Money tips and tricks to help boost your bank balance in the New Year
The New Year provides the perfect opportunity to review personal and household finances to help put budget plans in place for the months ahead. While spending may have been tighter for most people during 2024 due to the ongoing cost of living crisis and higher energy bills, there are some realistic ways to get your finances back on track for 2025.
The bank holidays this week offer the perfect opportunity to set aside some time and review your current spending. The easiest and quickest way to do this is to look at your bank account and check all outgoings to make sure you're not shelling out for something you rarely use anymore such as a gym membership or streaming service.
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This time of year is also a good chance to take advantage of free trial periods for streaming channels, gaming passes and apps. Similarly, if you can afford it, check out whether you could save money on buying an annual subscription for something you use regularly.
Budget, Budget, Budget
Budgeting is your friend when it comes to managing your finances. Plan how much you’d like to spend per month, whether it’s on weekly essentials, entertainment, or ‘nice-to-haves’, and pop it all into a planner. You can jot this down on paper or use one of the many apps out there to help you. And then, keep track of how much you’ve spent against these plans - above or below budget. This will help you keep an eye on your spending through the month.
Identify what cutbacks you can make
When it comes to reviewing your finances, an important step is identifying where you think you can make savings. For example, when it comes to necessities, like mortgage payments or energy bills, make sure you are on the best rates available.
Thinking about more non-essential items, such as streaming subscriptions, dining out, or impulse purchases, could these be stripped back? It’s worth looking at where you’re spending your money and keeping an eye out for anything you can comfortably shift, even if it’s just for the short term.
Ringfence money
It’s important to look after the essentials first. Create spending pots that will cover essentials like your weekly food shop, rent or mortgage, or household bills and try and leave that money alone. And then you can start to ringfence for other spending, or saving, safe in the knowledge you can meet your necessary spending.
Exchange any leftover foreign currency
A little currency left over from a summer or winter holiday can seem insignificant but Tesco Bank research found people have, on average, £542 sat around the house in leftover currency from past holidays. So be sure to hunt around in drawers, holiday wallets, purses, or pots, to see what you can exchange back into sterling.
Round-up purchases you make
Lots of banks and apps enable you to round up your spending to the nearest pound and will put it into a savings account for you. It can be an easy way to build up a savings pot over time, without even realising it.
Collect points where you can
Many retailers have points systems which can be saved and put towards future purchases or money off vouchers, so it's worth maximising these. Consider schemes which let you collect extra points and don’t forget to use any points vouchers you might have.
Look after the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves
Many of us tend to think we need to save big or there’s no point in doing it, but this isn’t the case. Saving what you can afford, no matter how big or small, is a great habit to form. You could even start with a family penny saving challenge, putting away 1p on day one, 2p the next day, 3p the day after and so on - this could add up to an impressive total of £667.95 on December 31, 2025 - find out more here.
