One of the most popular new year's resolutions that people make is to save money, but realistically how much can you save in a year? And would seeing it down on paper help you to actually do it?
Check Down The Sofas
Okay, this might not be the best way to start saving money, but it's certainly something you should do before you begin. Checking down the side of the sofas, while not a bad idea, is really a metaphor for seeing what money you have lying around that you may not even realize. Do you have an old 403b account that has money in it? Are you owed money from anyone? Are you waiting to receive an inheritance? First of all, think about all the money you might have and count it all up.
Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions
According to the Citizens Advice Bureau, the average Brit spends £640 a year on unwanted subscriptions, and some people don't even realize they are paying for them. It's surprisingly easy to do, with all the free trials on offer, you end up signing up and then forgetting to cancel it. Make sure you check your bank statements and any old accounts you think you no longer use and cancel anything you don't need or want. You could end up with £640 in your pocket.
The 365 day Money Saving Challenge
Here's the first thing you could try and do to save some money this year and see with £1,463 at the end of the year and could treat yourself to a big holiday or just keep on saving. All you need to do is to save a little bit each day of the week, so on a Monday you save £1 on a Tuesday you save £2 and so on, meaning that on Sunday you will save £7, then start it again the following week. This way, you will be saving £28 a week - and with 2020 having an extra day in it, you'll end up with £1,463 in total.
52-Week Money Challenge
If that one doesn't float your boat, then why not try the 52-week money challenge where you start small and build up. At the end of the first week of the year, you only need to put £1 aside; then, at the end of the second week, you need to save £2 more and so on until you are putting £52 away in the last week of December.
If you manage to stick to it, at the end of the year, you'll have yourself £1,378 just in time for New Year's Eve. Even if you decide to take December off and save nothing that month so that you can afford all your Christmas presents and nights out, you'll still end up with more than £1,000 saved in time for the Festive Season.
The Penny Challenge
This one's pretty easy and just means that you need to put aside money from your loose change every day. Start with just 1p, and then build up by another penny each day. If you keep it up, you will be up to saving £1 by Thursday 9 April, £2 on Saturday 18 July and £3 on Monday 26 October. Okay, you'll have a smaller pot than the other ways at the end of the year, but it will still be a decent £671.61, which you can't complain about for a bit of small change.
The Fiver Challenge
If you want to save a bit more than these challenges, then you could try The Metro's Fiver Challenge, which will see your savings account with a healthy £6,890 at the end of the year. Similar to the other challenges, the idea behind it is that you don't have to think about how to save, and you won't be able to think about it so much, faffing around trying to decide how much to put away that you end up doing nothing at all. It's a simple concept: Each week, you put some money into your dedicated savings account. The amount you put in increases by a fiver each week, so while you won't feel like you're putting loads of money away at first, by the end of the year, you'll have £6,890 saved.
If you're new to saving or find it difficult, then a challenge might be the way forward for you. Have a go, what is the worst that can happen? By this time next year, you might find yourself well on your way to a deposit for a new house or a new car.
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