What I wanted to know was this: How could I save a bit of money each month,<\/a> stay out of my overdraft, and be slightly sensible about the future \u2013 all while still enjoying my life? I spoke to three money experts for simple, manageable advice \u2013 and then spent three months trying it out. Here are the four that worked.<\/p>\n 1. Print out your bank statements \u2013 yes, on actual paper<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the hardest step,\u201d says financial coach Ian Dempsey<\/a>, who goes by The Money Man on social media, \u201cbut you\u2019ve got to know what\u2019s coming in and out, down to the pound. Don\u2019t look at your transactions on a screen, as it lands differently when on paper and you\u2019re more likely to remember what\u2019s on there, and pay attention to it.\u201d <\/p>\n New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n He tells me to print out my latest monthly statement and then make two columns on a piece of paper. One side is the \u201csurvive\u201d list where I put bills and essential expenditures, and in the other column I write the \u201cthrive\u201d outgoings \u2013 all the extra stuff. Dempsey tells me to then go through my thrive list and see which of these extras are actually important to me.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s going to be different for everybody,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause if getting coffee twice a week with friends is important to you, then it needs to stay on that list. If it\u2019s not, then get rid of it. When you go through each thing on that list you\u2019ll have a thought, a feeling or an emotion attached to each one \u2013 if you look at something and say, \u2018oh my god, I shouldn\u2019t have done that\u2019, then guess what? You should take it off\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Going through my bank statements with a highlighter is, in fact, worse than bumping into an ex. Very confronting.<\/a> On my \u201cthrive\u201d list there\u2019s brunch with my school friends, where we all got together for the first time in ages \u2013 well worth a very reasonable \u00a321, and important to me. That sort of thing can stay. Treating one of my best friends who visited me from abroad to a \u00a392 meal and drinks at one of my favourite restaurants \u2013 pure joy, worth it, as it won\u2019t happen again for a year.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, why, when I went for a drink to the pub one Saturday afternoon with my partner, did I order two kinds of chips straight after lunch \u2013 all for me? I only had one glass of wine, yet this brief pub visit cost me \u00a332.<\/p>\n Ok, so must say no to mindless chips when I\u2019m not even hungry. An Uber to a friend\u2019s house when I was running late and it was raining\u2026yes, it made life easier for the 18-minute journey\u2026 but it was a ridiculous way to spend \u00a315. A nice, handmade present off Etsy for my friend\u2019s new baby? I feel good about that. Spending \u00a328 in an overpriced shop on just a few bits purely because I couldn\u2019t face walking a few minutes further to my usual shops? Wasteful.<\/p>\n Over the next few weeks, highlighted sections of my bank statement flash into my mind when I go to the Uber app, or I veer towards the expensive shop. It\u2019s not that I suddenly start spending every penny wisely, but I\u2019m no longer burying my head so far into the sand.<\/p>\n 2. Draw a picture of the thing you\u2019re saving for<\/p>\n Ruth Power, from the Financial Management Bureau, advises me to find a photograph, or do a sketch, of a thing or an experience I want in the future, and tape it to the fridge, or have it as my phone background. This makes a lot of sense to me, because general \u201csaving for the sake of saving\u201d feels too abstract and dull.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything that requires discipline is much easier to achieve when you think about the end goal,\u201d says Power. \u201cI did it when I was studying, and still now when I want to get fit,\u201d she says. \u201cI try to reframe it so I\u2019m focused on the positive aspects of the goal, rather than the actual grind of achieving. It\u2019s a form of inspiration, to focus on the deferred gratification and realise that the cumulative effect of those small things build up over time to help you get that thing you want.\u201d I print off a dreamy photo of a garden bathed in sunlight and stick it in my card holder.