Savings tricks to boost your pot: 1p challenge, round-up apps and more

Building a nest egg doesn’t always have to be a difficult slog. Here are four of the simplest ways to save.

When it comes to saving money, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and different tricks work for different people.

For some, turning saving into a game is the key to success and for others, saving ‘in the background’ is the most effective approach.

In this article, we look at four savings hacks that can help boost your nest egg, whatever your savings style.

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1. The 1p Savings Challenge

Using this technique, you’ll save a penny on the first day of your challenge and then increase your contribution by another penny every day.

The maths is as straightforward as it sounds. On day one, you save one penny, day two is two pennies, and so on…

If you keep this up for a full year, you’ll stash away £667.95.

Here’s how it breaks down.

Although the trick may seem like a bit of fun, it can also help instil good savings habits as it teaches discipline and goal setting.

As such, it can be a useful way to get children into the habit of saving responsibly.

2. Rounding up your savings

The ‘round-up’ trick works on the basis that you can save in the background without making a conscious effort to put money aside.

Several banks such as Chase and NatWest allow you to round up your debit card purchases to the nearest pound and the bank will automatically move this difference into a linked savings account.

Alternatively, you could consider an autosaving app such as Plum or Chip, which will work out how much you can afford to save each month and transfer this amount into a linked account.

Be aware, Chip will charge you 45p every time it saves on your behalf.

Also, remember to check the interest rate on any linked savings account to ensure you’re getting a competitive deal.

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3. Use a 0% credit card so you can save for longer 

It goes without saying that 0% purchase cards can be a great way of spreading the cost of a large purchase if you can’t afford the full amount upfront.

If used correctly, however, these cards can also help to boost your savings.

Imagine you need to buy an expensive laptop. Let’s say it’s £2,000.

Instead of paying for it with the money you've savedup, you could put the purchase on a card that waives interest.

At the time of writing, the longest 0% purchase card on the market has an interest-free period of 21 months.

If you make the purchase on this card, you could then put your £2,000 in cash into a high-interest savings account.

Say you chose the current market-leading easy-access account, you’d receive a rate of 5.1% (at present, this rate is available to new Chase customers).

Over the course of 21 months, this would add up to £178.50.

One thing to bear in mind: whenever you take out a new credit card, it will have an impact on your credit score. You may therefore want to avoid this trick if you’re planning to apply for another type of credit in the near future.

Be aware that the most attractive 0% cards tend to be reserved for those with good or excellent scores.

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4. The Money Mistake hack

Whether it’s letting your insurance automatically renew or going over your mobile data allowance, money mistakes happen to all of us.

The Money Mistake challenge is essentially a different spin on the old-fashioned notion of a swear jar.

With this technique, you’ll set aside a sum of your choice – whether a pound or more generous £5 – every time you make a financial blunder.

Not only can these savings help mitigate the cost of your mistake, but the money you put aside can help build a decent savings pot.

A word of warning

Although the tricks on our list could all help you save, you may not see much benefit if these funds simply return to your current account and get mixed up with your day-to-day spending.

To take full advantage of your savings, you should put any money you manage to stash away with these tricks into a high-interest savings account