5 ways to save money - without really noticing

Setting aside some savings might feel like an uphill battle at times. Fighting to find some spare cash, to save up for the things you’d love to treat yourself or your family to, can be a real struggle.  

But what if it's possible to build a nice little pot of money with barely any impact on your day-to-day living? 

Simonne Gnessen, founder of Wise Monkey Financial Coaching and co-author of the book Shecononics, says: “Reframe your savings positively as a gift to your future self and set up a simple saving habit, starting with small, easily repeatable steps.” 

NS&I found that people who set clear targets save, on average, £550 more per year than those who don’t, dramatically increasing their savings just by having a goal. 

Of course, making a clear budget and having an emergency fund is the first priority – nearly four in 10 over 50s say that unexpected costs, like a broken boiler or car failing its MOT, are their biggest money worries. 

Hargreaves Lansdown Head of Personal Finance Sarah Coles told us: “When you’re working, you should have an emergency savings fund that’s big enough to cover three to six months’ worth of essential spending.   

“The idea is that you can cover the basics if the worst was to happen, or you could stretch to unexpected costs if you were hit by more than one in quick succession.  

“When you retire, the rule of thumb rises to one to three years’ worth [of savings available]. When you’re on a fixed income it can be more difficult to meet extra expenses, and more difficult to rebuild your fund quickly.”  

Once you have that emergency pot in place, smart saving for fun – sunny holidays, gorgeous garden furniture or taking the family away for the weekend – can move up your list. 

1. Putting saving first 

Once the essential bills have been paid and ‘general’ spending has trickled out of our bank accounts, unless you’ve got a cast-iron budget it can be hard to find anything leftover for saving. 

So, instead of making saving the last thing you do after you’ve paid out for everything else, try to shift it up the priority list. 

Gnessen says: “Pay yourself at the same time as your bills. Save first every month – even if it’s just £20 – and then adjust your spending to see what you have left.” 

Have a linked savings account or ISA with the best interest rate you can find and watch your money grow. 

The benefit of paying your monthly savings, however small, into an account with good rates is that your money can then grow through compounding. 

This is where your returns start, in turn, generating returns – if you leave your account untouched. 

Also make sure you give your goal a name. If you want to save £2,400 (the average amount over 50s spend on a holiday abroad, according to SunLife’s 2023 Life Well Spent report), adding a label to your target will give it a much greater chance of being hit. 

2. Turn pennies into pounds 

The phrase ‘look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves’ is more powerful than ever with current ways to save – if you regularly put away the pence, it can add up to hundreds of pounds a year. 

You can do this yourself on a banking app. Simply set an alarm to remind you to transfer the pennies on your current account balance at the end of every day into a linked savings pot.  

So, if you have £200.72 in your account, simply add that 72p to your savings. 

It’s even easier if your bank has a round-up feature, which most now offer. With this enabled, when you pay with your debit card, the amount will automatically be rounded up to the nearest pound, sliding the spare change straight into your savings account. 

“If you set up an automated savings app to sweep spare change from your bank account into a savings fund, for example, you may be able to trick yourself into thinking it hasn’t happened,” says Gnessen. 

“Using a round-up feature automates saving so you can put money aside without actually having to make a conscious decision, and it makes you keep to the principle of setting money aside first and managing on what’s left.” 

3. Stop (some) spending  

Putting a halt on your outgoings – even temporarily – can be an easy way to both save money and learn about your habits. These are known as ‘no-spend’ periods.  

They last for as long as you think you can manage, where you commit to only paying for essential things like bills and groceries. 

The rest – ditching any money spent on treats, beauty products, eating out or clothes – can instead be directed into a dedicated pot. For instance, the average 50 to 64-year-old spends £957 a year on alcohol. Cut it out for a month and they could save an extra £80. 

Shutting down spending may sound like denial, but fans of the system say it’s a helpful opportunity to reflect on where your money actually goes and feel proud of your willpower. 

The trick is to make the duration achievable – such as a single week in every month - giving you time to make decisions on how you’re going to avoid the temptations to spend. 

If you often use your debit card on days out, plan some free activities instead. Set your food budget – and shopping list – for your no-spend period before you begin, and commit to sticking to it.  

“When you’re doing your supermarket shop, always look at products that are above or below eye level as they’re often cheaper,” says Retail Specialist Polly Arrowsmith. 

“Frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables can be up to 50% cheaper than fresh - and check the world food aisle for savings on herbs and spices.” 

Using the challenge can help you uncover habits around your spending you didn’t know you had, and by replacing them with cheaper options you’ll naturally start to spend less. 

Search the hashtag #nospendchallenge on social media and you’ll find tips and inspiration for making the most of your time spending little or no money. 

4. Make pots of money 

With the jam jar method (also known as piggybanking or using savings pots) you’ll split money into separate spaces for different expenses – for example, one for bills, another for your car, a third for birthdays and a fourth for fun. 

In the past, this might have been done by physically putting money in different jars or envelopes but in today’s nearly cashless society, this isn’t as practical. 

One alternative is to set up different bank accounts for your various areas of spending, but the drawback is needing to constantly transfer money between them.  

However, if you have a dedicated amount allocated for each pot every month, you can set up a standing order to do the task for you. 

Another way is to use a bank that allows you to create different savings pots within one current account.  

The newer online-only banks offer these – but high street options are starting to join the trend too. 

The pots allow you to separate your money away from your main balance, so whether you’re saving for a minibreak or simply want to have enough to cover Christmas, you can easily set it aside. 

Like with different bank accounts, these pots can be automatically filled each month, so you don’t need to worry about remembering to move money around. 

Gnessen says: “The more you personalise the pots, the better. Give them a name that means something to you and make it as specific as you can. Use language that's emotive and powerful for you.” 

So instead of calling it ‘savings fund’, giving it a more personal name – like ‘Taking the family to Portugal’ – will make you more likely to save. 

5. Get cashback 

Using cashback sites is another way to save without changing habits – if someone signs up, they get a portion of their spend in certain shops back. 

The two most well-known sites are TopCashback and Quidco, which are both free to join.  

These work by taking a commission from big brands like British Airways and Boots, passing a portion of the sale back to the user as a reward for shopping through their portal.  

Some banks also offer cashback as part of their services too – checking out their website lets customers see if they could activate extra savings.  

Typically, there’ll be a list of retailers in different categories – like fashion, travel and utilities – each offering to pay back a percentage of what's spent.  

By clicking through to the shopping site from their portal, users can shop as normal and if they buy something, the cashback is credited to their account and can be transferred into their bank.  

According to TopCashback, its members save an average of £345 a year, but individual cashback will depend on what they’ve spent and the percentage of cashback offered. 

Be warned though: it can take weeks for the money to land and users need to be wary they’re not wasting money on things they don’t need just to get a few pounds of cash back.