Lockdown has given people plenty of time to examine their finances with many saving money on meals out, weekend trips to the pub, family days out or going on holiday. Re-mortgaging, upcycling and shopping are three ways in which locked-down Brits may be able to save money during this difficult time. By setting money aside that has been saved from what used to be normal purchases, such as food and petrol, Brits won’t be tempted to dip into this pot to treat themselves. Considering re-mortgaging while rates are low also means that households may be able to keep more money in their pocket. Here’s five suggestions on how to save money during lockdown ... Remortgage Remortgaging can help you save a lot of money in the long-term and will also increase the amount of disposable income within the household each month. The Bank of England has reduced its base rate to 0.1% meaning it’s a great time to remortgage with some rates being lower than ever before. Food Everyone knows that a big weekly shop will work out cheaper than several convenience shops, but it can be tempting to go and buy food as you crave it. Whilst we need to queue to get into some supermarkets and it can take a lot of time, make the most of doing a large shop as little as possible and see how much this saves you. Subscriptions If you’re not using subscriptions for things at home during lockdown, such as music and video, you probably never will. Write down a list of all the direct debits which come out for all your subscriptions, and those you don’t use can soon be cancelled. Petrol With everyone’s movements being restricted it means that cars aren’t being used as much, meaning petrol money isn’t being spent. Instead of leaving this sitting in your bank account, take the money you would normally spend on petrol each month and put it into your savings account. This means you won’t be tempted to dip into and might earn you a bit of interest. If you need to use your car, keep it topped up with fuel at a time when the price at the pumps is low compared to pre-lockdown. Upcycling Instead of impulse-buying many families are getting crafty and thinking outside the box by upcycling existing items in their homes. Thinking outside the box helps reduce waste and means that you can create completely unique items in your house that you can be proud of. A spokesperson from those behind the survey, TheMoneyPig.com, said: “With lots more time on our hands than normal this could be the best time to get your finances in check. “Create a spreadsheet detailing your regular income and expenditure and fill in exactly what you spend each week. This means you can see exactly how much money you have, and where you can cut down on things. “There are several lifestyle changes we’ve had to make which will also influence the way we save and spend money. Some of these lessons should also be kept and used when we start to return to normal”. (Photo by Fizkes/Shutterstock).