Thrifty Thursday: Keeping Track

Having managed to save more than I thought would be possible during my final year of university, I feel spurred on to share some of my successful experiences with you.

I can’t imagine that I will ever lead a frivolous lifestyle (unless I win the lottery, I can think of plenty of ways to be frivolous if that was the case..!) but I understand that constantly being thrifty isn’t for everyone. It’s inevitable though (unless you have won the lottery) that at some point you will want to be a little more careful with money to save up for a new car, house or whatever else you’ve been dreaming of, so I hope these tips can help.

Keeping track of the money that you’re spending is one of the most important tasks when saving, however it can also be the most boring and tedious. For me I’ve found the perfect way of keeping track without having to spend hours at a time staring at spreadsheets and internet banking statements. 

There are two ways of spending – debit/credit cards and cash. There’s much debate about which is better than the other, some say with cash you can see what you’re spending but you’re less likely to spend, and others think that having to take a debit card out of your purse and pop in your pin is more of a deterrent to spending. 

I decided to compromise. I make any ‘big’ purchases (fuel, food, clothing etc.) on a card and ‘small’ purchases (magazines, coffee etc.) with cash. This means that when I open my bank statement I can clearly see what I have spent without having to trawl through pages and pages of transactions for things like 60p on some chewing gum and £2 on that magazine that had a free gift too good to resist. It also means that I can set myself a budget to spend on non-necessities and make sure it lasts me the week whilst I am free to buy things like food on my card and keep a track of them on my bank statement.

I find this method really useful and it encourages me to think before I start spending on the small things because I can see how much cash I have left for the rest of the week. I still check my online banking every few days just to keep an eye on what’s going on and to remind myself where the majority of my money goes. I also have a spreadsheet but I’m sure that’s for everyone and that could be a whole other post…!

How do you keep track of your money?

Jade Rebecca

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Thrifty Thursday: Gumtree

I've never been the biggest fan of selling on eBay, when I have things to sell it's usually because I want them out of the way as soon as possible and who wants to spend days waiting for their auction to end to then have to package the item and rush out to post it? Not me, that's for sure.

I'm regularly tempted to bundle everything I want to get rid of into a bag and take it to a charity shop, great if you're not saving yourself, but not so resourceful if you're saving or on a tight budget. 

After buying a couple of things on Gumtree (a kitchen stool and rabbit hutch, hardly glamorous), I dabbled in the unknown waters of selling on Gumtree and was pleasantly surprised. I've sold a fair few bits and pieces on Gumtree over the last few months so I hope that my tips can help you make the best out of selling unwanted things on Gumtree.

When you post your ad

Unlike eBay, Gumtree has a rather limited number of filters so unless someone has made a specific search for an item like yours, chances are they will be faced with hundreds of listings. Gumtree ads are listed with the most recent first (aside from paid for 'upgraded' ads) so take advantage of this and consider when potential buyers of your product are most likely to be online. As a general rule evenings and weekends are the best time to post ads.

Thinking ahead in this way will mean that the maximum numbers of people will see your ad whilst it's still near the top of listings.

If you've got the patience/space then it's worth waiting for a time when your item will be more popular, a coat will be much more likely to sell for more in October than in May.

Unfortunately there's no way of scheduling an ad to be posted so you'll have to have photos and a description prepared ready to post at your chosen time.

Pricing

Unless you're determined not to let your item go for less than a certain price, do some research and see what price similar items are being sold for.

It's best to be realistic with your pricing unless you're happy to wait for a while to sell the item.

I tend to initially put a more optimistic price (don't forget people regularly make offers) and lower it if I've not received any interest.

If your item doesn't sell you can always re-list it again for free.

Photos

As with buying anything online, photos are all potential buyers have to go by when browsing Gumtree. As tempting as it is to snap a quick photo on your phone and pop it onto the ad, you'll get a much better response if you take a little more time with the photos.

You can add up to 9 images to a Gumtree ad so take advantage and take a good range of photos, I find that images of the whole item from various angles along with some close ups of any pattern etc. work best.

Take a photo of your product doing what it's supposed to do. It's much easier for someone to want to buy into a product when they can imagine what it will look like when they use it. Selling a dress - put it on and get someone to take a photo of you wearing it and crop your face out before posting it. If you're photographing cushions, scatter them beautifully over a cosy-looking sofa. It's also worth considering whether the size of the item will be obvious, if not consider photographing it with something that will help give an idea of size.

You can even post a link to a youtube video in your ad so if you're feeling adventurous or selling something particularly valuable it could be a good idea to really sell the item.

Think carefully when choosing the thumbnail photo that will be displayed on the listings page. You need a photo that will encourage someone to click on your ad and read more. A clear image of the whole item is usually most appropriate for this.

