What advice would you give to Alexandra to help her stop dipping into her savings…?
First & foremost, I’d encourage Alexandra to draw up a budget to see exactly what her monthly incomings & outgoings are. There are plenty of tools (including Emma! ) to help work out your budget. Having a budget is a great starting point as it shows how much Alexandra could afford to put into her savings each pay period. It’d also allow her to see if there are areas of spending she could cut down on - e.g. are there unused subscriptions/memberships?; check price comparison sites to make sure she’s not paying over the odds for her bills etc.
I would also advise Alexandra to evaluate her savings - I’d suggest setting up a standing order of what she can afford to her savings each payday. Many current accounts also have tools that round up purchases & sweep the difference into savings, so this maybe worth setting up. Both are fairly easy & relatively painless ways to help build up savings & get into the savings habit. It’s also worth thinking about her savings goals. Is Alexandra saving for anything specific? I’d also suggest checking the type of savings account(s) she has to ensure whether it’s/they’re right for her - is she able to ‘lock some money away’? - fixed term savers, notice accounts or limited access savings can offer better rates of return in exchange for more restricted access to your cash.
So much great advice here - thanks for sharing!
It feels like a realistic budget could definitely help here. I also love the idea of setting up a standing order to pay into savings each payday. Is this what you do?
Thank you
Yes - I have standing orders set up to pay into my savings each payday - that way I don’t miss it as it’s in my savings before I can think of spending it!
This is definitely the best way - I try to see my savings like a bill that I have to pay at the start of each month Once the money has gone out it’s no longer my money to spend!
Such great tips here!
I’d also recommend potentially opening a saving account without online banking.
Started this when I worked my first job at 16 and would transfer small amounts of savings to it. I wasn’t able to access it (other than walking into the bank and making a manual withdrawal) and the temptation to dip into my savings was gone by default.
Worked wonders for my financial management and I think it would help in this case too!
That’s a great idea