Saving Tips

Whether you are saving for a wedding, mortgage, a holiday, or even just a rainy day, it need not be difficult to put a little extra away each month. Be frugal & thrifty, and as my granddad would say “Look after the Pennies and the Pounds will look after themselves!”Before we begin, if you have any outstanding debts such as credit cards or loans, these should always be paid off before you consider putting money into a savings account. With the exception of Mortgages and Student Loans, the interest charges on your debt will far outweigh any interest earned on your savings.Now, sit yourself down and work out your household’s total monthly income. Compare this to your total monthly outgoings, think about it carefully and try to be as accurate as possible. Printing off the past couple of month’s bank statements can help with this, and look out for things like Utility bills, Rent/Mortgage payments, Insurance or Mobile Phone contracts and any subscriptions like Sky TV & Gym membership.If you know how much you need to save, you can easily work out what needs to go. Sky TV, mobile phone contracts and Gym membership are all easily disposable. These can be replaced with Freesat, a pay as you go mobile and jogging/cycling. The latter, cycling, is also how I personally commute to work each day, and this provides considerable savings on fuel and car maintenance costs. I won’t go into any more detail on ‘Money Saving Tips’ as such, if you are serious about saving you already know what you need to do.Finally, make sure you are receiving all of the benefits and tax credits you are entitled to. The government readily takes cash straight out of your pay packet, so do everything you can to get some of it back! Also, take advantage of the annual £3600 ISA allowance before using a standard savings account. At an equal rate in an ISA a basic rate taxpayer will earn 25% more interest, whilst a higher rate taxpayer earns 66% more!