How I’m planning to save (& make) money in the new year

It’s the time of year where people are starting to feel a bit run down. It’s note quite time for new beginnings, but the year feels nearly done.

This is my favourite time to start planning for the next year, as all the Christmas stuff is done with, but no one is making huge demands on my time just yet.

And one of the things I’ll be focusing on in the new year is thinking of ways to save money.

If you’re anything like me, you like to treat everyone and spend to the max at Christmas. So the new year needs to see some money coming back in, pronto! Here’s what I have planned so far – let me know if you have any more ideas for me!
 

Survey sites

Survey sites are a quick way to earn a bit of extra money. There are lots of different ones you can sign up for; my current favourite is Pinecone Research as they pay well and have a lot of payout options. It’s invite-only, but a quick Google will throw up some ways you can sign up.
 

Freelance work

My day job is as a social media manager, so I’m thinking of signing up to some freelance sites and doing a shoutout on Twitter and Facebook to see if I can pick up some part time clients here and there. As I’m in-house I usually only get to work in the same few industries, so I’m looking forward to the chance of expanding my horizons. I’m not so much looking forward to the paperwork and self-assessed tax returns, but it’s just more motivation to make it pay!
 

Reviewing subscriptions

Subscriptions can be such money drainers, especially when there are so many different streaming services wanting your money these days. I have far too many of them, so I’m going to go through my bank statements and see what I can cut. I’ll definitely be cutting out all my fitness subscription apps when YouTube videos are free!
 

Selling old stuff

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and all that! I’ll be sorting and listing all my unwanted clothes on Vinted in the new year to make some cash. If you’re old school, eBay or even real life carboots can work for you too!

After reading some articles on MoneySavingExpert, I’m planning to go through my junk drawer to see if I can dig out any old phones or small electronics I can sell too. I’m sure there are at least a couple of abandoned Fitbits in there somewhere…
 

Reviewing my shopping list

Every time I go shopping I get suckered into buying things I don’t actually need, especially with supermarkets selling everything from clothes to books and appliances these days.

My new year’s resolution is to only go shopping with a pre-written list, and to stick to that list no matter what! This is going to be a tough one for me, so we’ll see how it goes.

I’m also planning to cut back on non-essentials, and buy more own-brand goods.
 

Going through the garage

My garage is absolutely full of all kinds of stuff, so I think I’ll be able to dig up some interesting things to list on Facebook Marketplace. The advantages of listing it there are that it’s free, and it’s easier to reach local people.
 

How are you planning to make or save money in the new year? Let me know in the comments!