How much do you have in savings? Decent tips for you that actually helped build them?

[Cupcakeicecream]

As title states how much do you have in savings? I'm trying to build my saving back up again pretty much wiped out atm as some large Bill's and expenses have taken that. So basically I'm starting from scratch.ive head as a buffer 3 month wages is the general rule of thumb. My tips would be have a jingle jar a jar that has just copper and silver change it tends to add up quick and can save you if you need bread or milk or if you save enough you can count and sort and take to the bank.
Also dont buy prepackaged precut food such as fruit or veg I know its easier and more convenient but the price does shoot up. Take your own bags to the supermarket the amount of times I've had to pay for carrier bags I now leave bags in the car and the difference is little but helps.downgrade on products the cheap 20p spaghetti tastes exactly the same as branded.

Top tip don't have dc...

Save before you spend. Set money aside on payday into a different account and leave it there.

We have an occasional "no spend week" or "minimum spend month". Free days out, no takeaways, minimal budget for groceries or just live off what's in the.cupboard if only a few days, coffee at a friend's house instead of a meal out etc. It really helps us get out of the "popping to the shop" or "fancy going to the cinema" mindset longer term but can save £50 or so in a week without it being too hard.

Obviously you have your jar but there are apps and bank accounts that do similar eg round each spend up to the next £1 and put the difference in savings automatically.

I’m looking into plum app as friends have found it successful

We also do "no extra" month (although in terms of no alcohol or take out for one month has turned into 6 months and that alone has saved us a fortune). Free days out, so for us that's parks etc. Everythi g that would've been spent on parking, admission, food extras like steak or fancy stuff, all goes into the savings. It also helps we dont actually spend a lot on frivolous things/extras anyway I guess.

The best tip I've found that works is to treat your savings like it's another bill. So you pay it out as soon as you get paid and then it's gone and you don't touch it.

The thing that has worked the best for us is to have various budgeting accounts for various purposes - so holidays, car repairs and replacements, home repairs and decorating, Christmas and Birthdays etc. Then also actual savings accounts which are just for long term savings. All these accounts are topped up by DD each month. This way, we're not dipping into our actual savings for regular necessary spends like car repairs, a busted washing machine etc. It's much easier to keep track.

We also have named saving accounts with goals ie holidays, Christmas. Very motivating. When things are right we do Tilly tidies which means moving small amounts to savings pots, so if my current account balance is £781.38 then 'tidy' the £1.38 to savings. Soon adds up but isn't noticed.

DH and I were terrible at saving until recently.

We have 4 envelopes and put an amount for each week of the month in. We only spend what’s in the envelope. I don’t think I’m a high earner (£20,000 P/A & DH earns £40,000 P/A). I have a mortgage, car & and 3DC’s but we have been able to save £2,500 since January by sticking to this so should have a decent amount of savings by the end of the year (hopefully!)

Credit union if you are someone like me who can only afford to save a small amount as some savings accounts have minimum deposit levels.

I set up a standing order of a few pounds a week, I can also withdraw same day if needed.

It also gives me free life insurance and they pay a dividend instead of interest which works out a reasonable rate.

We automatically transfer a set amount into savings account every month. It's a direct debit and we no longer think about it. Work bonuses get whacked in there as well. We have separate savings accounts for the DC - once again they get direct debited out and we just forget about that money. So we don't view it as spending money but if we get a large unexpected bill we will dip into it (so when our boiler needed replacing we used it)

A good way to save everyday is by taking drinks and lunches and snacks with you. A contigio is great for hot drinks.
I also save via a standing order into my savings on pay day.
If we eat out we use a taste card.

I have a salary sacrifice directly to the credit union at work, so money goes straight to my savings before I get paid into my regular bank account. I try, whenever I get a pay rise (promotion or otherwise), to let myself enjoy it for a couple of weeks, and then increase the salary sacrifice to continue to "manage" on the amount I was getting before the rise, or just a little more, if I can afford it. credit union savings are mainly used for easy access for Christmas and holidays etc.

I set up a monthly direct debit for another savings account - so treating it like a bill, as someone else mentioned. That is intended as more long term savings.

I put any coppers into a savings tub at home, and exchange it into a savings account rarely as it is very slow to build up.

I put bigger coins into a money bag in my car, to use for parking meters etc, and also to feed DD's purse when she needs money for school etc.

I try to be relatively frugal in certain things- I will use discounts and vouchers if I have them, and bulk buy if possible for better deals. I do make use of loyalty schemes. I batch cook and fill the freezer, and will buy decent yellow sticker items if I have freezer room. I grow some of our own veg. I will reuse and repair items before going straight to replacing them - shoes get reheeled/resoled, clothes get mended, etc. I have made a fair amount of our own furnishings over the years - curtains, cushion covers etc - (and often gifts for others too) and we are handy enough on DIY/painting and decorating skills when necessary. So all those add up to spending less - sometimes to live within a necessary budget, and nowadays, allowing us to save more and sometimes spend more on fun things.

