The BBC reported last month that a study conducted by the Money Advice Service found that more than 16 million people in the UK have savings of less that £100. I personally think this is quite worrying as having an amount of savings, even a small amount gives peace of mind. For example, if the washing machine breaks, or something goes wrong with the car, or children need new school shoes etc etc. There are always those unexpected things that just crop up and can cause a tremendous amount of stress if you don’t have any savings.

I have heard lots of different reasons as to why we can’t save:

• It’s too hard
• I always forget
• Something always crops up
• I don’t earn enough

It doesn’t have to be a great big tricky feat. I have discovered that one of the best places to start with saving is to start small. It is all about the budgeting in the first instance. Looking at that important overall picture of income and outgoings before you spend any of it. Remember how I said in my first steps video (if you haven’t seen it then just sign up for my newsletter and you can access it) that it could be that monthly magazine, that cup of coffee you buy every day, lunch out. Those little things could be your savings. Imagine how it could mount up.

Let’s see, say if you bought a medium latte every Monday to Friday at £2.45. In a year that could be £637 (260 days x £2.45). Whoa!! Or that lovely glossy magazine (that you could read for free online… but that’s another post!) which could save you £47.88 a year. Baby steps to saving bigger amounts. Or you could make your own lunch instead of buying it, saving £1300 (260 days x £5) or £780 (260 days x £3). Teeny tiny changes to help you grow your savings.

Let me know how you get on, come and join the Facebook group and share the changes you are making to grow your savings pot.

If you fancy having a go at a No-Spend Challenge or a Grocery-Spending Challenge then sign up to the newsletter to get the access code to my challenge area.