for mystery shoppers and I will link a couple reliable ones at the end. It’s such easy money and will not take up much of your day at all. My final side hustle for you is selling used items of yours on Vinted or Depop. Selling used items is not only an amazing way to stay environmentally clean but also to declutter your space whilst also making some extra cash. Vinted doesn’t have a sellers fee at the moment so it is the perfect time to hop onto the app and get rid of a few unused items while you can.