Let’s do a quick damage assessment. Open your banking app. Look at December. Now close the app, take a breath. December is a financial blackout month. So much pressure to spend money, it’s carnage. And now it’s January, the longest month of the year, and you’ve got ages until payday.

Here’s how to claw it back.

STEP 1: FACE THE NUMBERS

You can’t fix what you won’t look at. Sit down with your statements and add up what December actually cost you. Include everything: the Uber Eats on Christmas Eve because you couldn’t face cooking, the round of shots that seemed like a good idea at 2am, and the ongoing relationship with your caffeine dealer.

This isn’t about guilt, it’s about information. You need to know where you actually are before you can plan where you’re going. If it’s worse than you thought, that’s okay. Information is power.

STEP 2: THE JANUARY AUDIT

Pull up your direct debits and standing orders. How many subscriptions are you actually using?

The average person has £25/month in forgotten subscriptions. That’s £300/year (nearly a weekend away). You can’t watch two streaming services at the same time, and the gym membership requires attendance to get fit. Let’s not even go into that meditation app you downloaded on New Year’s Day because you thought you wanted to be more spiritual in 2026.

Cancel ruthlessly. You can always re-subscribe if you miss it (you won’t).

STEP 3: THE NO-SPEND WEEK(S)

Pick a week (or two) where you spend nothing beyond absolute essentials. Rent, bills, basic groceries. That’s it. No coffees out, no takeaways, no online shopping, no ‘I deserve this.’

It’s brutal but revealing. You’ll discover how much of your spending is habitual rather than necessary. The £4 latte doesn’t feel like much, but five days a week for a month is £80.

Make it social if that helps. Get your flatmates or friends to do it together. Misery loves company, and you can compete on who saves the most.

STEP 4: THE SIDE HUSTLE AUDIT

January is a good time to pick up extra cash if you need it:

  • Hospitality is crying out for staff, The industry never fully recovered from Covid staffing shortages
  • TaskRabbit and Airtasker have decent demand in January as people tackle ‘new year, new organised life’ projects
  • If you’ve got a skill (writing, design, coding, tutoring), freelance platforms are worth revisiting
  • Sell what you’re not using on eBay, Vinted, Facebook Marketplace. That clutter is someone else’s treasure

STEP 5: THE ‘SOCIAL BUDGET’ CONVERSATION

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most of your discretionary spending is probably social. Pub rounds, dinners out, activities with friends. Blanking your friends for the rest of the month isn’t really an option (well not all of them anyway!) so instead look at how to take the pressure off a bit.

Instead: have the conversation. ‘I’m being tight this month, can we do something cheap?’ Most of your friends are in the same boat and will be relieved someone said it first.

Suggest alternatives: house parties instead of bars, park hangs instead of brunches, free museum late-night openings instead of paid entertainment. Good company doesn’t require an expensive venue.

STEP 6: THE TRAVEL FUND

If you’re reading TNT, you probably want to travel. And if you want to travel, you need to save for it! Winging it is how you end up with a maxed credit card, and sitting at home watching enviously at all your mates trips on Instagram.

Set up a separate savings pot for travel. Automate a transfer on payday, even if it’s small. £50/month is £600/year.  That’s a decent Europe trip or a contribution to something bigger.

Treat it as non-negotiable, like rent. Future you, lying on a beach in Portugal, will thank present you.

THE APPS THAT ACTUALLY HELP

Monzo/Starling: Pots and categories make it easy to see where money goes

YNAB (You Need A Budget): Aggressive but effective for those who need structure

Snoop: Finds your forgotten subscriptions and suggests savings

Chip: Automatic saving based on what you can afford (useful if you’re bad at manual transfers)

Too Good To Go: Cheap food bags from restaurants (saves money & reduces waste)

THE MINDSET SHIFT

The goal isn’t to be miserable. It’s to be mindful. December spending was emotional and habitual. January is about resetting and preparing for the rest of the year.

Ask before every purchase: ‘Is this moving me toward something I actually want?’ If the answer is yes (a trip, an experience, a genuine need) then spend freely. If it’s just filling a gap, then just think about it, or even better, sleep on it and see how you feel about it in the morning.

You’re not broke. You’re recalibrating. By February, this will feel normal. By March, you’ll have options. By summer, you’ll have a trip booked.

Now close this article and cancel those subscriptions.