EP83- How to be smart with your finances

What if there was an app that could save you money on just about anything you choose to spend your money on?

CEO and Founder of My VIP rewards, Maddy Alexander-Grout has created exactly that and joins me today on my podcast as we talk more about how her app can help you be smart with your finances. 

With My VIP Rewards, Maddy has won 19 awards, been featured in every single national publication, and was invited on talkTV to talk about the rising cost of living crisis. 

This app wants to help people save money on just about anything that they spend on. It gives 3%-10% discount on supermarket shopping. Buy the vouchers from the app, they then get emailed to you instantly and you spend them in store like cash.

If you become smarter in managing your finances, you can start to see what it looks like when you start investing. You’ll be able to assess how much money you can put aside to prepare for it. When you can start to understand how much you need to put aside to retire and have a better lifestyle, you then start to adjust how you’re spending and start to prioritize your money on a regular basis.

In managing your finances, the Citizens Advice Bureau recommended the 50-20-30 rule where you spend 50% on your bills, 30% on things that you need in your everyday life such as food, and then pay 20% off of your debts. With debt, if you know how to manage it, it can actually be very useful to you.

Here are few tips so you can save in your daily life, in the coming winter season and be ready for Christmas:

• ​​Sit down and look at your bank statements and work out if there’s anything that’s non-essential that you can cut, such as Amazon shopping, keep things in the basket for 72 hours to avoid impulsive buying.
• If you’ve got a credit card, and you’re paying it off monthly, or paying your minimum payments, make sure you sustain it so you remain interest-free.
• When shopping for Christmas presents, put the money aside and then buy in bulk. Buy even just one Christmas present from a local business. 

My VIP rewards can help you to save 10% Plus on that order. It puts money back into local communities which helps everybody to thrive.

• On gas and electric, If you’re not on a fixed rate at the moment look at it because the price visors are set to go up by 81% in October and then another 20 in January, then potentially another 40 in April. You can also take advantage of point cards or cash back cards.

Normally you get 1% cash back anytime you spend with warehouses Cashback Card, and if you buy the vouchers from My VIP Rewards, you also save on the voucher, so you’re getting double discount.

• Buy your needs for the winter as early as now because they are sold cheaper than they will be by then.
• Get draught excluders for the winter.

• If you can get away with turning your thermostat down by one degree that will save you money every single time.
• Make sure that you’re turning appliances off when not in use.
• Make sure that you keep the doors and windows closed if you’re not in the house.

With the projection of increasing costs in the coming months due to inflation which is about 18% for April 2023, it is crucial that we all need to get smart with our finances whether it’s budgeting, saving, or investing so that we can maximize our financial position, save for the future, create financial stability and especially for women, financial independence or certainly financial security in your relationship, so you’re not 100% reliant on somebody else.

Listen to the full podcast here: https://rebeccarobertson.co.uk/podcast/

Checkout My VIP Rewards here: https://myviprewards.co.uk/subscribe/

You can connect with Maddy here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maddy.comrie

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maddyaboutmoney

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddyaboutmoney/

My VIP Rewards Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/myviprewards/

If you’re enjoying the show then please leave a review. We are doing a monthly draw for everyone who leaves a review. Get the chance to win a copy of my book and my wealth planner which is available on Amazon. All you have to do is leave a review, take a screenshot and email me a copy at rebecca@rebeccarobertson.co.uk we’ll be in touch if you are our lucky winner.