Most people start the new year with good intentions to build up some savings, but rising costs are making this ambition even more challenging this year.
Families across the country have been hard hit by the cost of living crisis, with soaring energy bills and higher food costs pushing budgets to the limit. But if you have decided 2023 is going to be the year you stop living from payday to payday, we've some fun suggestions to help keep your interest going beyond the first flush of enthusiasm.
These money challenges could see you start by saving just 1p on the first day - but if you stick with it, and you could end up hundreds or even thousands of pounds better off by the end of the year. Whether you save cash in jars or envelopes or open savings accounts is up to you, but here we look at nine creative ways to boost your savings.
Read more: All the big money changes to look out for in 2023 month by month
1p savings challenge
How much you will save in a year: £667.95
Probably the best known savings plan, this works by increasing the amount you save by just 1p per day. So you save 1p on January 1, 2p on January 2, 3p on January 3 - right through to £3.65 on December 31, making a total of £667.95 for the full year, or £164.71 if you only make it as far as June.
Reverse 1p savings challenge
How much you will save in a year: £667.95
This challenge works exactly the same way as the 1p Savings Challenge, except you start by paying £3.65 on January 1 decreasing to 1p on December 31. You'll end up saving the same £667.95, but if you only make it to June, you'll have a healthy £503.24.
Monday to Friday savings challenge
How much you will save in a year: £780
This challenge gives you the weekend off and you'll save more than either of the 1p challenges above. Start by saving £1 on Monday then increase by £1 a day until Friday - so £2 on Tuesday, £3 on Wednesday, £4 on Thursday and £5 on Friday, ready to reset to £1 the next Monday. Stick with this for six months or maybe only take part every second week, and you'll still have £390 saved towards next Christmas.
52-week savings challenge
How much you will save in a year: £1,378
This one needs more commitment as you will be saving bigger chunks of money as you get towards Christmas. To take part, you increase the amount you save by £1 each week, so the first week in January you will save £1, second week £2, all the way up to the last week in December, when you will save £52.. Get as far as June and you will have £351.
Reverse 52-week savings challenge
How much you will save in a year: £1,378
No surprises that this challenge works the same as the one above, but in reverse. If you are feeling flush in January, you put £52 away this week, £51 next week and whittle down to £1 in the last week of December. Get as far as June and you will have £1027.
365-day savings challenge
How much you will save in a year: £1,456
If saving Monday to Friday isn't enough for you, this challenge has you putting money away seven days a week. The principle is the same as the Monday to Friday Savings Challenge, so you save £1 on Monday and then increase this amount by £1 a day - but this time, you go all the way through to Sunday when you save £7, a total of £28 each week. If you want to dip into it for your holidays, you'll have £728 by the end of June.
£5 savings challenge
How much you will save in a year: £6,980
This one is for those who want to save a serious amount of cash this year, and works by increasing the amount you save by £5 a week - so for the first week of January, you would save £5, then £10 on the second week, £15 on the third week, and so on. Make it to half way, and you would have still put away £1,755.
Grocery stretch challenge
How much you will save in a year: It depends
This doesn't require you to put money away, but is a clever way to cut your grocery bill over the year. It works by adding a day on to each shopping day and stretching your food to cover the extra day. So, for example, on week one, you go grocery shopping on Saturday, but the nest week, you hold out until Sunday, meaning the food you have bought will last eight days instead on seven. The next week, you add an extra day on again, so you would not shop until Monday. This challenge is the equivalent of missing a weekly shop every seven weeks, so if you normally spend £100 a week, you could save around £700 over the year.
No Spend Days challenge
How much you will save in a year: It depends
Like the Grocery Stretch Challenge, this works not by putting money away but rather not spending it in the first place. To take part, you simply determine designated days every week when you pledge not to spend any money at all unless it's absolutely essential. Direct debits, bus fares etc are all fine to spend, but the idea is to cut out discretionary spending completely on the designated days, so no popping out for a quick lunchtime sandwich or top-up shop at the supermarket. How many days you challenge yourself for is up to you, but if you decide, for instance, to designate Monday-Wednesday every week as No Spend Days, you could have save a substantial sum by the end of the year.
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