The Asperger’s Moneysaver sees Holly team up with Waitrose assistant Amber, 23, who is £1,200 in debt on her credit card and can’t make the £850 disposable income she has after paying rent stretch until the end of the month.
By going through her bank statements, Holly concludes Amber is an ‘impulse buyer’ who wastes money on luxuries such as lottery tickets, clothes and takeaway coffees.
Holly wants her to save £400 a month so she can start clearing her debt and teaches her a few of her own money-saving tricks to change her attitude to spending.
Holly team up with Waitrose assistant Amber, 23, who is £1,200 in debt on her credit card and can’t manage to live on £800
Tip 1: Only use cash
Holly presents Amber with a cash box for her notes and receipts and confiscates her credit and debit cards.
‘When you have cash you’re more reluctant to spend it,’ she explains.
She allows Amber £100, and she immediately spends £25.50 on petrol for the week . The following evening is her work Christmas party and she can’t resist taking £30 along to spend for the evening.
With just over £40 left for the week, she’s forced to cut out takeaway coffee and make packed lunch to ensure she’s not left short.
Tip 2: Get free money by wombling
Holly introduces Amber to the practice of collecting discarded till receipts in supermarket car parks to gain loyalty points and discounts.
Asda have a scheme where they guarantee your shopping is 10 per cent cheaper than competitors, you get a coupon you can print out instantly to spend on anything you want.
Amber goes online with a receipt Holly has given her and discovers she can get a voucher for £26.99 as the shop didn’t meet the 10 per cent promise.
Thanks to Holly’s wombling trick, Amber was able to claim back £26.99 on someone else’s shopping
Tip 3: Make money to save money
Amber puts clothes up for sale on eBay and makes £50 to go towards paying off her credit card debt.
Tip 4: Go yellow sticker hunting
Holly takes Amber shopping with a budget of £5, which means she needs to limit herself to reduced items.
‘With meat and fresh veg if something is going out of date that day and it doesn’t already have a yellow sticker you can ask them to put one on for you,’ Holly explained.
She also advised Amber to look at the back of the shelf for reduced meat as people will often hide the best produce to come back for it later.
Holly took Amber to the supermarket to teach her the ins and outs of yellow stickering