Money saving tips for office workers

During a time when bills are rising, food prices are through the roof and filling up the car with fuel costs a small fortune, it is little wonder that people are searching for ways in which to cut expenses in a cost of living crisis. 

As a broker working exclusively within the automotive industry, we are witnessing a growing trend of drivers refinancing their car, reducing their vehicles from two cars to one, or keeping hold of their current model for much longer than anticipated in a bid to cut costs. 

Here at Octane Finance, we are here to lend a helping hand. Our team has shared their tried and tested ways of keeping their workplace costs down, so we hope these innovative cost saving ideas will help to reduce your finances too!

Whether you are an employee looking to save money or an employer searching for ways in which your staff can make savings, these small simple changes really can have a positive impact on your pocket! Read on to find out more… 

Five top tips to cut your work-related costs 

For most of us, going to work is a necessity and enables us to pay the bills and hopefully enjoy life's little luxuries too. Even when you’re on a budget, it can often prove all-too tempting to overspend for lunch and unless you walk or cycle into work, fuel prices can hit you hard too.

Octane Finance to the rescue! Our team of savvy spending finance experts have been sharing the ways in which they save costs when it comes to work-related spending. So without further ado, here are our five top tips for office workers… 

Carpooling 

Car what? Carpooling. This is the term used when a group of people share a car to the same destination together - and it actually proves a great way of cutting commuting costs too. Car sharing is an ideal solution if there are a handful of you that live locally to each other, and of course sharing daily driving duties is not only convenient but can dramatically cut your monthly fuel costs.         

Not only that, but you will be helping the environment too. Fewer cars on the road not only eases congestion (especially during the dreaded rush hour!) but also reduces tailpipe emissions that pollutes the air we breathe. Plus, it will be much easier to secure that parking spot outside work as well!      

Shared lunches

We all have the best intentions to keep lunch costs down, but it’s not always that easy! Whether it's lack of time to prepare a sandwich pre-work, or you simply don’t have anything in the fridge, there is always an excuse to pop out at lunch and spend more money than you had bargained for. 

Have you ever thought about being lunch buddies with your co-workers? We’ve started doing just that and it is proving to be a great success! Whether a couple of you get together to prepare lunches on alternate days, or a whole bunch of you plan to take turns in bringing food into the office, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how much you could save.   

Couponing

Couponing is a term mostly associated with American culture, but in a cost of living crisis, the trend of collecting money-off vouchers for the weekly shop is very much a thing in the UK too. Done the right way, couponing can result in making huge savings on groceries, toiletries and household items for savvy customers.

Most big brand supermarkets share their offers online where there are plenty of discounts and cashback deals to be had. A good starting point is the website Money Saving Expert where guru Martin Lewis shares the top freebies and discounts currently available at supermarkets all over the country. 

If shared lunches aren't your thing, then couponing could prove even more successful than sourcing a meal deal in your local Tesco - now that’s food for thought! 

Make sure you are signed up to supermarket discount loyalty schemes so you are the first to hear about savings - here’s a list of leading UK supermarkets with links to each of their loyalty programs, each free to join:

• ASDA - Asda Rewards
• CO-OP - Co-op Membership
• ICELAND - Iceland Bonus Card
• LIDL - Lidl Plus
• MARKS & SPENCER - M&S Sparks Card
• MORRISONS - Morrisons More Card
• SAINSBURY’S - Sainsbury’s Nectar Card
• TESCO - Tesco Clubcard
• WAITROSE - MyWaitrose Card

Clothes swapping

We all love treating ourselves to a new top or pair of shoes, but sometimes our bank balances say otherwise! If you are on a budget, then why not consider clothes swapping with your colleagues? 

Not only will you save money, but you will get a fresh new look too and before you know it, you could be rocking a whole new wardrobe! 

Hybrid working

During the COVID pandemic, office workers were confined to working from home and do you know what, it worked! From that point on,many businesses have continued to allow a hybrid working policy to allow employee flexibility as to whether they work from the office or from home.

Hybrid working is a great way of keeping monthly work-related costs down; not only can you save money on commuting to and from the office, but expensive on-the-go lunches are reduced too. Of course this luxury is very much a perk and isn’t always possible, but it’s definitely worth exploring the option with your employer. 

It may be that you can agree to share in-office tasks with co-workers to allow for a more flexible style of hybrid working, by swapping between who is required to work from the office and who can remain at home.  

Share your workplace money saving ideas with us 

We hope our cost saving initiatives have proven helpful. Do you have any ideas of your own? Maybe you and your colleagues have come up with other cost cutting cheats - we’d love to hear about them if so! Drop us a message via the website or get in touch through one of our social media channels.