A few tips on how to kick-start your savings habit
The summer holidays are behind us and it’s the perfect time to kick-start a savings habit. Unfortunately, this means the weather is now getting worse by the day, this can only mean one thing, Christmas! It’s not too late to start saving to ensure you have that family Christmas you’ve always dreamed of. 
Before you start looking into saving, make sure you’ve paid your high interest debts off first. If you need help consolidating, we have a blog on consolidating your debts which may help.
Still want to start saving, but have outstanding debts to pay? Money Advice service have a great article on helping you decide what’s best for you when it comes to saving and paying off debts.
Starting small
The best way to get into the savings habit is to start small. You don’t need to look at saving hundreds of pounds. When I first started looking at my own personal budget, the idea of saving more than £50 was quite frightening! But the thing to remember is it all adds up!
Still not sure how much you can afford to save? Try this handy budget planner.
Making your money work for you
So you’ve started saving, even if its £1 a day, a week, a month? Try the 52 week savings challenge which starts by saving just £1 a day, whatever you can afford. Keeping that money in your purse, wallet or bank account won’t make that money work for you, plus it’s easy to dip into here and there.
There are plenty of options when it comes to keeping your savings safe, we offer a number of savings accounts, including a cash ISA which gives you the option of saving up to £20,000 a year completely tax-free.
Don’t forget to shop around for the best deal, you can also compare savings accounts, current accounts, bonds and much more using easy-to-use tools like they have over at Money Saving Expert.
Creating a savings cushion
Alongside saving for that dream wedding or family holiday, it’s always worth creating a savings cushion for emergencies. It’s helpful to set aside three months worth of essential outgoings, so if you spend £1,000 a month on bills like your rent or mortgage, council tax, utility bills, food and so on, you will need to save up £3,000.
Keeping the habit going
The number one way to keep up your savings habit, is to make it as convenient as possible, always paid on the last day of the month? Set up a standing order to your savings account on that day so you don’t forget. If you work for one of our payroll deduction employers, you can even save directly from your payroll each month.
