Best way to save

[MaryYellann]

For Christmas.

I've just reached the end of the government "Help to Save" scheme which paid out mid-December. It made a huge difference to the usual stress of trying to scrape together funds for presents, extra food etc. from one or two wages.

I'd like to carry on saving between £50-£100 a month - where is the best place to put it? I've never been in a position to save anything substantial until now.

I liked Help to Save because it was separate to my bank account so it wasn't "visible" and tempting to dip into when I was feeling the pinch.

Any recommendations? Something I can manage fully online or that just transfers automatically each month when my wages go in would be best.

I am in a Credit Union through work but wondered if there were any other ways of saving that people found worked well for them.

I've never heard of the Help to Save scheme, but I just opened up a savings account with a building society, so it's separate from my main bank account which avoids temptation to dip into it.

I then choose the highest interest savings account, sometimes it's a fixed term which means if I take it out before December I'll lose the interest.

I save £70 each month (except December and January!) so the idea is I will have £700 (plus whatever interest) each year to spend in December on food and presents etc.

However, I also buy small things throughout the year from my weekly wage where I can, and put them away for Christmas.

It means that when Christmas approaches I've already got some stuff just bought from wages so I don't always need to use much of the £700. This means I can leave it untouched and either just keep contributing so it's bigger for next year, or for a few months I use the £70 contributions for something else (for example I put it into the summer holiday fund).

However, I will say that I have massively cut down on Christmas. I love it but I don't want or need to spend a lot. I don't do adult gifts anymore, just my kids, and small token gifts for other family kids. The main expense is lots of nice food and some days out.