Ten simple measures have been identified that can help struggling Britons survive until payday.
Being bold by, for example, asking for discounts and switching back to using cash can make real difference to those facing financial pressure.
Research for the Post Office found that 50 percent of consumers were better able to manage their spending by using real notes and coins.
Money saving expert Mrs Mummypenny – Lynn Beattie – said: “Cash is very much back and is being used by so many for savings challenges and simple budgeting.
“I like to use cash myself to manage my spending and it is particularly common for people to use cash for weekly essential spending such as groceries and travel-related purchases.”
Mrs Mummypenny continued: “The knowledge that there is just the £75 for the weekly food shop means you will shop more smartly, hit that reduced section of the supermarket before anywhere else.
“I also like to use cash for more discretionary spending such as coffee or lunches when out and about and will save the change in a piggy bank when back at home.
“Every few months I’ll bag up my coins and pay into my savings account at the post office.
“Post offices are the hub of the local community and are heavily relied on for many of those financial admin tasks, and right there on your doorstep.”
Mrs Mummypenny’s top ten cash hacks:
Cash Stuffing: On payday, you set up a series of envelopes labelled with your regular expenses and put your budgeted cash into each envelope. You might put £300 into the grocery envelope, £100 into fuel and £100 into fun spending, etc.
Use the cash from each envelope when paying for everyday spending and once it’s gone, it’s gone. The goal is that there will be some cash left at the end of the month to put into emergency savings.
Pay in Cash and Save the Change: When you are paying for your everyday spending use the notes from your cash stuffing envelopes and keep the change to store in a money jar/piggy bank when you get home.
Collect a Particular Coin: Collect 50p, £1 or £2 coins, which is going to add up quickly to a nice sum of savings.
The 1p Savings Challenge: A cash-based savings challenge that lasts for a year. Starting on day 1 you save 1p, day 2 save 2p, days 3 save 3p etc, until day 365 where you save £3.65. This year-long challenge adds up to a huge £671.61 after a year of savings.
The £1 Weekly Savings Challenge: Similar to the 1p challenge but for this version instead, you save £1 in week 1, £2 in week 2, £3 in week 3 all the way through until £52 in week 52. This year-long challenge adds up to an even larger saving amount of £1,378 after a year of savings.
The 1 percent Savings Club: Every time you are paid, take 1 percent of your pay, turn it into cash and save it. This could be a perfect amount of cash to help with the cost of Christmas or maybe some holiday spending money.
The 100-envelope challenge: Get 100 envelopes and label them £1 to £100. Every week choose two envelopes at random and stuff that envelope with the appropriate amount of cash. By the end of the 50 weeks, you will have £5,050 saved.
Ask for Discounts: Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount. It can feel challenging at times but may result in surprising discounts when you ask for them.
No Spend Weeks and Save the Cash you would have Spent: Avoid spending on a particular thing each month, for example alcohol in January and eating out in February and save the amount that you would have spent on those things.
Selling on Facebook Local Marketplace: A great way to generate some extra cash, is selling items you no longer need on your local Facebook marketplace. Stash that extra income cash away to treat yourself later.
