Knowing how to save money is a key skill that can help you pay for certain big-ticket items, whether that’s a deposit on your first house, a luxury holiday abroad, or just a safety net in case any financial issues arise.
While saving can seem easy on the surface, many daily habits can impact how much you save and leave you with less money than you intended. If you’re ready to reclaim your savings, here are some habits you need to be aware of.
Unnoticed subscriptions
One of the biggest financial drains on your monthly income is subscriptions. Even if you consider only online TV, there are numerous subscription services, each with its own monthly charge. From Netflix to Amazon Prime, Paramount, Disney+, and more, paying for multiple services can easily set you back anywhere from £20 to £100+ per month.
When you consider that there are other services you’re likely paying for, such as gym subscriptions, software, or gaming subscriptions, it’s easy to see how you can lose a significant chunk of your paycheck without realising.
We recommend going through your regular charges to find out what your active subscriptions are. Any you didn’t realise or rarely use can easily be cancelled, and that money can instantly be put towards your savings instead.
Impulse spending and everyday purchases
Another easy way to spend a lot of money without noticing is seemingly harmless ‘everyday buys’ or impulse purchases. These cover common items like coffees, snacks, and meal deals. While each individual item might not cost much, over time, it does build up.
For example, if a coffee is £4 and you only get one per day, that’s a spending of about £120 per month. Similarly, that becomes £1,460 over an entire year. There are many everyday or impulse purchases that we don’t fully consider, just because it’s a cheaper item.
Of course, there are alternatives. You can treat yourself every once in a while, or make a coffee at home and take it in a thermos. If those don’t appeal to you, consider setting a weekly spending limit and sticking to it.
Bank fees
Whether it’s an overdraft, an ATM fee, or an account maintenance payment, regular fees can quickly eat away at your savings. Since not every account has the same fees, it might be worth researching alternative options that are better suited to your financial situation.
If you find yourself frequently dipping in and out of your overdraft, it might be worth getting a credit-building card. These useful tools let you manage your payments all in one place, and then you can pay off the total bill each month in a single lump sum. This also means you won’t need to stress about whether you can afford to pay a certain bill before payday.
