The new tax year is now here, it would have been difficult to miss the countless ISA related advertisements online and on the high streets over the past few weeks. All encouraging you to put money in an ISA to take advantage of your tax free allowance before April 5th but with constant cuts and an increasing cost of living it can be incredibly difficult to save money, especially when in return you are only getting 2-3% interest on your deposits.
Now if you are one of the many that has had to halt their monthly direct debits into their savings accounts you may be looking for different ways to increase their savings, there are easy and fun ways in which to do this, let’s take a look at them!
Most, if not all of the Pinterest users this week will have seen one of the most re-pinned pins, a jar full of $5 notes, in order to save money every time you have a $5 note in your purse put it in the jar! This is a simple concept and many of us in the past probably had a coin jar or something similar and either save for an occasion or dip in in an emergency but do you still do this? Placing notes of a higher value in the jar will also mean you save faster and instead of dipping in and out of the jar only allow yourself withdrawals when you are taking the money to deposit in your savings account! If you use your debit or credit card for most purchases this concept would encourage you to move back to cash which some people believe helps them spend less as next time you have a £5 hanging around your purse, skip the coffee and cake and place it in your jar! 3, £5 notes per week would quickly add up to almost £800 across the year.
If you don’t wish to use cash and never have any spare change available then why not look into the ‘Save your change’ scheme which is available at Lloyds TSB? Every time you make a payment using your debit card the amount is rounded up and the difference between that, and the amount paid is deposited into a savings account. 20p here and there will soon add up if you frequently use your card and as it’s such a small amount you will barely notice it leave your account.
Another way which can help you boost the balance of your savings account is through the cashback you receive from making your purchases at CashbackBay.com, when you withdraw your balance why not put it straight in a savings account?
If you are working towards an unrelated financial goal, such as losing weight why not deposit some money for every milestone you reach? A small amount you see growing every time you get one step closer to your goal will also work as a motivational factor!