21 ways to save £100 this week

Let’s be honest, the last year and a half has not been easy! Pandemics, lockdowns, furlough, job losses – well done for surviving it all.

If you’re struggling for money right now, you might not see where extra savings can be made and the idea of saving £100 in a week might seem hopelessly out of reach.

But don’t despair, there are ways you’ve probably never even thought of to save money – if you can implement just a few of them, there are huge savings to be made.

So, want to save a bit of extra cash?

Here are our tips for saving £100 (or more) this week by making a few small changes.

21 ways to save £100 this week

1. Did you know there might be free money that you didn’t even know you had?  Go to Mylostaccount.org and check to see if you have a forgotten savings account somewhere, or if you have inherited one from someone close who passed on recently. It won’t apply to everyone, but what a lovely bonus if there’s some forgotten cash out there just waiting for you to claim it.
2. Instead of heading to the supermarket, this week use up the food you have in the freezer and store cupboards – you might be shocked at what you’ve got stocked away. Only buy a few perishable foods to go with what you already have. Anything you don’t think you will use could be something you swap with neighbours for items they’re not going to use. You should be able to save at least £30 in the week by doing this.
3. Unsubscribe! According to NatWest bank, the typical adult wastes £39 a month on subscriptions they never use. This includes services like Amazon Prime, streaming services like Netflix, magazines, gym memberships and even mobile phone and travel insurance that automatically renew each year. Go through what you have and see what you can cancel – if you haven’t used something in the last few weeks, chances are you can do without!
4. It might seem obvious, but get as much as you can for free. There truly are some amazing freebies out there and knowing where to look can save you a fortune. If you’re desperate for a new sofa or need a replacement fridge, don’t bother buying one. Trawl through free offer sites such as Freecycle.org, Gumtree Free Stuff or Preloved. People give away wonderful stuff every day and it’s quite possible to get nearly new items just for the price of picking them up. You can potentially save £1,000 if you get a sofa for free.
5. Cut your food costs by using handy apps like Olio which tells you where people and businesses near you are giving food away for free and Too Good to Go which sends out notifications of local cafes and restaurants offering food for cheap at the end of the day. Also Approvedfood.co.uk is a marvellous site for cheaper food that might be out of season. Save at least £15 in the week doing this.
6. Unplug electrical appliances at night instead of leaving them on standby. It can save you up to £50 a year – small changes like this can go a long way.
7. Are you ignoring the sounds of leaky taps? Don’t! Fix water drips as soon as you find them. Leaving a dripping tap could cost you an extra £100 on your water bill each year if you are on a water meter.
8. Make sure your house is insulated properly. Not only does it cut energy bills during the winter months but it helps keep the heat out during summer as well. Homeowners on a low income could qualify for boiler grants and insulation grants to help improve the energy efficacy of their home, too.
9. Be vegetarian for the week. Meat and dairy products tend to be the most expensive items in the weekly food shop so cut yours by being vegetarian or even vegan for the week. BBCgoodfood.com has some excellent veggie recipes if you need inspiration. You might even find you feel a bit better for it (but if you’re a real meat lover – it doesn’t have to be permanent!) This should save you around around £15 a week.
10. Make sure you claim all your work expenses against tax. You can claim for costs associated with working from home, washing uniform or travel whether you’re employed or your own boss. This can bring down your tax bill substantially and if you haven’t done it before you could be owed a serious refund. Tax refunds can be backdated up to four years and on average people can claim back between £2,500 to £3,000.
11. Switch to save. Unfortunately too many companies punish you for your loyalty. Set aside a couple of hours this week to find the best deals on all your boring bills like energy, broadband, insurance and mobile phone. Comparison sites like Confused, Comparethemarket and Moneysupermarket can help you get cheaper versions of everything. If you haven’t switched bills for at least a couple of years you should be able to save yourself around £1,000 over the year, particularly if you switch all your insurance policies.
12. Shop around for all other purchases. If you’re looking to buy something it’s increasingly easy to shop around for the best price. Use comparison sites like OnBuy, Idealo and Pricerunner to find the lowest price.

13. Do a budget for the week as the more we can budget and plan ahead the more money we save. Use a free budgeting app like Hyperjar which helps you apportion money for different types of spending and gives you 4.8% interest while it’s sitting in ‘jars’.
14. Sell unwanted presents. Whether it’s for Christmas or for a birthday, there’s usually one present that you just don’t appreciate – whether it’s garish socks or chocolate that you can’t eat because you’re on a diet. Try Facebook Groups, eBay, Gumtree and even Nextdoor.com to convert unwanted gifts into cash.
15. Ask for your energy credit to be repaid. Do you pay your energy bill by direct debit every month? If you pay the same amount each time it’s possible that you are nicely in credit now. Check to see if you are and, if so, ask for some of your overpayment to be sent back to your bank account (obviously making sure to leave enough in if your energy bills increase during the winter). According to uSwitch.com, almost 13 million households across the UK are owed money by their energy supplier, with an average reclaim amount of £136.
16. Make your own cleaning products. Don’t be afraid of a bit of MIY (Make It Yourself). Save yourself money and improve the environment by using homemade cleaning products instead of the chemical-based manufactured ones. White vinegar, lemons, newspaper, bicarbonate of soda and sugar soap are pretty much all you need to clean the house safely and efficiently as we show in this article. 
17. Go to Turn2Us.org.uk and use their calculator to see if there are any benefits or tax credits you’re entitled to that you haven’t yet applied for.
18. Also while you’re on Turn2Us, check the site to see if you qualify for a cash pay-out from one of the many grant-making bodies they have access to. There are hundreds of them around the country (some of them really strange!) and at least one of them is likely to apply to you. For example there is money for people who work (or have worked) in the drinks industry, in the provisions industry and in the caravanning industry, for vegetarians or vegans under 25 and for Scottish people who have been living within 35 miles of Charing Cross, London for at least two years. And that’s just for starters!
19. If you did not get a furlough payment and don’t qualify for Universal Credit, speak to your local Council about getting a one-off discretionary payment. Not all Councils have the money to cover these but it’s worth a try.
20. Use your points. Many of us have gathered up points on loyalty cards like Tesco Clubcard, Boots Advantage and Nectar but we haven’t actually used them. See what you have accumulated on your cards and make this the week that you actually spend those points instead of paying with money. You should be able to save around £12 this way.
21. Use a cashback site where you can. Sites like Quidco and TopCashBack give you cash back for all kinds of purchase from clothes to insurance, and from bank accounts to homeware. If you need to buy something anyway, first check the best price on the comparison sites (above) and then see if you can get even more off by buying through a cashback site.

And there you have it, 21 ways to save £100 this week – told you it was possible!

Do you have suggestions of your own? Let us know in the comments section below. Oh, and if you still need more money, then why not check out our frankly ENORMOUS collection of money-making ideas – there’ll definitely be something in there for you.

And don’t forget to sign-up to our ‘make-money’ newsletter, full of brand new ideas and exclusive offers delivered straight to your inbox every week (and, of course, completely free – you can’t say we don’t spoil you!)

Good luck 🙂