How do you motivate yourself to save?

[OhioOhioOhio]

My financial situation is changing. Its better because I'm getting rid of an idiot wasteful husband but there won't be as much actual money. I want to get my head in the right gear so as to enjoy saving, rather than grudge it.
Any tips?
And how do you organise still having treats?

Re holidays - everyone on Mumsnet seems to quote 2k as a holiday amount. Depending on budget I try not to go over $250. Lots of bargains to be had in Britain. Try collecting the code words from the Sun newspaper. This just means you can have a break even if you have no budget. I just paid $220 for a Mon - Fri Butlins break for 6 people. Butlins is brilliant. Free massive pool. Free fairground. Great shows. Right on the beach. Budget busting!

This is wo derfully helpful. Thank you. Any more amazing website recommendations?

Since I first started work I always had an amount per month (used to be £50, is now more) taken straight out of my bank account on wage day and put into a rainy day account. Because it goes straight in and out I dont notice it and then voila- a few months later you have savings.

And yes, the main motivation is fear. My mum grew up in real poverty and I acquired a real terror of it from her. Beyond avoiding poverty (through savings and insurance) Im not really motivated by money at all.

I treat saving like a bill. I have various s/o going to different accounts on pay day.

Sorry for the lag. I use plum. It had some teething problems last year but other than that it's been brilliant.

I think the first step is figuring out what your absolute baseline is, and what you can then look at saving from the leftovers.

• Go through 6 months of statements meticulously and categorise spending so you know where it's going and how much your bills actually are
• Look at where you can get bills reduced (switch suppliers, direct debits for things you don't actually use, etc)
• What is the leftover?
• Can you afford to setup a standing order day after pay day to put a set amount away? Leaving yourself enough to live on for day to day spending and a percentage of "treats" (if you can afford this)
• Set savings goals, such as holidays, or an expensive haircut, or a day out, festival, for whatever you like doing, moving house, buying a car etc.
• If you can, and you have enough funds to do so, have several separate savings accounts for different goals so you can easily track them
• Try using saving accounts with limited withdrawals or have lengthy withdrawal notification dates, i.e. it takes 7 days to go into your regular bank account, so it prevents you having instant access. Not ideal if you need money for emergencies, but not ALL your savings need to be in limited access accounts, just the ones that are more critical that you need to save for i.e. house deposit, car savings, etc.
• Finally... it's easier to save by increasing income. Sadly. Look at ways you can increase income. Could you declutter your home and sell things you no longer need? Do any neighbourhood services like catsitting, dog walking, cleaning, ironing, babysitting etc? Could any hobbies generate income? Do you use cashback services like Quidco when you buy online? Little things add up.

Good luck on your journey!

Round up all your spending to a Pound and chuck the difference into a very large jar.

You'll be surprised how much and how quickly it adds up. :-)