<\/p>\n 3. Delete shopping apps and bank details<\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>It\u2019s so easy today to buy things,\u201d says Dempsey, \u201cyou just tap, tap, tap your card, or click, click, click online, and before you know it, you think, \u2018where\u2019s all the money gone?\u2019\u201d If I\u2019m feeling tired or stressed, I can get the dopamine hit of a new purchase just as quickly as I can turn on the TV or open a good book. My vice is Vinted<\/a>. I barely buy myself things anymore, but I have transferred that pleasure to shopping for my son instead.<\/p>\n There are so many great children\u2019s clothes and toys on there, and I get a buzz from getting him lovely second-hand things for not much money. However, it\u2019s easy to convince myself that I\u2019m not spending much, because the individual sums are small. A colourful Next jumper for \u00a33 \u2013 it\u2019d be criminal not to! But add postage, at \u00a32.95, and then a pair of trousers with rainbows on them and, oh, look at that winter hat with rabbit ears! Before I know it I\u2019ve spent \u00a316 in one go, when I only went on there for a jumper for nursery.<\/p>\n Like any app, whether dating or shopping, it is designed to be compulsive. \u201cDelete the apps because you need an extra layer of resistance,\u201d says Dempsey, \u201csomething that makes you stop and think, \u2018do I really need that?\u201d. He also suggests working out when I\u2019m most likely to buy things. \u201cIs it your lunch break when you\u2019re eating, and scrolling on your phone, or is it after you\u2019ve had dinner and you\u2019re on the sofa? Once you\u2019re more aware of that, you\u2019ll be less likely to do it\u201d. <\/p>\n I delete Vinted, and only re-download it when I actively need to buy my son something he\u2019s grown out of. I also delete my Amazon Prime account, and Amazon app, realising that nothing is ever that urgent that I need it to be brought to my door that same day. <\/p>\n Dempsey advises unsubscribing to marketing emails from your most-used shops, too. \u201cThey\u2019re incredibly sophisticated and clever,\u201d he says, \u201cas they\u2019re designed to reach you at the point when you are most likely to spend that money. If you\u2019ve had an account with a shop for a while, they likely know your spending patterns. They might send you an email offer at the end of the month when you\u2019ve just been paid, and are most likely to buy. And if you spend through one of those links, then you\u2019re going to get the same thing again next month at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n 4. Go on a money date<\/p>\n This was the least appealing advice I got, because there\u2019s nothing romantic about talking about pensions, is there? Plus, my partner and I have rarely been alone without our son since he was born, so the idea of using a rare evening alone to discuss interest rates and junior ISAs\u2026no thanks. <\/p>\n But Georgia Walkden<\/a>, the founder of Tailored Wealth, who also runs the Money Matters Instagram page, makes it sound doable. \u201cYou both schedule some time to sit down and talk about money,\u201d she says, \u201cbut then at the same time you also schedule a fun date night where you can have a nice meal out, or go to a gig, or whatever you like to do. So you\u2019re rewarding yourself for having the money chat, with something fun to follow up with in a few weeks time.\u201d<\/p>\n Dempsey suggests something similar: \u201cFor 30 minutes once a month, take a notebook to the pub or a cafe and talk about money with your partner for 30 minutes, write it all down, and then shut the book, job done. Don\u2019t talk about that again until next month. Just build up that conversation and start to lessen how uncomfortable it can be to talk about money<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have a partner, it still works. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to do it with someone,\u201d says Walkden, \u201cjust set yourself a quarterly time that you sit down, and go through your finances. Then pencil in something more fun to do. You have to make all this as easy as possible for yourself.\u201d <\/p>\n I really put these money dates off. My partner and I have always had separate bank accounts, and left each other to our own finances<\/a>. There are plenty of things we have happily both spent our money on \u2013 from \u00a335 or \u00a340 every couple of weeks on our favourite Indian takeaway, to an incredible trip to Japan we took two years ago, after dreaming about it for years. But otherwise, we spend our cash in different ways, we have different salaries, we work different amounts.