Recent times have been incredibly tough for the UK and the world from a personal finance view. 2020 and 2021 were the lockdown years, 2022 and 2023 were the years of the Cost of Living crisis, 2024 feels more positive with a change of government and green shots of better times to come. But yet still so many live in poverty and are unable to afford the lifestyle they once had before the 2020’s.
My expertise is hugely in demand and I have produced reams of incredible content. This is where I am sharing all of the articles I have written for newspapers, magazines and TV appearance in one place, you can then binge and read all the guidance, money-saving tips and so many ways to save a little or a lot.
The 2020’s are about making changes to everyday habits. Lots of small changes will add to a big amount of money saved. You can hear me on BBC radio most weeks, from local stations to national Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live.
In January 2022 I joined the Cost of Living Panel at The Mirror
As a regular columnist and presenter on their Facebook Lives, my content is focused heavily on money-saving for everyday people. Here are some of my most popular and favourite articles.
10 easy ways YOU can save money on your big weekly food shop from Mrs Mummypenny – Mirror Online
Here I guide you though a different supermarket journey that will save you money.
Three incredibly tasty meals from just 15p a head you can make for your family – Mirror Online
I share my very special roasted vegetable soup recipe in this article, with a video showing how its made. Just 15p per head.
Mum reveals 5 hacks to slash energy bills – including £80 thermostat trick – Mirror Online
These small changes to your energy usage will save much energy and £££
Mum explains how she saved £912 by cancelling just three bills – and you can too – Mirror Online
Back to Basics with Bills, how to get the best deal on all of your bills, and cancel the ones you don’t use and/or need.
Mum reveals 6 ways to slash your council tax bill – and who can get 100% off – Mirror Online
I share various ways to save money on your council tax bill.
Mum makes £4,000 without leaving her home using two websites – and says you can too – Mirror Online
How to make decent money from Cash Back sites. My £4000 has come from being a Top CashBack member for 9 years! Here is my referral code you can set up a Top Cashback account and we both get a thank you.
Mum reveals how she found £380 in ‘forgotten’ loyalty points – and you can too – Mirror Online
Check your loyalty apps, do you have any hidden money? I found £380!
Mum explains how to save £1,000 this Christmas with easy ways to slash your spending – Mirror Online
How to Save and Make £1000 to pay for Christmas
Articles Written for Other Websites
Money Saving Tips for 2022 – FOOD, ENERGY BILLS, FUEL – Zopa
An article summarising all my top tips for saving money on Food, Energy and Fuel. Written for Zopa Bank
6 Steps to Get Out of Debt – Debt Awareness Week – Zopa
I have been in a lot of debt, and it took two years to claw myself out of it, here are my six recommended steps to get out of debt. Written for Zopa Bank.
Coping with the Cost of Living Crisis – Zopa
A simple but effective list of ways to cope with the cost of living crisis.
Podcast Appearances
PensionBee Podcast – Cost of Living Crisis
TV Appearances
I am one of the key personal finance experts in this 60-minute special on Primetime Channel 5, first televised 27th September 2022. 30 Tips to Cut Your Bills My5 (channel5.com)
ITV News from Thursday 3rd Nov 2022 (I am 20 mins in) https://youtu.be/tOPAiLuYOPU
BBC Dirty Rotten Scammers 2022 – Talking ID Fraud BBC iPlayer – Dirty Rotten Scammers – Series 1 (Shortened Versions): Episode 8
GMB on 22nd Aug 2022 Talking Cost of Living Crisis with Rob Rinder
Channel 5 News 18th October2022 with Dan Walker Talking Cost of Living Crisis
GB News with Angela Rippon Sat 29th Oct 12 noon 2022 Talking Cost of Living Crisis and Social Broadband tariffs
BBC Newsnight August 2022 Talking Cost of Living Crisis
ITV Tonight July 2022 Talking money making
Norton TV Advert 2022 Talking ID Fraud
MY BOOK – The Money Guide to Transform Your Life
You can also read my book The Money Guide to Transform your Life, this is just £9.99 direct from me and a signed copy, or go to Amazon where I earn peanuts.
Also here some refer a friend links to sites that will save you money and make you a bit of money too. I love referral codes where we both get to share the rewards.
Octopus Energy
Switch your energy provider to the best company for customer service and brilliant prices, oh and a free coffee every week using to Octoplus points. I have been a customer for 8 years, just switch my tariff to a new variable contract saving me £15 a month, I now pay £90 a month. Energy prices are finally coming down (Sept 2024)
Better.co.uk
Better.co.uk is for you new mortgage/re-mortgage application. An independent mortgage broker. We both get £200 in vouchers if your mortgage application is accepted.
PensionBee for Pensions consolidation. If you have lots of pension pots dotted around various previous employers you can consolidate them with one pension provider AND invest you money into fossil fuel free funds if you so desire. This is what I have done. We both get £50 each if you sign up using my referral code.
Top CashBack – My favourite way to save money on EVERY online transaction. A thank you of £5 is often available when you sign up to Top Cashback, but not all the time!
Pay As You Go Car Insurance with By Miles – Much cheaper is you drive less than £8000 miles per year.
20 Responses
I saw the channel 5 show you were on and one of the tips you gave was totally incorrect. You advised turning off the internet each night but you are not supposed to do that. It says so in the manual and an Open Reach engineer told me too. Doing that makes the modem think there is a fault and it will start to slow down to ‘save itself’ and eventually it will become so slow that you will need an engineer to come out and fix it. Please don’t advice people to do things that the professionals advice you not to do
I agree with all of the excellent stuff on this page.
Great article, Sarah! I’m so glad you’ve put all of your cost of living content in one place.
Fantastic compilation of cost of living tips!
Heya.
In order to teach us all about money our mom had lots of plans. Once a week we had to only buy two low cost food items on her shopping list in question here. She always tended to use local farm shops in addition. She sought out free or cheaper stuff all of the time too. Best wishes. Each month we visited a new farm shop to take a look at the fresh produce.
And she even looked at some of the active deals. We had free picnics in the summer time. She borrowed free magazines to read. She planted vegetables and fresh fruit as much as possible. That was fun. We always loved our weekly trips to a library once a week. There we got out three free new books each week. We always read them at home. She saved a lot of money. At home both of us learnt how to make new Christmas food and decorations.
Seeds always came from a variety of places. This included the nearest garden centre and from a recommended supermarket. Occasionally over the years she picked up some cheap seeds from a nearby household shop. Meals only were prepared at home instead.
She simply followed the magazine recipes. In terms of wine she borrowed it really. And she made her own house curtains and wine. She even loved to sew us new nice things. A weekly food shop always included a free paper and white wine. Rather than eat any pricey meals we cooked healthy food to cut down on the costs.
Museum trips only took place four times a year. Zoo visits were limited to twice a year. It was very rare for us to go to London to see a film or play. We preferred to visit a big theatre in Guildford once a year. We had a few different mini chicken burgers and a quiche at home on our own. Supper consisted of lots of different dishes for mere variety and protein. Rarely we ordered in Chinese food at night as it was pricey. We chose to watch movies on the cheap.
So did our own packed lunches. We only had two small scrambled eggs on toast for a quick healthy breakfast. Alternatively we opted to eat a mini cooked breakfast to save time. At the airport we had a large hearty meal. This was prior to getting on the flight. Then we ate only a free quick snack on the plane. Food isn’t cheap. We were always reminded of that fact. I either had a free hot cocoa or hot chocolate from time to time. Sometimes we had party food on the go.
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Great work Sarah! This article about cost of living content is amazing.