Saving sometimes can be overwhelming. Often, we don’t know how to save.
No one taught me in school how to use my money, how to budget and how to save. And yes, it may sound simple, just save such and such amount per month, but let me tell you it is not that simple.
Nowadays, kids get bank accounts at the age of 11, and they do receive education in school for some basic budgeting. But when I was a child, it was so much different.
Our family income was very small because it was just my mother and me. I had to start work at the age of 16 (yes, I know some children do that now, mainly for pocket money), but in my country at that time it was not acceptable. I was still in education, and that’s where everyone thought I should be, not working.
I had to work, and it was for me to help out with bills at home and get some pocket money for myself. I didn’t have much leftover, and I didn’t even think that I had to save any money.
Why is it important to save money?
With time as I grew up, I realised saving is important, and now with my own family, we try to find the easiest way to save money.
By ”easiest”, I mean that we are on a fairly normal income for a family of 4 and we would like to be comfortable living from this and being able to save for rainy days, annual family holidays and house maintenance.
We are a family that always loves a challenge, and there are a few challenges that we have already used successfully to save money, which I am so happy to share with you because I know they work.
I would love you to tell me if you have tried any.
Now I know every family income is different, so pick the one that’s okay for you and let me know how it went.
The 52-week challenge
This idea is very simple. Your target is to save every week for one year, and you will have saved £1378 by the end of it. Week one, you save £1, then week two you save £2, week three £3, and so on up to week 52.
Do it with a twist: Start with the £52 saving the first week(start big, end small), and decrease it by £1 every week. In week 52, you will have to save £1.
Add another twist- double it up. Save double the amount for one year.
£5 a day challenge
Do this for a month, save £5 a day and by the end of the month you will have saved £150.
I know it may not look like a lot for one month, but if you can do this in month one, then you can just keep going for the next months. For one year, you will have saved £1800. Great, isn’t it?
No spend weekend challenge
Oh no, weekends! As soon as the weekend comes, and that’s it, all my budgeting from during the week is gone. Joke’s on me.
On the honest side, yes, the weekend is the worst; there is something in those days that makes people overspend.
And yes, my family is one of those that overspend on the weekend. We make impulsive buys and buy takeaways on the weekend. Yes, nobody is perfect.
But most importantly, try to stick as much as possible to your usual budgeting, and try to set aside a weekend a month when you will not do any spending, where you will review your pantry and fridge, and cook only with the ingredients you have.
Impulsive buys
How many times have you asked yourself: Why did I buy this? ”I am not using it now, and I didn’t need to spend the money on it.”
Recently, I had an impulsive buy. We went to Costco, and if some of you don’t know this shop, it is like a big warehouse shop where you can buy in bulk. We bulk buy some of our stuff from there, and that’s how we reduce our weekly shopping. Anyway, we went there, and I saw the viral TikTok vegetable cutter for salads, potatoes, fruits, and more. Well, yes, it turns out it’s not so good; it didn’t save me any time or space either.
So, here it was, my impulsive buy that I didn’t need
I thought to myself, I can’t do this again. Next time, I will wait a week. If I still feel like I need it and I want it, I will buy it then. For bigger and more expensive stuff, I will wait a month.
The Spare Change Round‑Up Challenge
Some banks have this option now to “save the change.”
When you shop, the bank rounds up your change from the money you spend in the shop to the nearest pound and sends the money straight into your savings account.
I would highly recommend this challenge as we save around £40-£50 a month, depending on how much we shop.
If your bank doesn’t have this option yet, there is another way, similar to this, which my sister told me she uses.
Every night before bed, she will log in to her bank account and save the small amount of change. For example, she has £534.62, she will save the £4.62, the next day she will log in again, and maybe she’s done some shopping and a bill got paid, and then she has left with £378.24, she will save the £8.24, and so on every day.
I haven’t tried this system yet, but I think its super cool way to save money, and it can save a lot without feeling the pressure.
Thank you, sis!