Title and description

Alongside the thumbnail photo, a title and the start of the description is your only opportunity to encourage interest in your item from the listings page. I find it best to put a basic, clear title in uppercase. There's no point hiding key details from the title, just because someone who wears a size 12 has clicked on your ad to find out that the dress your selling is a size 6 doesn't mean that they'll decide to buy it anyway because it looked nice.

My titles tend to go a bit like this 'TOPSHOP SKATER SKIRT - SIZE 8 - WORN TWICE'. It's always worth pointing out if the item has only been used a few times as this is appealing to most buyers. A shorter title is better so there's no point stating the obvious like the colour when that's perfectly clear from the thumbnail.

The description is your opportunity to say all there is to know about your item, but don't go crazy and fill the space just because it's there. Someone after a plastic garden chair isn't going to want to read an essay on the life of the chair, they'll probably be more likely to give up reading and find another ad. On the other hand if you're selling a valuable antique then there probably is a story to be told and it would pay to write it.

Like with photos, I tend to give a little description about how the item could be used like 'perfect for a night out', it's worth bearing in mind what people might be looking for at the time of year too, near Christmas describing a dress as 'great for a Christmas party' could invite extra attention.

Always be honest in your description, it's no use make your item out to be better than it is as you'll just get buyers turn up to buy it and leave without it if it doesn't meet their expectations.

Don't forget that the first part of your description is shown on the listings page so be sure to include anything important at the beginning.

Be easy to contact

Gumtree gives you the option to provide email and telephone contact details. I always provide both and find I'm contacted most by text.

It's likely that you'd get less enquires if you only provided a home contact number, as many people prefer to text or email rather than speak to someone directly.

Know when to give up

I'm sure it would be easy to let selling on Gumtree become your life, but you need to consider whether the time and effort's really worth it. If my item hasn't sold for £3 then I usually put it aside to be taken to the charity shop.

Don't forget:

When selling on Gumtree, buyers will expect to pick the item up from your house so be prepared for this, I would not recommend posting anything to a buyer and I would never meet anyone anywhere, although this is just advice.

On one occasion I've had a rather strange buyer contact me and ask for photos so don't be afraid to ignore them or just say no.

Happy Gumtreeing!

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Thrifty Thursday: Mystery Shopping

I know it's not technically Thursday anymore but I desperately needed an old person nap before work this evening so my blog post was sacraficed slightly!

I'll admit it, when I was at college with a part-time job and nothing to spend my earnings on other than my car, I was a rather frivolous spender. Coffee shops and the inevitable accompanying cake was verging on a daily expense and it was easy to not think twice about buying the latest Topshop outfit I had my eye on.

Since starting university two years ago, my bank card spends less time in Starbucks and Topshop and more time in my purse, as moving out brings with it many financial commitments. My boyfriend and I have also started to save for a house so that means being even more savvy when it comes to spending.

 

Image courtesy of twobee at http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

I'm no money expert and we could have saved more money by working every day and only spending money on essentials like food, bills and rent, but we've managed to strike a good balance. We still socialise and treat ourselves and travel, as that's what we love but we've definitely picked up some money-saving tips along the way.

This is the first in what will be a series of posts sharing with you some ways that we have saved money so I thought I'd start with one of the first things I did to save money - Mystery Shopping.

Firstly, it's important to note that very few people are able to actually make money mystery shopping. You should see mystery shopping more as a way to treat yourself for free, that's not to say that people don't make money, I know someone living in London who made around £350 a month mystery shopping (not accounting for his travel expenses). But how many assignments you can get and how much they pay is very much location dependant.

I signed up to a few mystery shopping sites and passed the required tests (they vary from site to site but they generally aim to test your writing/spelling skills). Once I was officially a mystery shopper, I was able to start accepting assignments. Until I turned 20, age restriction mystery shops were the most common assignments that I completed - they're generally quick and it's possible to make a worthwhile amount of money. Age restriction assignments involve purchasing age restricted products in stores where there is a Think 21 or Think 25 policy, other assignments can range from restaurant trips to making purchases in high street clothing retailers.

Image courtesy of Apolonia at www.freedigitalphotos.net.

Payment is divided into two or three categories, depending on the company. All companies tend to have a completion fee and a reimbursement, and some also cover travel costs. Where travels costs aren't covered it's important to consider whether you'll actually end up spending more than you are saving, or getting for 'free'.

Seems like a great way to get something for nothing right? It is a great idea, but there are some important things to remember:

• Don't ever pay to become a mystery shopper unless you are completely sure that the site is genuine. I'm aware of a few sites that ask you to hand over money before you can begin mystery shopping and I stay well clear. There are plenty of sites that don't ask for money.
• Make sure you read and completely understand the assignment instructions, otherwise you may not get any money for the assignment.
• Consider how long the post-visit report will take you to write before you accept the assignment.

There are loads of Mystery Shopping companies out there but here are a few to get you started, just remember -do your research before you sign up!

Marketforce
TNS Global
GfK Mystery Shopping

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