What’s the best money habit you’ve picked up? £200 voucher to be won

[geemumsnet]

When it comes to managing money, sometimes it’s the small habits that can make the biggest difference over time.

Perhaps you’ve discovered a budgeting app that keeps you on track, picked up a great money-saving tip from a friend, started investing little and often for your long-term goals, tried a savings challenge, or found new ways to enjoy days out and activities without spending a fortune.

Whatever works for you, we’d love to hear about the money habits you’ve picked up along the way.

So tell us, what’s the best money habit you’ve ever picked up?

• How did you get into the habit?
• Has it made a noticeable difference to your finances?
• What did you do with any extra money you made?
• And is there something you wish you’d started doing years ago?

Share your experiences, tips or money habits with other Mumsnet users in the thread below. In return, one poster will be selected randomly by the Mumsnet team to win a £200 VEX voucher.

The lucky winner will be contacted by Mumsnet by Friday 6th November. T&Cs apply.

Comments are the views of contributors, do not represent AJ Bell's views and should not be relied upon as financial advice.

Use cash to pay for your weekly food, fun, fuel and gifts. No more than a third of your income. What is left over put into a holiday fund.

Save it at the start of the month/ automatically transferred out - ideally into a pension or a savings account with penalties to withdraw - so you don’t see it to spend. I have just had a lovely shock at the state of my pension

really think about how much fun you get when you spend - don’t do things just because everyone does. Leave any purchase at least a week. Boiler repairs excepted.

Seeing something 'I really want' then taking 10 minutes away from the store - 9 times out of 10 I don't buy - it's saved me £100's on impulse purchases.

Take it straight out of wages as soon as paid in - put it in highest interest account you can find - and budget from the reduced amount, so you don’t even notice. Only check savings pot every few months for nice surprises.

using cashback sites like topcashback. The beauty is that you don't have to do anything you wouldn't already do in terms of money or time, (i.e. don't have to buy giftcard and top them up) but just if, for example you knew you wanted to buy a new mascara, instead of going to boots.com, go to topcashback and click their link for boots then shop as normal = cashback added to the account that you then withdraw straight into your bank account.

The biggest cashback is for bills or insurance, you can often get £30-80 for things like travel/car/home insurance, or switching broadband, etc.
Sainsburies nectar partners etc work on the same principle but I find it more faffy, and you get points rather than actual money.

If you know a friend who uses it, join via their link rather than signing up on the website and you both get extra money. I can share mine but didn't want to suggest I was posting this just to for that, but if you don't know anyone DM me, you may as well get an extra tenner!

Second tip is the free money bank accounts give you to switch - I have one 'main' account that I always keep the same, with my pay going in and important bills like mortgage etc. going out, but then an extra one with just a few random dd's like gym or charity donation or whatever, then switch that one every few months. They offer £150-200 per switch, plus other incentives like cinema vouchers, so can make a lot once you've gone through them all. It's really easy to do as well.

Finally is such a straightforward one - once you've finished cooking something in the oven and turned it off, leave the door open while it cools down (unless we're in the middle of a heatwave) = free heating for the room.

We do monthly house accounts after getting paid and some money go straight into savings. This then also helps with overpaying mortgage every year to save the interest in the long run. Naming saving pots also helps, like for holidays. Also been using Snoop so I know what outgoings we have and when, they alert you of any increases and also if any deals are expiring (eg energy or car insurance).

The best money habit I ever picked up was over paying on my mortgage. It was suggested to me by friends when we got a pay rise to deter wasting the additional income we were due to receive before getting used to it. It’s made such a noticeable difference to my finances as after several years of over payments, savings & lump sum payments at end of mortgage terms I now find myself mortgage free during particularly challenging Financial Times. The money I previously paid into my mortgage I now use to pay extra into my pension. I wish I had started saving sooner but don’t regret the fun I’ve had along the way regardless of the frivolous spending it involved!

Buying staples lke pasta and rice in bulk, catering sizes. It will get eaten and works out much cheaper in the long run.

I think people are either naturally savers or spenders. For savers, it's easy and automatic to save. Spenders have to really work at it, best way is to set up standing order to put money into savings on pay day, that way the money isn't even seen as available to spend.

Saving. Pay yourself first.

I save £2 coins in a jar!

I have named pots for family for birthdays and christmas and move money to them each month as soon as I'm paid. I also have a spreadsheet with future savings goals including my pensions and house purchase. Checking in on it regularly keeps me focused on saving.

Monthly savings that debit on the first. Spending time finding the best accounts for those savings.

I only ever buy a clothing item if I absolutely cannot leave the shop without it. Like, is it 10/10?

If it’s not, I leave, telling myself I’ll think about it. I usually forget all about it!

