I will hold my hands up and freely admit to anyone who asks [and those that don't] that I AM BROKE AF, man. I'm not one of them bloggers with a closet of Chanel bags, Valentino heels and a fresh bouquet of red roses in every room of the house [lol, as if I can even afford a house.] I'm the kinda gal who buzzes her tits off after finding a penny on the floor, lives for the word Sale [or Reduced to Clear] and has zero shame re: stepping into Poundland. Except during that time around Christmas, when they had all them weird sexy elf pics going on. Those were awkward times.

I've not ended up living in a skip with a family of feral cats & a fox named Sid just yet though. Ya gal has been fighting off poverty since... well, forever... swerving them debt collection calls, keeping the baliffs at bay and collecting late payment fees like Pokémons - gotta catch em all. So I thought I'd share a few money making / saving tips with you guys today, in case any of you find yourselves in similar life predicaments as me. Cos although I'm not always great at putting these tips into practise, I do legit know what I'm talking about here. Cos dis is ma lyf xoxo

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Sell Yo Sh*t Online

eBay is legitimately bae. Although it's definitely changed a lot since I first started putting stuff on there, it's one of the biggest online marketplaces; giving us as buyers the opportunity to get branded stuff for an absolute steal and us as sellers the chance to market our items to a global market. I regularly go through my wardrobe and list stuff that I'm unlikely to wear again - which keeps my outfits fresh & frees up cash to buy more! I've found that electronics, beauty bits and home stuff sell well on eBay - larger items [such as furniture and appliances] do well on Shpock or Gumtree and clothing / makeup sells best on Depop.

Selling our unwanted stuff online is a great way to make a little extra cash and declutter at the same time. Do your research before you list though - to maximise your item's potential. Try and list during special events and offers [e.g. free listing events] to cut down ya selling costs, put as many relevant key words in the title as you can, list your stuff so that the auction ends on a Wednesday evening or over a weekend [the best times for sales] and use clean, crisp looking images that show your item in its best light. And always post using some form of tracked delivery; cos buyers are little sh*ts.

Buy Yo Sh*t Online

In the same way you can sell online to make money... shopping online can also save you money; if you're savvy with it and know where to look. It's worth searching eBay for listings with bad images, that end at unsociable hours or have typos in their title [Fat Fingers is a good site to help with this] to grab yaself a real bargain at auction. Look out for flash sales, shop around and if you're after THE CHEAPEST STUFF EVER and don't mind waiting for approx 2 years for it arrive, stores like AliExpress will save you a small fortune. I ordered a ring, a watch, two makeup bags, a pen and some flowers on there the other day for £7 including postage!! AND [after checking its authenticity with the seller] I got myself a right little bargain on my ABH Modern Renaissance Palette on Depop!


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Use Vouchers & Discount Codes

... and if you don't know of any, Google them! If you're about to place a big order on Cult Beauty for example, before you go through the checkout, Google 'Cult Beauty Discount Codes' and see if any of the options work. I always do this for Dominos - I've saved a fortuneStudent discount is a massive babe if you can get it [or borrow someone's code], keep your eyes peeled to newsletters you're signed up to for special offers and do a lil search on Twitter if you've seen bloggers working with a particular brand - cos most of the time, they'll have a discount code you can take advantage of. 

Compare Home / Travel Insurance Quotes Online

Boring AF, but this can save you a small fortune. It always pays to shop around! Some companies will give you vouchers as a 'thank you' for signing up too. They ma fave.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Referral Codes

For example, you can get your first Uber ride for FREE if you download the app and enter code nikkia1244ue ... and free delivery on your first Uber Eats order with code eats-nikkia1244ue 

Join Loyalty Schemes / Cards

From Tesco clubcard points, ya Nandos card, your Costa keyring and those infamous McDonalds hot drink stickers - there's a lot you can get for free or reduced these days; if you remember / persevere. Boots' Advantage Card and Debenhams Beauty Club are personal faves; as you  can spend your points like you would with cash, once they get to a certain point. Oh, and ASOS do a similar thing too. Spending and saving simultaneously is a great feeling.


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Blogger Specials - Affiliate Schemes and Paid Ads

If you blog and run an Instagram and / or Twitter account to support it; there are other potential ways to bring in a bit of dollar from time to time. Apps such as Tribe or Takumi allow you to monetise your Insta content and [if accepted] affiliate schemes such as RewardStyle can pay you a small amount of commission for every item sold via your #AffLinks. Message me if you'd like to join RewardStyle and I'll send you an invitation.

Competitions

A lot of people in this day & age 'comp' for a living - it's incredible. By simply searching hashtags, following, commenting & reposting content on Social Media, these lucky buggers win themselves reams and reams of prizes. Cash, holidays, cars, makeup, clothes... a simple way of making ya money go further. Cos by winning the stuff you need, you don't have to spend anything on it!

Music Magpie

If you have a tonne of old CDs and DVDs you want shut of, quickly, Music Magpie is super easy to use. They have an app which scans the items barcode, brings it up in their catalogue and tells you how much you'll get for trading it in. A word of warning - most DVDs are hardly worth anything at all; but there will be the odd rare one that's worth a bit more. I've traded in a few big bundles before and done alright $$ wise. CEX is another similar store where you can buy / sell unwanted games, consoles, phones and DVDs etc for cash.

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Carboot Sales

Okay, so unfortunately for these bad boys, you DO have to get up at the dawn of time, WILL have to put up with pure cheapskates  trying to haggle ya prices RIGHT down [even on that brand new bottle of Gucci Guilty ya ex gave ya] and DEFO WILL MEET some general knobheads But carbootin' is a good way to shift in bulk, quickly, for cash. It can be fun, it's pretty fulfilling and it's also a good place to look for bargains yourself!

Cash 4 Clothes

Again, you won't make big bucks doing this - but stuff which I wouldn't be able to sell online, bric a brac and just weird general sh*te I bag up & take to the nearest collection. It isn't a great way of making cash, granted - but every little helps. Some places will also take things like duvet covers, curtains, cds, games etc - but definitely check this out beforehand & DEFO look at the price per kg at each local venue to get the best rate for your stuff. It's terrible money, but it's a great way to shift a lot of sh*t quickly.

Loans / Credit Cards

There's times in life when, no matter how much we do, we will need a little helping hand in the cash department. Unexpected bills, vets costs etc can quite often put an even tighter strain on ya purse strings. If you're heading down this route, look out for finance with good interest rates & any that reward new customers with lower introductory rates / offers. 

I usually compare loans before applying to get the best deal - Moneysupermarket actually gives you a little chart showing your likelihood of acceptance too, which is useful when your credit is as bad as mine! Companies such as Northcash can help ya with finances to get you back on the right track - provided you're sensible & realistic about your income and financial goals, loans can be a cost effective, low stress way of making ends meet when times are tough.

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These are just a few ideas of how you can make ya money go that little bit further, during times of need [ie every day of my EXISTENCE!] There's plenty of other posts out there to help you achieve the same  - and bloggers such as Emma Drew who are at least a TRILLION times better at this kinda stuff than me [as well as less sweary] but there we have it. 

What are your top tips for saving money, making a little extra coin and getting through tough times?
*Sponsored post, but all ideas, financial hardship and opinions are totes my own xo
**As with all posts on this blog, some links within this article may be affiliate links. You can read more about what this means in my Disclaimer.
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