Round it up – £900
One of the easiest ways to save money is by rounding up your spending every day to the nearest £10 and transferring the difference into a savings account. For example, if you spend £27.20, consider it £30 and transfer £2.80. This small change can add up over time, giving you a decent rainy-day buffer and earning you some interest along the way. Many banking apps offer automatic saving features that round up your purchases, so you don't have to do any calculations yourself.
Boost your pension contributions by 1% – £1,529
Increasing your pension contribution by just 1% can have a significant impact on your retirement savings. Most Brits have a workplace pension scheme, and by increasing your contribution, you can build a larger pension pot in the long run. For example, if you earn £30,000 and currently contribute 8%, increasing it to 9% can result in an additional £30,333 in your retirement pot.
1p savings challenge – £671.61
Try the 1p savings challenge, where you save 1p more than the previous day. While it may not seem like much, it adds up over the course of the year. By the end of 2024, you could have a total of £671.61 saved. You can also customize this challenge by saving more each day if you're able to.
More Easy Saving Tricks
There are plenty of other savings challenges you can try, such as a no-spend month or the 52-week challenge. A no-spend month involves not spending any money other than on essentials like food and bills, and it can help kickstart your savings. The 52-week challenge requires you to save increasing amounts each week, starting with £1 and reaching a total of £1,378 by the end of the year. If the 52-week challenge seems daunting, you can opt for the 365-day challenge, where you save increasing amounts each day of the week, resulting in £1,456 at the end of the year. Lastly, you can create a money mistake jar, where you challenge yourself to avoid certain expenses and put money into the jar if you slip up.
Remember, saving money doesn't have to be difficult or painful. By implementing these simple hacks and challenges, you can build up your savings without even noticing the money leaving your account.
