5 life hacks that could really boost your bank balance

21st February 2017

Struggling to make ends meet? Need a bit of extra cash to pay for a holiday, wedding or house deposit? Either way, the following life hacks will get you into good financial habits and could really make a difference over the course of a year.

• Share travel costs
• Get free stuff!
• Embrace the sharing economy
• Get rid of your clutter
• Ditch the TV licence

Share travel costs

You may have colleagues or friends who could share lifts to significantly cut your travel costs. If not, why not sign up to a website like Liftshare.com or GoCarShare.com and get in touch with other travellers who are looking to car pool? You could potentially reduce fuel bills or cut out expensive train fares and even make new friends in the process.

Get free stuff!

If you need to buy new furniture or electrical items but are on a tight budget, you may be able to get free or low-price items on websites like freecycle.org, ilovefreegle.org or gumtree.com. People often need to get rid of items quickly and are willing to haggle on price or even give away items free of charge.

Local alternatives and cooperatives may also have been set up in your area, so find out what’s out there by doing a quick Google search or by joining local groups on Facebook.

Embrace the sharing economy

If you’ve got a spare room and fancy a bit of company, you could rent it out on a site like Airbnb to give your bank balance a handy boost. You might want to accommodate guests for a weekend or go for a longer-term tenant; you can more or less make the rules yourself. Alternatively, you could set yourself up as an Uber driver if you have a car and a bit of spare time on your hands.

If you’re worried about safety with these sorts of ‘sharing’ ideas, there are plenty of tips online to help you protect yourself and your belongings.

Get rid of your clutter

You may be surprised by how much extra cash you could make just by selling unwanted items on eBay, Amazon, Vinted and Etsy. The returns can be significant and you’ll free up space in your home in the meantime.

Another option is to organise a fashion swap with friends and offload your unwanted clothing and accessories in exchange for ‘new’ ones, or get down to your local car boot sale. Sites like Swapz, Readitswapit and Swishing.co.uk are also worth checking out.

Ditch the TV licence

If you’re a die-hard EastEnders fan, this one isn’t for you, but if you’re content to watch catch-up TV on Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5, you could save almost £150 a year.

If you find these channels aren’t enough, it may be worth signing up for an online streaming deal with Amazon Prime or Netflix for less than £6 a month, giving you plenty of variety at a relatively low cost.