Top Savings Tips for 2024

2024 offers a year of possibilities. There’s no better time than the present to set out your goals and to make your aspirations of a new home, a car or a much-needed holiday come true.

Each one of us approaches saving in a different way, and that’s completely ok. Your saving plan should be tailored to meet your own needs.

Because we believe in kinder banking, we’ve put together a guide full of hints and tips to get you on the road to your individual savings journey…

Set yourself a goal

Motivation is the key to forming good savings habits. Whether that’s picturing yourself on a sandy beach, waking up in a new home, or treating yourself for hitting saving milestones, set yourself a goal and you’re much more likely to succeed.

Create a budget

It’s important to know your monthly outgoings, and how much money that leaves you with. One easy way to cap your spending is to set a budget and stick to it. Here’s our quick guide to getting started…

  1. Gather your bank/credit card statements and make a note of your fixed monthly bills, including subscriptions.
  2. List your variable expenses such as groceries, eating out, transport and clothing. Everything you regularly spend money on that isn’t a bill. Try to be honest.
  3. Record all sources of income including pay slips, and any other regular income per month.
  4. Compare your total income with your total expenses – both fixed and variable. Are you spending more than you earn every month, or do you have money left over?
  5. If you have money left over, you could add this to your savings. If you’re spending a bit too much, now’s the time to review your subscriptions and variable expenses to see where you could start saving money.

There are plenty of budgeting tools available to help you track your monthly spending, including Money Helper. www.moneyhelper.org.uk

Manage your subscriptions

Signed up to a free trial and forgot to cancel the subscription? Paying for a streaming service you barely use? You’re not alone. We all love our films and music, but those subscriptions can add up. Cancelling just one monthly £10 direct debit could save you £120 over a year – that could pay toward summer holiday spending or begin a longer saving journey.

If you need some help along the way, apps such as Bean can help you find, track and manage your bills and subscriptions. Many of them are even available for free!

Save little and often

Rather than focusing on large lump sums, think about saving smaller, regular amounts which can build up over time. You won’t notice the impact as much and after a while you won’t even miss the money in your account.

Here at The Cumberland we usually believe in real people over robots, but there are some occasions when automation really can help. Have you considered automating your savings? You can set up a regular monthly payment to your savings account, meaning the money is safely stored away before you’re tempted to spend it!

Keep it interesting

1p a day, £1 a week or £10 a month, there’s a host of savings challenges out there to help make saving fun. Savings challenges are a great way to build up your savings, remain focused on your goals and see your savings grow over time.

The UK Savings Week website ran a savings challenge last year which still offers some fun tips regardless of the date. Visit the UK Savings Week website to find out more.

Where to place your savings

You’ve done a lot of the work to get this far and now is the time to ensure that your savings are working for you.

That could mean higher interest rates, instant access, or an account you can manage on your phone. We’ve broken down our savings options into bitesize chunks here or if you’re ready to go, you can find our complete offerings on our savings pages.

If you’d prefer to speak with a real person for a savings review, why not contact us to book an appointment? We’re only ever a phone call, message or branch visit away and it’s the perfect way to check your finances are in order, be reassured that you’re doing the right thing, and start planning for the future, today!