What’s the one thing you bang on about to other people that you know would change their life?

17 comments

1. Using the toilet naked

2. Yes! I have widgets on my Monzo account that moves the pennies to a savings account. It rounds up my spends to the nearest £1.
   I also do the 1p challenge. I managed to save a couple of grand last year.

3. Gosh if I did skimming I wouldn’t pay my bills.

4. Ok, so on the same theme – I use cash for most things. I always break a note and put all the change in a jar. That also gives me a massive bunch of money every so often. It was £500+ last time. You don’t have to do it for very long to not notice.

5. Stop watching Coronation Street and Eastenders. Let the tradition die. You don’t need that misery in your life.

6. I don’t actually talk about it much, and currently am not even taking the advice myself, but I think there is a lot to be said for buying a good mattress. Many people balk at the idea of spending around £500 for a decent one, when they can get something basic for under £100.

   But you’re going to be spending about a third of your life for the next 7+ years on that mattress, and with the difference it can make to ones physical and mental well-being, I struggle to think of anything that gives better value for money relative to the quality of life improvement.

7. I don’t really bang on about it, but if it comes up naturally in conversation I recommend people start a meditation practice. I know it would improve everybody’s quality of life. I can only imagine what the world would look like in ten years if everybody started a 20 minute daily meditation practice tomorrow. It’s so simple and accessible to everybody, and it’s so powerful.

8. Pay as much as you can into a pension.

9. Yeah. I use Moneybox as my skimmer. Pays for our holiday every year. Last year I made 6% or something like that on the way.

10. Stop watching the news and get rid of social media.

    You’ll soon find out who your real friends are. WhatsApp can cover video calls et al.

11. Opting in to the company pension. No one listens to me and in 30 years they will regret it massively

12. Going to therapy.

    It’s relatively expensive (£60 for 50mins for mine) but it’s the best investment in myself I’ve ever made. Been going for nearly 4 months now and it’s contexualised a lot of my thoughts and I’ve definitely noticed a difference for the better in most aspects of my life.

    Especially as a man, it’s something that none of my social circle have ever considered, so I try to talk about my experiences with them to encourage them to look into it.

13. Forget about the world and concentrate on yourself

14. Smart thermostatic radiator valves. Reduced my gas consumption from 13,500kWh to 8,500kWh and will pay for themselves in a little over a year.

15. We put £50 a month into a savings account for Christmas, which pays for all presents and food. Whatever’s left is either put towards next year’s funds, used to buy something for the house or put into our daughter’s savings account.

    Also, make overpayments to your mortgage when you can. Even £10, just make sure you stay below the 10% overpayment allowance during the year (we’re always massively under that).

16. Exercising and healthy eating actually does give you way more energy and improve your mental health, all those experts for decades havent just been saying it for fun. I started running in January and havent felt this good since I was a kid.

17. The virtues of my air rowing machine, bought second-hand in good condition for less than the typical cost of two months’ gym membership.

    You can vary the intensity to fit the time available but even 10 free minutes is enough for a blast of low impact, full body exercise without even having to leave the house. No more excuses. Does wonders for your mental and physical wellbeing.