A financial expert managed to put away £500 in one month by following a daily savings plan involving incremental increases.
Questioning the credibility of the many online savings “challenges”. money.co.ukLucinda O’Brien decided to take matters into her own hands and try one out – and she was “delighted” with the results.
Miss O’Brien said: “We’ve all been hit hard by the cost of living crisis and an emergency savings pot has never been more important.”
The average person in the UK has £17,365 in savings and the the average saving per month is £450 per household in the UK according to statistics. This prompted Ms O’Brien to try to match it.
She said: “In the current climate, I feel very lucky to have some disposable income every month, but putting away £500 is a big stretch.
“My plan was to save £1 on October 1, then £2 on October 2 and so on, until I got to October 31 and saved £31. If I stuck to this daily plan, my savings pot would reach £496.”
Ms. O’Brien has a current account with Chase, which also has a linked savings account that offers 4.1 percent.
She said: “I planned to send the money from my current account into the savings account every day through a quick transfer on the Chase banking app.
“On October 1, I felt anxious about the days ahead and quickly put the £1 into my savings – it felt like a mountain to climb.
“Chase also has a round pot that helps you save any spare change, so I made sure this was up before the challenge.”
By day six, Ms O’Brien said she was “getting into the story” of saving every day. She said: “At the end of the first week, I was feeling a lot more positive because I had £27 in savings, and it didn’t feel too much of a strain on my finances.
“The turning point was when I started saving more than £10 every day.
“I had to make some small changes. For example, I chose to walk instead of taking the bus or even remembered to bring a recyclable bag to the supermarket – everything helps!”
By day 20, Miss O’Brien said the purse strings were tighter, and she found she was spending a lot more time at home.
She added: “It also forced me to think about my spending and took time to review my previous bank statements to see where I could save money.
“I looked at my regular outgoings and removed any miscellaneous direct debits that I no longer needed. I also wanted to implement some no-spend days as this would help keep my budget on track. By day 31, I managed to spend six days without spending a penny.
“By the end of the month – I was very happy to reach my savings goal. I managed to save £496, and increased the remaining £4 using the settlement savings, which meant I had saved £500, and now had the money to pay for treatment on my family during Christmas.”
This challenge requires a lot of determination to stick to a tight budget, but Miss O’Brien said: “If you’re looking for a quick way to grow your savings pot in the month leading up to Christmas – this could be the answer.”
However, she noted: “Savings challenges are not for everyone. Before attempting any challenge, be realistic with your budget and only save within your means.”
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