How to Create a Savings Plan
This is a collaborative post.
The start of a new year is a great time to assess your current financial situation and think ahead about how you can achieve better financial stability for the year ahead.
One of the most surefire ways to make sure you are secure financially is to create a savings plan. Having money set aside means that when things crop up in life that you are not expecting, you are able to manage the situation and keep your financial health in check.
This article will share some handy tips to help you develop a savings plan and highlight some of the best places you can think about investing your savings.
Where to begin
There are many different ways you can put money aside for savings, but one of the simplest and easiest ways to do this would be by opening a savings account.
There are a wealth of options to choose from, so make sure ahead of time you are picking the account that best suits your needs and goals for the future.
You could choose a savings account where you can easily access the funds and deposit and withdraw money whenever you need it. Or alternatively you could opt to invest money into a cash ISA and earn tax-free interest on your investment.
What are you saving for?
Having a goal in mind for what you are saving towards will help you establish how much you want to save and over what period of time. Sometimes savings are put aside for a rainy day, but often people have a particular goal in mind and a certain amount to work towards. Below are a few examples of the most common life events people choose to save towards:
Travel: Whether it’s a weekend break with friends or a family summer holiday, putting money aside each month to save for a holiday will help you spread the costs out and means that when the time comes to book, you have everything you need and can look forward to your trip stress-free.
Wedding: Weddings can often cost a small fortune, so it’s important that you and your partner have a clear goal in mind for how much your wedding will cost. It can often take years to plan the perfect wedding, so give yourself plenty of time to set money aside and make sure you cover any potential complications that could arise along the way.
House deposit: Saving up for a deposit can sometimes take years, and depending on the size of the property you are hoping to purchase, it can be a sizeable amount you need to have when the time comes to make an offer. Choosing a savings account that you can’t easily withdraw money from will help you secure the funds and you could also benefit from tax-free interest which will help your savings go further.