Most of us do not find it easy to save. However, saving for a major purchase instead of paying with credit can often save hundreds or thousands of pounds in interest. In addition saving for a rainy day will give piece of mind so that if the unexpected happens, this can be managed without getting into significant debt.

UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO SAVE
The advantages of having savings are clear. However, most people find it very difficult to manage to save at all. Of course, before you are able to save, you need to understand your income and outgoings.

You can only really concentrate on saving if you have disposable income. In addition, if you have disposable income but outstanding high interest debt such as a credit card or store card balance, it may be better to use your disposable income to repay this debt first.

PLAN TO SAVE

The key to saving is in the planning. 

Once you have understood your disposable income and decided how much you can save each month, you need to plan to do this at the beginning of the month as soon as you receive your monthly salary or income.

Set up a direct debit from your account which will automatically deduct the amount you want to save at the beginning of the month. In this way, you can be sure that the money will be saved and there will be no temptation to spend it.

All too often, people decide to start saving but tell themselves that they will get round to it at the end of the month. This strategy never works. The old saying “out of sight, out of mind” really rings true here. If you know there is money in your account available to spend, the likely hood is that you will spend it. If it is deducted at the beginning of the month and sitting in a savings account which you do not think about, you are very unlikely to touch it.