<\/p>\n He might want to drop \u00a3500 on a new piece of music equipment, whereas I\u2019d rather go on a weekend away with my friends. And that\u2019s worked well, because we were able to go off and do our own thing. Now, though, we share childcare costs, and are getting a mortgage together, so it\u2019s been important to talk more openly about our approaches to money, how it featured in our childhoods, what we want to teach our own child about it.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been uncomfortable at times, and we did have a small argument about buying own-brand beans versus Heinz (kill me, now\u2026). But scribbling down numbers and talking about might be possible for us to do, has also been exciting. I have also found it easier to be mindful about my spending, knowing he is doing the same. There\u2019s more of a shared goal now.<\/p>\n \t\tYour next read<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s changed?<\/p>\n Three months of following expert advice hasn\u2019t transformed me into a money guru \u2013 not even close \u2013 but it has been hugely helpful and reassuring. And I have spent \u00a3560 less this month than last \u2013 a lot better than I expected.<\/p>\n All this has helped me break some unhelpful habits. I realised I associated going outside for a walk with \u201cgetting a coffee\u201d, but I now approach those things as more of a weekend treat, rather than an automatic, unthinking purchase. The biggest shift has been that I\u2019ve found greater joy in spending any spare money in an active, more conscious way, rather than it disappearing into the ether. Things I bought that felt very much worth it? A massage, a cocktail with a friend, a comedy gig, and a tricycle for my son.<\/p>\n The truth is, I\u2019m never going to be someone with five side hustles and the financial savvy to become a bitcoin billionaire. But I\u2019m no longer thinking, \u201cwhere did my salary go?\u201d. I now at least know where it\u2019s gone. The small changes have, over time, made a difference to my bank account, but also my mind and self confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can easily feel that you\u2019re a failure in life if you\u2019re not putting away \u00a3300 into investments<\/a>,\u201d says Dempsey, \u201cbut that\u2019s not realistic for most people\u2019s budget. Everyone, though, is better off knowing what is going in and out of their account each month. In the end, how can you manage a million pounds, if you can\u2019t manage ten?\u201d<\/p>\n \nHow the UK saves<\/p>\n According to Finder, the average person in the UK has \u00a316,067 in savings in 2025. However, 2 in 5 Britons (39 per cent) have \u00a31,000 or less in savings, and a quarter of Britons (23 per cent) have \u00a3200 or less.<\/p>\n 1 in 6 UK adults (16 per cent) have no savings at all, equating to around 8.4 million people. 18 per cent of millennials and people in Generation X have no savings at all.<\/p>\n Men are estimated to have 82 per cent more in savings than women, according to money.co.uk<\/p>\n Almost three in 10 (28 per cent) of adults state saving money is a habit.<\/p>\n Over a third (36 per cent) of households had to dip into their savings to make ends meet in the six months to November 2024.<\/p>\n The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has set out a strategy to create a \u201cNation of Savers<\/a>\u201d by 2030.<\/p>\n MaPS reports that 11.1 million working adults on modest to low incomes do not regularly save, putting them at risk of not being able to afford monthly bills should their employment circumstances change.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_279838768-e1767720632619.jpg\")
Financial coach Ian Dempsey. \u2018If getting coffee twice a week with friends is important to you, then it needs to stay on that list,\u2019 he says<\/p>\n![\"Kasia](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_272929601.jpg\")
\u2018I\u2019 always lived month to month, but now I\u2019m having thoughts of how I might one day want to help my son follow his dreams,\u2019 says Kasia Delgado (Photo: Teri Pengilley\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"Kasia](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_272929718_f267a3-e1767721593554.jpg\")
\u2018I\u2019ve found greater joy in spending money in an active, more conscious way \u2013 on things that felt worth it such as a massage, a cocktail with a friend, a comedy gig, a tricycle for my son,\u2019 says Delgado (Photo: Teri Pengilley\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t![\"Article](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/SEI_279812645-e1767694988513.jpg\")
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