While in theory, putting money aside every so often doesn’t sound overly complicated – in reality, it can be pretty challenging.
Not only must you first go through the process of opening the right type of savings account, you must then alter your mindset towards money; how it’s spent, when, and where.
Not all of us find that saving comes naturally. Some find it second nature to preserve as much left-over money as possible, while others need a steer in the right direction.
If you find yourself in the camp of needing some guidance, we’re here to help. Here, we’ll help you start developing a stronger savings portfolio, with some good money habits.
With anything financial, it’s important to put an achievable goal in place to work towards. Saving blindly, while still counting as saving, feels less meaningful when compared to having an objective. From a new car to that fancy piece of tech you’ve been eyeing up, having something specific in mind can make it easier to squirrel away those pennies and pounds.
Remember; these goals don’t have to be based purely on large purchases, such as a house. In fact, the more achievable a goal is, the more likely you are to work towards it in the first place.
Start by writing out some of your larger luxury purchases. Then, it’s simply a case of picking one or a few to work towards. You might choose to put a greater focus on the less expensive goals first, before secondarily saving towards those larger purchases for later down the road.
When you’re lost in the loop of continuous spending, it’s hard to truly appreciate just how much money you’re losing every month.
The best way of visualising this is to zoom out and take stock. Ask yourself; how many times do you eat out a month? Then, line up your answer with the transactions in your bank – the results may shock you.
Understanding the gap in where you see yourself spending vs. where you actually spend can really paint a picture as to how much money you can potentially save.
Money is just a numbers game, which itself comes with inherent comparisons, parallels, and (hopefully) savings.
Going back to our previous point about financial perspective – think about how much money you could save by either: changing where you shop or recreating some of your favourite takeaways at home.
The average person spends around £15 eating out. When you consider that this is nearly half the cost of a weekly food shop for one person, of which can easily feed you for an entire week, the savings opportunities become immediately apparent.
But these comparisons don’t stop there: substituting branded products for non-branded, changing your home or car insurance provider, and even querying your utility bill tariffs, all of these can return some near-instant savings.
This comparative mindset is one that we really recommend; be choosey, be curious, and always ask “could I get this cheaper?”.
While the future might seem like a lifetime away, your money is something that can really help shape it.
The simple fact is that as time goes by, things get more expensive. Inflation is unfortunately inescapable, but one way of pushing back against it is to keep some money aside for when it’s really needed. Afterall, the more money you must spend, the less of it you have to save.
There are all sorts of ways of fighting against inflation, with long-term savings generally being perceived as the more complete approach. Whether it’s locking money away for a given amount of time or exploring your investment options instead – both tend to result in a higher return at the expense of slightly lower availability.
While it’s great to get into the habit of regularly putting money aside, it’s a very easy thing to forget. Sometimes life gets in the way and it simply slips your mind. Unless you’re a dolphin with exceptional memory, it’s generally not advisable to put money aside manually unless it’s being done for a specific reason.
With standing orders, you can automate a lot of your regular saving activity. That way, saving becomes less of a thing you need to think about day-to-day, and becomes more of a thing that just happens – exactly what we’re trying to accomplish!
Be honest; do you find checking your bank account to be scary?
Especially after a spending spree, many find that the very last thing they want to do is check over their current accounts. But, the fact is, to truly save money, you need to know how your financial situation is shaping up one day to the next.
The only way to do that is to make a habit out of checking your account status. Thankfully, online banking has made such a thing very easy to do, you can determine exactly how much money is sitting in your account, what transactions are coming up, and what ones have already happened.
Bookmark your online banking login and start checking it every day – that’s right, every day. While that may sound overwhelming (or scary to some), that feeling will fade as you get a better grasp on your finances.
While the internet has made online banking infinitely easier, it also makes it just as easy to shop mindlessly.
Impulse spending is a very common issue these days – making unnecessary purchases at will with no prior consideration is a surefire way to deplete your accounts before you’ve even had the chance to question saving anything.
Are you a serial impulse spender? Try the 24-hour rule. It’s simple, really. Before making an online purchase, try and wait a whole day before doing so. This will give you enough time to consider all of your options – do you really need it? Are you spending money for the sake of it? Is there a better deal available? You’d be surprised how much mental arithmetic you can do in 24 hours.
Such a rule could prevent impulse spending enough for you to be able to put that otherwise spent money aside into a savings account.
So, you’ve followed all our advice, and you’re now feeling pretty prepared to get saving. All that’s left now is to choose an account that suits you.
If you’re only just starting to try and save, you may benefit more from a savings account that allows you to withdraw what you put in at any time. These types of accounts are called easy access, and they promise exactly that; easy, quick access to your money whenever you need it.
These accounts do tend to have lower interest rates compared to others, but for the convenience of near-instant access, it might be worth the sacrifice.
Next to easy access accounts sits a regular savings account. These kinds of accounts are great at instilling a different attitude towards saving by allowing you to pay in regular intervals at a time that suits you – a great counterpart to a standing order.
Then, you have your fixed accounts. These accounts make you lock away an amount of money for an amount of time, with no transactions being allowed during that period, with the benefit of an interest rate that never changes. Well, some providers may allow you to make a withdrawal at the expense of a sharp decrease to the interest rate on the account.
Limited accounts with higher interest rates are a good choice for depositing high amounts of money that won’t need to be touched, whereas instant access accounts are preferable for lower sums.
Saving can be tricky, there’s no getting around it.
Even for serial savers, sometimes, there are greater financial obstacles that we must prioritise over saving.
We have a wide range of savings accounts, each with their own features to suit different kinds of savers, take a look by clicking here.