I also use charity shops. If I see something that is useful TO ME and that I know I will make good use of, I will buy it. But I also have no problem with spending on good quality items if I know that I will make use of them, rather than a lower quality item that I may need to replace a lot sooner. See Terry Pratchett's explanation of Boots (someone else posted it again this week on a similar thread on MN). Like one really good coat that has lasted me over a decade, rather than 3/4 cheap ones (which would have fallen apart and now cost more than the original coat cost me). Or just having a couple of higher quality items and using them all the time rather than a large bundle of cheaper ones (like my winter thermals - 3 good (and thin) ones means I can wash and wear, and keep my less warm clothes working well all through winter rather than needing an extra whole set of heavier jumpers and heavier winter workwear).

You need a budget software - YNAB.

Completely changed my money mentality and turned me from a spender to a saver in weeks.

I find shopping online via mysupermarket makes it easier to find the best deals (it will sort by price per unit, so much quicker than doing the maths for all the different options), and stops me impulse buying stuff that’s not on the meal plan. It also shows you which supermarket would be cheapest that week, which can make a surprisingly big difference.

Earning more is far more effective than cutting back for creating meaningful cash flow.

Do you like your job? Can you get a pay rise by asking? Can you look at moving jobs for a higher salary? Can you earn extra separate to your current work.

If you haven't got the money for something you can't afford it, save up, don't borrow.
Don't live in the most expensive house you can afford, buy or rent somewhere cheaper and save the difference.
Online grocery shopping. No impulse buys and you stick to your list.

I too have a direct debit which goes straight into my ISA account on payday (it was going into my savings account before I realised the ridiculously low interest rate).

I've also made an Excel spreadsheet which has a column of regular standing orders / direct debits plus a column of any other spending which automatically totals up against what I was paid and therefore tells me, to the penny, what I have left to spend - and serves to make me realise where I'm wasting money (Pret coffees and Amazon to name 2). By next month I'll have savings of 3 x monthly salary but find that the more I'm able to save, the less I want to actually spend it! I'm turning into a right miser

When I started working, I always operated on the mental basis that whatever my actual salary amount, I would operate on just 70% of it.
My theory being that if I suddenly lost my job/business, then I could live on 30%.
Sign upto moneysavingexperts newsletters weekly, have a look at your all your outgoings and check to see if savings can be made.
Also with saving, condition yourself to not dip into it all(minus emergencies), pretend it's not there and then find a solution without those funds eg things like ebaying, tutoring, extra consultancy work, weekend job.
I know some of these options may not be practically feasible for all but even saving small amounts in coins is beneficial.

Keep track of your finances with a spreadsheet

Buy premium bonds - you can access the money when you need to but it’s not as straightforward as just drawing it out of an account.

In your spreadsheet, have little boxes that are worth say, £50 each and colour them green. Like a good behaviour chart for grown ups!

Read ‘the art of frugal hedonism’ for great practical and philosophical tips on spending less

I think savings are easier to build up when you already have them (if that makes sense) as you can become addicted to seeing the numbers increase.

I have one of those save the change bank accounts where every time I spend say £4.50 on my card it rounds up to £5 and the extra 50p goes into a savings account. So easy and I don’t even notice it

I save £25 a month into a Lisa, it's only a small amount but I can't touch it till I'm 60 so will help when I'm retired. I also save £10 a month on a Sainsbury's gift card so when Christmas comes around I don't have to worry about the money and can get what I want. I just go into Sainsbury's to do that. I have a change jar which gets cashed up once its full, which normally comes to a couple of hundred pounds and that will be going towards a new bed this year.

I used to be a shopaholic but as I've got older I've started to see the errors of my ways and I have become alot more frugal. I no longer fritter money away for the sake of it. I try and have cheap days out. I buy second hand where I can and always look for a deal.

If you receive tax credits look into the Govenment Saver account - it gives up to 50% return over 4 years. This is not a hoax, check the .gov website

Another vote for Plum the app. I've saved £130 or so since the end of Feb on that. And it isn't my primary savings account. I'm hoping to have enough by the end of the year to cover the accommodation costs for a birthday getaway we've booked.

Every pay day I transfer £500 to my savings account. That leaves enough for all the direct debits and stuff I have to pay. Then if I splurge on anything I transfer that amount back. I'm not a saver and a terrible spender but having been in shed loads of debt a couple of times in my life I try to do what I can. As a rule I try to keep a minimum of 1k in my personal savings account. Our joint one depends on what else is going on. Probably not far off the 3 month rule but not quite.

Meal plan, and then buy online to stop impulse purchases in store. Plan in picnic food if you're going out, and bring drinks with you (and snacks if you have tots).

If you're not certain about saving straight after you get paid, wait to the end of the month and put anything left into savings.