We would all love to have more money in our savings accounts, wouldn’t we? Especially if we’re saving for a home.
Savings offer us a safety net, a security that can help us to sleep at night. They can also fund holidays and give us the freedom to make life choices.
With the start of a new year, many of us are more determined than ever to have those choices and to make a real effort with our finances. So we thought we’d share with you a few suggestions around how to grow your savings in 2022.
To be really successful, you are going to need to make saving a priority. You are going to need to be motivated to save money each month and you are going to need to change some of your spending habits in order to do so.
It can be helpful to open up a savings account at this point. It is always best to move money away from your everyday spending money and it will help you to see it accruing.
Focus on the prize
It can help you to stay motivated each month if you focus on the prize. Think about why you are saving and what you will spend the money on when you have reached your goal.
It might be that you have a very clear goal in mind for your savings, something that you are keen to spend on. You could look into booking a holiday or maybe you could schedule those home renovations that you have been dreaming of, or buy that new car.
Keep in mind your goal every time you can feel yourself wavering and it should help to put you back on track.
Review your everyday expenses
Now is a good time to review your everyday expenses. Work your way through your bank statements and scrutinise all of your spending.
This should fall into two categories and there will be two tasks to do here. There will be those bills that you simply do have to pay each month, such as your mortgage or rent, energy bills, commuting costs and so on, and then there will be those things that you choose to spend your money on each month.
Take a look at the bills that you have to pay and spend some time finding out whether you could be paying less. You might need to switch providers or you might find that you can move onto a better deal with your existing supplier. This will take a few hours to work through thoroughly, but the savings will be worth it and it is a job that will save you money every month from then on.
You then need to look at those items that you are choosing to spend your money on. Can you cut back on any of these? Do you make the most of that gym membership? Do you need to buy lunch out each day? Be honest with yourself here and it can feel good to spot a few easy ways that you can cut back and save.
It will be worth it in the long run to grow your savings in 2022.