For online purchases, I’ll put them in the basket and then leave them for 24 hours. Overwhelmingly when I return, the urge to click Buy has vanished.

This approach has cut down my purchases hugely and saved me £££ which goes to my ISA instead.

Using the pots feature with a monzo account has been amazing for us in terms of budgeting and really working out how much we spend on various things.
we have a pot for everything now and it’s all so much easier to keep track of.

I rotate which which supermarkets that I use when online shopping, I often get discount vouchers from the shops to coax me back to them
I use a cash back app and also use cask back on my bank account.
I regularly change insurance companies to get the best deal.
I meal plan and cook one freeze one.
Month direct debits into savings accounts.
Shop for gifts all year round, looking for good offers.
Use Too Good to Go for lunches.
I use my savings for holiday spend and treats for the family.

For many years, I've kept a little book in my bag & I log any spends, the date & place of purchase, the cost & the remaining balance in my account - I find this really helpful as it's so easy to make purchases mindlessly on a card, this brings my awareness to each purchase a bit more! It always helps if any transactions appear that I don't recognise (i.e. subscriptions I have unknowningly signed up to!) - that's my good habit, although unfortunately it hasn't stopped me getting into debt..
I am pretty new to saving.. being a natural spender - I don't have a great deal, but I get a lot of pleasure out of being generous - if you have something, I don't see why you wouldn't want to share it - HOWEVER - I am realising it's sensible to put money aside for the future, for any unexpected events - in previous years, these have gone on credit cards &, while fine in the short-term, when the interest free period expires.. it mounts up. I've now on a Debt Mangagement Plan, the budget for which includes setting a small amount aside each month for savings. I feel like a MASSIVE weight has been lifted, & now see a brighter financial future ahead for us. It's never too late to get a hold of your finances.

Tell your DC to get a credit card as soon as they are able to start building their credit score. Buy something small every month and then pay it off in full.

My best money habit is checking my bank account every morning. Just a quick look, but it keeps me aware of what’s going out and stops me overspending without realising.

Don't get into debt for gadgets new cars holidays etc. if you haven't got the cash. Hard luck.

i joined a pension scheme as soon as I was eligible - for me it was when my employer offered one when I was 19. I’ve only ever paid the minimum but it’s added up and I’m now looking at a good pension income when I retire in 7 years. Nit was hard at times when money was incredibly tight but I took a small second job rather than stop paying into pension.

we've been overpaying our mortgage for the past 10 years. We’ll have reduced the term by 7 years at the current rate.

i use Quidco and topcashback religiously. We’ve honestly had thousands back in cashback over around 15 years.

I've opened high interest savings accounts with Nationwide and Natwest. I put the maximum in every month, to get the best interest. The Nationwide one is about to finish after a year's term, but I am hoping to do the same, to benefit for the next year, by opening up a new account with them. The Natwest one pays best for balances up to £5000, so I will soon be moving money to another account, and then start paying into it again, to get the high interest rate.

After bankruptcy it has taken me a while to start getting into good habits, building up savings and reduce the financial anxiety I had!

I have a revolut account with different pots for Christmas, holidays, kids birthdays, rent, oil and everyday spending. Each payday I have a set amount that goes into a high interest savings account with my bank, it’s non negotiable and untouchable for a fixed time, I know how much I need to keep in my current account to cover direct debits, the rest goes into revolut, a set amount per month goes into each savings pot and the remainder goes into everyday spends pot. I earn interest on these daily and it’s nice to see that mount up.

In order to build up my credit rating I took out a card with Vanquis for those with poor credit. I made a pot in revolut for this as well. I then do all my monthly spending with the credit card and each time I spend I transfer the amount from my everyday spends pot into my credit card pot so that I always have the money to pay the full balance each month and I do this just a couple of days before it’s due. I’ve earned quite a bit of interest doing this and my credit rating is now very good. I should be in a position to take out a credit card with more cash back offers and do need to look into that.

I also made a pot in revolut to save for items that I want or need. Every time I run the washing machine or dishwasher I transfer £1 from everyday spends pot into the savings pot, it soon adds up without even noticing it.

So basically loads of little savings pots that means that I don’t have to take financial hits through the year and am earning interest on them. It’s made a big difference to me to know that I have the security of these pots as I’m not on a high income.

Start small every little bit helps. Always check for discounts and Cashback when shopping.
always keep a bank account for swapping.
you don’t get anything for being loyal

I have always saved a fixed sum each month, I started small £5 because it was all I could afford. £5 for me and then as I had children the same for them. As I could afford more I saved it, if I won money i saved that. I've been able to save quite a bit to help my eldest at university. I was brought up with not much money and have a fear of being in debt and losing everything. When I need to I can really cut my cloth and i think thats important.