You're spending too much | Jordon Cox | TEDxChelmsford

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Money is something all of us deal with, but most of us don’t know how to use it. With just a few simple changes, you will see how much you can put your hard earned money to better use.

Jordon is an extreme money-saver who has flown via Berlin to save money on trains and bought £600 of groceries for 4p using coupons. He has been teaching people how to save money for 4 years, touring the country giving sessions and now writes for MoneySavingExpert.com. He is a regular media expert appearing on shows such as Rip Off Britain, BBC News, and BBC Breakfast.

What if I told you

that you can get £35 worth
of supermarket shopping for just £9?

What if I told you that you could save
hundreds or even thousands,

just by changing your mindset
when it comes to spending?

What if I told you that flying home
could be cheaper than a one-way train?

Believe it or not,
all of those things are true,

and if you are looking for
a great money workout,

then I will be your trainer today.

No breaks.

When it comes to money,
and especially saving it,

I've had many years of experience.

You might've seen back in January of 2016,

I flew home from Sheffield
to Essex via Berlin,

because it was £8 cheaper
than taking the train.

I even got £600 worth of supermarket
shopping and only paid 4p for it.

When it comes to couponing,
there are so many ways you can save money,

but I see so many people
posting on Facebook saying,

"Got no money left," or "Oh, well,
that's me skimmed for the next month;

# broke #nomomoney #lol."

(Laughter)

But why is running out of money
in any context so comical?

You wouldn't see
"house's been repossessed #lol."

(Laughter)

So why even gets to the first stage?

When taking a look at your spending,

making small adjustments
can make a massive difference.

There're ways you can save money
on all of your favorite brands

that you buy everyday.

How do you do that?

By using coupons, loyalty schemes,
mobile apps, and cashback sites.

Despite what you might think,
it doesn't have to be time-consuming,

and you can save hundreds,
or even thousands.

When it comes to couponing,

if you go onto
Pringles Facebook page right now,

you can print out a coupon for a free tin.

Simple as that.

#lol.

(Laughter)

Also, if you go into
Optiwell website right now,

they are giving away a free yogurt drink.

All you have to do is print it out.

There're hundreds of coupons for you
to print out right now from online,

and all you need to do
is Google the word coupons.

If you print out the right ones,
you can get a £35 shop and only pay £9,

including branding items
such as Ariel, Finish, and Pringles.

They are all big brands,
and it's a fifth of the price.

Even coupons -

if you've got one pound of coupon,
you can use them on sales.

If you use a one-pound of coupon
on the products on sale at one pound,

it makes it free;
there's no questions asked.

Who here likes Starbucks?

Well, guess what?
You can save money on that.

If you sign up to their loyalty app,
every 15th coffee you buy will be free.

That may not sound like much,

but if you buy a Starbucks
every single weekday that costs 4 pounds,

that's £70 a year you're saving,
just for signing up to an app.

Speaking of apps, there're
mobile apps on your phone now

which save you money
on your supermarket shopping.

Apps like Shoppertise, CheckoutSmart
will give you money back

just by taking a photo of your receipt.

There're so much on there
that people buy weekly,

and there're hundreds of pounds
worth of free stuff.

I'm pretty sure everyone here
has bought online as well.

You know I'm going to say;
you can save money on that, too.

If you go onto cashback websites,
such as TopCashback and Quidco,

they will give you a percentage back
of what you spend,

on pretty much anything online -
car insurance, hotels, clothes.

You can all claim cashback on it,
and it's only a minute more worth of work,

by clicking through their website.

That is just the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to money-saving,

and there're so many other ways
you can save money.

For example,

if you're going out to a restaurant,
have a look for restaurant vouchers.

If you really love a brand,
why not send them a birthday card?

Sounds crazy, but I did that last week,

and I've got £20 worth
of coupons for a 10p card.

If you are ever in the High Street,
why not have a little haggle?

The worst they can do is say no.

If you take on board those tips,
I guarantee you'll see

a positive difference to your budget
by hundreds of pounds.

But you have the ability
to turn that into thousands.

If you're not bothered
by what brands you buy,

you can turn it into thousands,

And it's all by a simple change
to your mindset;

just by not buying
that one Starbucks coffee

every single weekday that costs £4,

that's £1,040 a year you'll be saving.

Think about what that money
could do for you.

I'm not saying you can't treat yourself,

but you can always buy
a 500-gram jar of coffee

and fill up a travel mug.

See? Simple change, huge savings.

Let's have a look at a bigger picture

of how changing the big spending
of your non-essentials

into easy cheaper resolutions

can seriously help your budget.

This is Sarah.

But Sarah is not very happy.

Why?

Although she earns
£2,000 a month after tax,

all of her expenditure,

it means she's just left
with £30 each month.

Not much to save with.

But if you look at what she is spending,

there're some things
that are a bit questionable.

If you change those into easy, cheaper
resolutions, she could save thousands.

Taking the first example: buy
a £4 Starbucks every single weekday.

If you change that into buying
a jar of coffee, that's only £4 a month.

You can see what that does
to her money left over each month.

[£113 left over each month]

She has a takeaway
every weekday, a bit much,

But if she changes that to every Friday,
that's only £20 pounds a month.

You can see where this is going -
her money is adding up.

She spends £150 on working lunch,
every single month.

If she changes that,
and only has a pack lunch every day,

it's a little bit more work,
but she's saving £125 each month.

And that adds on to her monthly total.

It's gone from £30 to £326,
just for three changes.

And lastly, she spends
£125 on shoes and clothes.

As a man I don't understand that

(Laughter)

but if she can change that
and only spend it on sales -

so she spends £50 a month.

You can see what that does
to her monthly leftovers.

She now has £401 left over each month
from four simple changes.

If you put that back in,

she's still getting
everything she used to have.

She's still getting her coffee,
her takeaway, her lunch, her clothes,

but now she's got £370 more,
just for those changes.

Now she's happier.

If you look at that
with a 'before' and 'after':

Before, she was putting away
£360 every year; now it's nearly £5,000,

and that's without coupons.

Simple changes to your budget
can mean huge savings.

I'm sure every single person in here
has something in their spending

they can cut back on.

Me?

I'm quite lazy so I spend £3

on return bus to the station
every morning.

But in this nice weather,

I could cycle to the station
and paddle my bike up.

That's £15 a week,
and £800 if you did it all year.

So when you leave here today, have a think
about what you're spending your money on,

where that money is going,

and if you can make any small changes

to give you that extra cash injection
throughout the whole year.

When that money goes to good use, I'll
be looking out for your Facebook post,

"Just booked a holiday
with the money I've saved. #lol."

(Laughter)

Thank you.

(Applause)