Money saving advice from award winning Sheffield blogger

Emma Jackson, aged 27, shares tips to help people spend less and earn more at beemoneysavvy.com, which won Best Money Making Blog at the SHOMO Awards for money bloggers.

The judges said: “Clean, easy to navigate blog. With lots of ideas that I didn’t know about. Emma’s personality shines through.”

Emma, who was born in Handsworth, graduated in Sheffield in 2017 and got a part-time job at Hallam University as a campaigns and democracy leader, giving her time to build the blog.

To help give your financial security a boost here are her tips to save money in lockdown and keep on doing so as restrictions ease:

Review your bills – you can save £100s a year by regularly reviewing bills, comparing quotes and switching to a cheaper energy, broadband or insurance provider.

Remove the temptation to spend – delete shopping apps, unsubscribe from marketing emails and challenge yourself to a month of no online shopping.

Prepare for the unexpected - if the pandemic has taught us anything it’s to expect the unexpected, you can do this with your finances by saving up an emergency fund for events such as a boiler repair.

Review your entertainment spending – take a look at the streaming services you are subscribed to. Unsubscribe from those you don’t use any more or downgrade to a cheaper deal.

Lunch habits – maybe you’ve been cooking more in lockdown due to working from home, being on furlough or having extra time. Save money by continuing this habit and making packed lunches when you go back to work. You could batch cook meals to save time.

Value free things – lockdown has provided a new perspective on life. More of us are now walking around our local area, we’re excited to see friends and family when restrictions ease and we’ve had more time to appreciate our homes. Continue this post-lockdown.

Find a side hustle – with more and more jobs adapting to working from home there’s a new world of side hustle possibilities. If you need to boost your bank balance, look for a side job that you can do online, such as data entry, virtual assistant or freelance work.