04 January 2024 , 13:15
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It's 2024 and for many the New Year brings a goal of saving money whether it's to help the sting of rising household bills, save for a home, or build up an emergency pot. There are plenty of money scrimpling challenges soaring across the internet as we speak but there's one I advise everyone to look at as it could save you hundreds of pounds with no effort.
It's exactly how I managed to boost my 2023 savings by £150 without even realising it. We've all heard of the current viral 1p challenge, if not it's where you put 1p aside on January 1 and increase it by (you guessed it) one penny a day until December 31.
By the end of the year this frugal method would end up saving you a mighty £670 a year, the catch? When it reaches towards the end of the challenge not everyone can afford to be putting hundreds of pounds away each month, especially as bills continue to rise.
This is where my new found banking secret comes in handy as you can save a small amount each time you spend day-to-day, all you need to do is click the 'save the change' option in your banking app. The exact name may vary depending on your bank but it's essentially a feature that rounds up your spending to the nearest pound.
Each time you spend on your debit card your bank will automatically round it up to the nearest pound and send the difference into your savings pot. If you don't have this activated you'll need to do two steps; first is to check your bank has a similar 'save the change' option and second open up a free easy saver account linked to your debit card - you can open it with £1 and this is where your save pennies will go.
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Halifax, Lloyds, Natwest, Starling, Monzo, and HSBC all offer the £1 round-up feature. In fact, it's a tool highly recommended by spend and save director at Tesco Bank, Ban Mahsoub.
The finance expert rates it as one of the best ways for households to order their finaces in 2024 and it's something Tesco bankers can make the most of too.
They said: "It can be an easy way to build up a savings pot over time, without even realising it.
"This is one of the features of Tesco Clubcard Pay+, where Clubcard members can choose how much they would like to round their shopping up by; either to the nearest £1 or £5. This round up feature can help supercharge your savings and placing it into a Tesco Bank savings account, that you can access anytime in the Tesco Bank mobile banking app."