August 2020
Welcome to the MoneyPlus Newsletter.
As lockdown restrictions have eased slightly, and the country begins to figure out the ‘new normal’ once again, we take an in-depth look at how to get your post-lockdown budgets back on track…
Money Saving Challenges
There are a lot of different ways to budget, but how do you know which ones will work for you?
We’ve searched around for some of the most popular ways that you can maximise your money and get your budget back on track. Browse our findings below, and pick the one that appeals to you – and that you think you’ll be able to stick to!
Challenge #1: Save spare change
This challenge is quite simple, and it works well if you often use cash. Essentially, every time you make a purchase, set the ‘left over’ money aside.
Saving your spare change may not sound like much, but it can certainly add up over time!
Challenge #2: No dining out
How much do you spend on dining out each day? Do you take your lunch to work, go to happy hour a few times per week, or dine out with family every Friday? All these purchases add up and you’d be surprised to see how much you spend on restaurants in just 30 days.
Commit to eating at home for 30 days straight and see how much you can save. Plan your meals carefully, get creative with snacks, and prep everything weekly.
Challenge #3: Eat Out to Help Out
If you are going to dine out, why not take advantage of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme? Until the end of August, you can get a 50% discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks between Monday and Wednesday (max £10 discount per person). You don’t need to worry about remembering a voucher – the discount is applied automatically!
Eating out whilst saving money AND supporting local businesses? Sounds like a win-win to us! Find a participating restaurant near you.
Challenge #4 – The 30 Day Rule
Many of us make unplanned impulse purchases, mostly because of how we feel in the moment. Considering how stressful and confusing the COVID-19 pandemic has been, it’s easy to get your budget off track and find you’re spending more than you can afford without even realising.
If this sounds like you, you may want to consider the 30 Day Rule. Here’s how it works:
Instead of making an unplanned impulse purchase, you leave that potential purchase for 30 days. If you still want to buy that item after the 30 day period is up, go for it!
If you find yourself thinking about spending money based on your emotions rather than what’s in your budget, this can turn into an impulse purchase, which can easily throw you off your budget!
Meet the Team.
Paul Richards – Director of Business Services
Paul says: “When I joined the MoneyPlus Group six years ago, I could never have imagined the amazing diversity we have on offer for our customers today – from financial Advice to Energy, Telecoms and Legal Services. Yet, the core of our business success has remained strong; doing right by our customers and treating them as individuals.
It’s rare for a business to make decisions for the benefit of their customers that goes against the grain of the traditional. Our continued success with our existing and new ventures is proof enough that customers get what we are about and remain loyal.
The daily excitement for me is the diversity of the job, and living in the solution to improve the support to our customers. MoneyPlus allows colleagues to influence the service delivery to our customers, encourages the passion of colleagues to keep moving forward, and enhances willingness to invest resources in further advancing our service proposition. It feels there is nothing we cannot do! And it means that the future continues to be exciting.
The changes I have seen, and in some small way been part of, has been staggering. I can truly say I have never worked within an organisation with such a passion for listening to all its employees. The amount of people I can name that have progressed their careers through MoneyPlus is astounding, and just shows that the values we convey to our customers also resonate through all of us.
I can’t wait for the next chapter in the MoneyPlus journey.”
Review of the month.
We love reading our customer reviews – and showing them off to the world!
This month’s review (as do all reviews) comes from a very valuable customer, who we are proud to help support through their financial well being journey.
Take a look…
In case you didn’t know, every Friday is #FeedbackFriday on our social media, so if you’d like to see more great reviews, head over to our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
If you’d like to leave a review for us, head over to our Reviews.io page – we can’t wait to read it!
Social Scene.
We like to keep our followers up-to-date with the latest industry news, advice, and offers, so we highly recommend following our social media channels so you can stay in the know…
Each month, we give away FIVE Bloom & Wild bouquets to a ‘bunch’ of lucky followers. Our August draw is now open, so head to our Facebook post to enter – our next winner could be you!
Live Better Blog.
Did you know that we publish a monthly blog, detailing need-to-know updates and advice about the world of personal finance?
We also post positive stories, and hints & tips to help you live better, every day.
For our latest blog post, we sat down (virtually) with one of our Free Energy for a Year winners, NHS Midwife Lauren Vella, who details her experiences of being on the frontline during a global pandemic.
Read Lauren’s story here.
Here for you.
If your personal circumstance has changed, or if you find yourself struggling to manage your finances, give us a call on 0161 837 4000, or email us at info@moneyplus.com, and we’ll help you find the best solution to get you back on track.
