How to Save Money in Autumn and Winter 2020

As the autumn/winter (and Christmas) start to draw closer, it’s time to be thinking about how you can save money during this costly season.

Preparing early is always the best thing you can do, especially when it comes to anything financial. So this guide will go through some of the things that you can start doing to put you in a stronger financial position this Autumn.

Review your energy bills

As the nights become longer and colder during the autumn and winter months, this is the time of year where our energy bills soar. So if you don’t want to be spending a fortune on gas and electricity then now’s the time to review your energy bills to see if you can get them any cheaper.

Comparison websites are very useful for this as you just need to enter a few details about yourself and your property, as well as your predicted energy consumption, and it will come up with a list of all the potential suppliers. The difference between the most expensive and the cheapest tariffs can be hundreds of pounds a year so it’s important to make sure that you’re not overpaying.

If you’re able to find a cheaper deal than what you’re currently on, then have a look as to whether you can switch over straight away. Some energy suppliers charge an early exit fee if you want to end your contract early, so make sure you do the calculations to see whether you’ll still be saving money if this is the case.  

Give your car a safety check

During the winter months especially, roads can become icy and slippery and it’s dark in the mornings and evenings when the majority of people are commuting to and from work. This means more accidents are likely, and could be even more so if you haven’t prepared your car properly.

Now’s the time to make sure that your tyres are in good condition and suitable for the wetter weather, that your lights are working properly, and that your screen wash, oil and engine coolant are topped up.

Obviously accidents are unpredictable and sometimes completely unavoidable, but anything that you can do now to minimise unnecessary accidents or breakdowns, and therefore vehicle repair costs, will save you money in the long run.  

Save on food

As the weather gets colder, most of us are more drawn towards warm comfort food that wasn’t so appealing in the summer months. However, motivation to cook when you’re getting home in the dark after a busy day at work can be difficult to find, and it’s easy to go down the route of takeaways and eating out.

Whenever you’ve got a weekend free, use that time to bulk cook some meals that can be kept in the freezer. Things like chilli, lasagne, and pasta sauces can be kept in the freezer for a couple of months and can be defrosted and used to make a quick and comforting meals when you can’t be bothered to cook. This will stop you from splurging on takeaways and meals out, and bulk buying in the supermarket will be cheaper overall too.

Spread the costs of Christmas

Christmas is undoubtedly one of the most expensive times of year, so the more you can spread out and prepare now, the easier it will be on you and your November paycheck when December comes around.

Even though it might feel way too soon to start buying gifts, doing it now will really help to spread out what’s often the most expensive part of Christmas. You can also start to buy non-perishable food too – supermarkets always have deals going for Christmas snacks and sweets early on, so make sure you take advantage of these savings.

Check your home insurance

It’s very important that you have the right protection for your home, especially during the winter months when there is a higher risk of things like flooding, burst pipes and storm damage. A home insurance policy doesn’t have to be expensive, and you can spread the cost out by paying in monthly instalments if that’s easier for you.

You should also make sure that you have boiler cover in place before the winter settles in. Boilers can be very expensive to repair so having boiler cover will be a massive help if it breaks down. Some home insurance policies include boiler cover, so make sure you check this out as you may be able to save money by having them under the same policy.

Having the right protection for your home is an upfront cost that you may not need, but it could save you thousands of pounds if something was to go wrong.