Ways to begin your savings journey

It’s never too late in life to get a savings plan together and give yourself the gift of a future nest egg to rely on. The sooner you make that decision to save, the sooner you’ll discover just how easy it can be, and you’ll see the fruits of that labour quicker than you may think. 

In just a few months of saving, the results will shock you. And if you develop a love for staying money-savvy, you may want to apply your gains to longer-term investment strategies to give you further stability down the line. 

You don’t have to be a financial guru to invest with Wealthify. And you don’t need to go without your creature comforts to begin saving more money. All it takes is some planning and a little long-term thinking. 

Here are some useful ways to begin your savings journey that’ll take you from novice saver to financial market investor. 

Set a clear goal for your savings 

Begin with a simple and easy to achieve savings goal. This can be a goal that lasts as little as a few months. The point is to get into the habit of setting financial targets with timescales. Pick a random item or a treat that you’d like to spend those savings on, then estimate the time it’ll take to obtain the amount it costs. 

When you’ve reached your target, that feeling of accomplishment will drive you to go further. This is where you can look at setting some longer-term goals.

Make a list of your financial priorities

Your monthly bills and other outgoings aside, it’s time to use the feeling of accomplishment you have to put together a list of your priorities. And while your long-term savings goals should never cause your day-to-life any detriment, you can learn to adapt to a fair budget.

Is your car due for an MOT? That’s obviously important. Those 4 coffees you have every day and the food you buy during your lunch breaks? Not so much. Small things like taking food with you to work and reducing unnecessary spending will reduce your priorities list to the bare essentials. 

Try out a standing order

Most banks offer this service, and it’s a wonderful way of keeping you within your budget and focused on saving money. 

Setting up an automated transfer of a specific monthly amount into a savings account on payday will eliminate temptations to spend. Try and wait several months before you check the contents of your standing order, and you’ll be amazed at how much you’ve saved. 

Invest in your future with those savings

Within a year or so, you should have a respectable amount of savings based on these few simple methods. At that point, you may want to invest that amount and truly put your long-term financial planning into action. 

Tax-efficient investment accounts like Stocks and Shares ISAs offer you the ability to put up to £20,000 into your account each tax year without incurring any deductions. Working with a reputable finance company to put a long-term plan together will put your final money goals into action, and provide you with stability later on in life.