Smart saving for the New Year

Budget
Write down where your money goes. Use your bank statements and receipts to see what you are spending. You might be surprised when you see it all written down.

You can also use our free budgeting tool to help you create your own personal budget plan.

Set financial goals 
Try and set out what you want to save for. By doing this you are more likely to stick to saving and more motivated to reach the goal you have in mind.

Once you have set this out, you can begin to think about the amount of money to save and when you want to reach that target. This will depend on how much spare cash you have at the end of the month and how quickly you want to reach your goal.

Now you have the goals set out, set up a standing order for the day you are paid to transfer money into a savings account that suits your needs. This should stop you from spending the amount you want to save.

Opening a Help to Save account
A government savings scheme designed to help people receiving certain benefits build up their savings by providing a bonus for regular savings.

You can save between £1 and £50 each calendar month in the Help to Save account. The account allows you to make regular contributions over four years. You could get a bonus of 50p for every £1 you save over 4 years.

Find out if you are eligible to open an account.

Review your direct debits
Take a look at your subscriptions and memberships. Do you really use that streaming service, gym membership, or magazine subscription? If you do not want to cancel it, try downgrading it.

Sell unwanted items
The new year is a great time to have a clear out of things you do not use or things you do not need after the holidays. Take a look around your house for things like unused electronics and clothes you do not wear anymore. This is a great way to raise funds and could help you reach your saving goals.

Spend less on the food shop
Switching to lower cost supermarkets or buying own brand items can save you money straight away.

You could also try planning your meals and making a shopping list, this can help you stick to buying only the items you need and help reduce food waste.

Check out Money Saving Expert for more on how to save £1000s per year on the food shop.

Have more fakeaways
It is easier said than done sometimes, but eating in the house is such a simple way to save money. You could spend £5 on the ingredients to make your favourite takeaway at home instead of paying £30, then save the extra money.

Making your favourite takeaways at home can also be a fun activity for the family to do together.

Reduce energy usage
With the price cap increase and cost per unit going up, it is always good to look at ways to be more energy efficient. Check out our tips to help keep energy costs down.

Also, check out how much your household appliances could be costing you.