How to make your money stretch further during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mortgage Advice Bureau has released its top money saving tips to help people manage their finances during these unprecedented times we’re living in. 

Some of the money saving tips include potentially pausing your Sky Sports subscription (don’t worry, live sport will be back soon!), freezing your gym membership and finding cheaper energy tariffs through online tools such as Look After My Bills. You can read the top 10 tips here. 

As part of the initiative, Mortgage Advice Bureau has also launched a new calculator tool to help people work out their new salary and income if they’ve been put on the government furlough scheme or had their hours reduced. This resource can be found here. 

It’s believed that half of UK companies are planning to furlough staff due to the impact of coronavirus on their business operations. This essentially means workers are told to down tools by their employer and the government will pay 80% of their wage until business can resume as normal. The government has agreed to cover employee wages for the next three months whilst the current stay-at-home measures are in place, but the question remains if it’ll be extended beyond that period should the effective ‘lockdown’ in the UK continue.  

This can be a particularly challenging period for homeowners, as Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, explains: “The coronavirus is affecting all corners of the country and it’s important to remember we are truly in this together. Many of us have never experienced anything like this in our lifetimes and it can be easy to overlook the impact of the coronavirus on our financial and mental wellbeing. 

“We don’t yet know how long the government’s social distancing measures will be in place for, but most industries have been hit hard by the coronavirus, which of course is having a knock-on effect on everyone’s personal lives. However, there are lots of things we as individuals can do to get through the situation together by introducing what might seem smaller cost-saving measures on their own but as a collective, they can go a long way. That’s why we’re urging people to review their finances and take a closer look at what they could live without or different ways of living to save money such as changing your eating or cooking habits.”

Switching energy provider is another potential area where money could be saved by moving from a standard tariff. However, many people are put off by the process because they get familiar with their current supplier – sometimes switching is seen as ‘moving into the unknown’. 

Brian added: “The government is doing its best to help people during these difficult times and we certainly take financial well-being very seriously, so we are also doing our upmost to support people. We hope that these simple cost saving techniques might at least help some people make their money stretch further.”