CHRISTMAS is only just over but it’s the perfect time to get saving for 2024’s celebrations – and one savvy saver has shared how she stashed £800 with a nifty tool.
Jessica Mahoney created her own cash-saving challenge that helped her barely notice she was putting money away.
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The 21-year-old set herself a target of saving £500 to relieve some of the stress she feels in the run-up to the big day.
Jessica ended up beating that target though and banked £800, barely noticing the cash coming out of her account every month.
As a student Jessica lives on a tight budget with some income from her loan and wages from a part-time job adding up to around £12,000 a year.
She used to two savings challenges, an original Christmas-themed one and the popular Penny Saving Challenge.
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Both of these were used alongside a handy tool called saving pots from app-based bank Monzo.
Jessica told The Sun: “After seeing people share their budgets on social media, I decided to take mine more seriously and discovered savings challenges for the first time.”
Jessica created her very own Christmas savings challenge, called the “12 months of Christmas”.
She drew up a calendar on Canva and allocated each month a festive icon and a different cash amount that she had to add to her Monzo Christmas Pot.
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She varied the amount each time, based on her budget and income, which can vary from one month to the next.
Each time she saved the amount she coloured in the Christmas graphic.
Visualising her goals made it that much easier to hit them and gave her the motivation she needed to continue.
Canva is a free-to-use tool where you can create your own designs and graphics, all you need to do is sign up.
While the tool helped Jessica, you could also tick off amounts on a paper calendar if you wanted, or on your phone.
Even just writing down your saving goal and ticking it off when done can help you clearly map out your savings goals and budget accordingly.
Jessica said: “I find that saving over the course of the year makes it so much easier to hit your goals, and helps remove a lot of the stress when it comes to Christmas shopping, particularly as that’s when my income is at its lowest.”
She saved £20 in the first month but over the year this went up to £70 in some months.
While in others she put away just a tenner – she made sure it was an amount that worked for her each month.
On top of the 12 month challenge, Jessica started the penny saving challenge in July to give her festive funds and extra boost.
The challenge sees you save a penny on the first day, and then a penny more each day every day after that.
She began by saving around £3 per week, then slowly increased to around £5 a week and by week 26, she managed to save £53.70 a day.
Jessica said: “I withdrew the money from the challenges before completing them as I started my Christmas shopping a little bit earlier than normal, but overall, I probably saved around £800.”
Anyone starting the challenge now stands to save more, as they will put money away over a longer period of time.
To her work out how to follow each challenge – and set realistic amounts to save, Jessica used Monzo Pots to budget her spending.
Jessica explained: “I allocate myself a set amount across Monzo Pots for my spending, such as for transport – like fuel and parking, and entertainment – going to see friends, for example.
“I also allocate money at the beginning of every week towards my car tax and car insurance, which is due next year.”
“I have become more conscious about my spending, and have also saved around £200 to £300 by cutting back on clothes shopping.”
Monzo bank offers pots as part of its current account, and customers can round up money automatically as well as scheduling regular deposits.
After her saving success, Jessica plans to get started on the penny saving challenge again, this time to help her pay for trips and car-related bills.
She said: “I find savings challenges the most motivating way to save as I can tick it off as I go and see my progress, rather than the money just sitting in my bank, not being saved towards anything.”
Jessica’s tips for saving cash using challenges
Jessica has rounded up her own tips for putting cash aside with the help of saving challenges.
Whether you’re planning for next Christmas or saving up for a holiday in 2024, there are options out there for you.
She said: “Anyone looking to start a challenge like the Penny Challenge, I would say it’s all about perseverance.
“Weekly transfers were more manageable than daily ones, helping me save money faster.”
Breaking her Christmas challenge into smaller amounts is handy for those on a tighter budget, or during months you are unexpectedly earning less but have important birthdays, she explained.
Jessica added: “I would also say, don’t be too strict on yourselves, if you need to withdraw your money earlier – it’s better to have emergency funds available.
“Adjusting my Christmas budget helped me feel less guilty about making withdrawals.”
Monzo Pots made it easier to save the cash, she said, as she was able to see her progress at a glance.
Of course, if you don’t have a Monzo account there are other ways you can put the money to one side.
These include putting physical cash in envelopes and stashing them away, or simply transferring it to a savings account every week or month.
“I also find having my money allocated for something special, means that I am less likely to spend it on clothes or snacks, as I would have previously done,” she added.
Of course, it’s important to only put aside what you can afford and make sure to prioritise your bills and groceries.
There is a whole range of other saving challenges you can try too.
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Meanwhile, from toys and comics to posters and tapes, how to spot valuable hidden gems in your attic this Christmas worth millions.
Plus, the seventeen big money changes in 2024 and what they mean for you – including a £1,800 pay rise for millions and free childcare
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
